Bonanza Bus Lines, Inc. Information

Bonanza Bus Lines was founded in Newport, Rhode Island in 1955 by lifelong bus aficionado, George Sage. Born and raised in Rochester, New York, Sage moved to Rhode Island and purchased the Newport-based Short Line, one of the last remaining segments of the William Vanderbilt organized company. At the time of the purchase, Bonanza consisted of a 50-mile route system between Newport and Fall River as well as Newport and Providence. Over the years, Sage built a Bonanza empire by acquiring other bus lines throughout the 1950s, continually improving schedules and making better profits. He added operating routes from Providence to Springfield and Pittsfield, MA and from Providence to Albany, NY in 1957. The next year, Sage added service between Providence and Boston, Fall River, New Bedford, Hyannis and Hartford, CT. In 1963, Bonanza built a million-dollar modern bus terminal in downtown Providence and four years later, the company headquarters was moved to that location from Newport. A 1965 acquisition brought service from Fall River to Boston and Providence to the University of Rhode Island. The company name "Short Line" was changed to Bonanza Bus Lines in 1970 and in 1974, the company began serving New York City from Hartford, CT. As a result, Bonanza became the largest independent bus line in New England and four years later, the company acquired its present Boston to Woods Hole, MA route connecting the ferries of Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket with mainland transportation. The Bonanza network had grown into a 1,560-mile route system linking New England to the rest of the country. In 1998, Bonanza merged into the nationwide group of bus fleets owned by Coach USA. At that time, Bonanza operated 50 buses between Providence and most major cities throughout New York and New England, employing 150 people. In 2003, Peter Pan Bus Lines purchased four New England affiliates of Coach USA - Arrow Lines, Bonanza Lines, Pawtuxet Valley Lines and Coach USA Boston. According to Peter A. Picknelly, President of Peter Pan, "This acquisition allows Peter Pan to enlarge our footprint in New England and virtually doubles the size of our company by adding complementary elements to our core business." Bonanza's Boston-Providence-New York service and their service between Cape Cod and New York have been added to Peter Pan's existing line-run business giving Peter Pan Bus Lines a new presence in the Rhode Island market. To manage the newly acquired Bonanza Bus Lines, Peter Pan's management team brought back former owner, George Sage as a consultant. More than just a good business decision, this move brought the company "full circle". During the early days of inter-city bus travel, Peter C. Picknelly, the father of Peter Pan's Chairman, founded a company in the late 1920s with three other partners. It was then known as Interstate Buses Corp. and it ran service between Albany, Springfield and Providence. Peter C. left the company in 1933 to start Peter Pan. Interstate Buses was then sold to George Sage.