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Highway Club Cars Appeal to Charter Groups
Page 112
Page 113
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BY HUGH G.
JARMAN existing coaches to club cars The Indiana Motor Bus Co. has enjoyed great success in America by converting
CHARTERED buses for intercity or even inter-country runs are common practice with some inter-city transport operators. However, chartered club cars are something unusual, and when the Indiana Motor Bus Co. decided in 1961 to convert several of its existing coaches to club cars, it never dreamed that the acceptance and demand would be so great among American businessmen. •
They are popular among the business executives, sales organizations and family excursions because they are unlike, anything else on the road today. They can sleep seven in beds; they have their own bathroom with toilet and shower, a complete kitchenette, and a dining nook with a complete office and secretary facilities. All facilities can be used while on the highway, or the cars may be parked for prolonged periods at selected locations.
Differently Designed
Each club car is differently designed and outfitted; each has been built to meet specific charter conditions, some for travelling and living accommodation. Apart from those that include complete office facilities, others have more passenger space, for use as field offices in sales conventions, or executive facili ties for visiting distant cities, with radio telephone connections enabling the officials to keep in contact with their home office while the bus driver carries them on to their destination.
The charter period runs from a day to as much as six months. Long-period charters are supplied with driver and a steward, who operate and service the coach, cook meals, keep the coach interior in order and make up beds,. and
SO OD.
The club cars were converted from a variety of makes: General Motors, Mack, Fitz-John, Flxible, etc. Each coach carries 270 gal. of water and its own filtration plant, which enables it to pick up water anywhere on the highway. They also have an a.c. generator plant which runs the electric cooking stove and airconditioning, and pressurizes the water tanks for domestic services.
Each Coach has Converter
All davenports open up as lower and upper bunks at night and each has its
own electric reading lamp. Each coach is equipped with a converter, which permits use of a power cable plug when stopping for any length of time at a location, thus eliminating the use of the generator set, or to permit it being serviced. The special compartment layout permits one or two conferences to be carried on at a time.
Mr. F. F. Furry, president of the Indiana Bus Co., says: "After an extens;ve investigation of the wants of business people and other groups who wished to travel here and there, 1 found that the majority wanted luxury. They wanted something that aeroplane travel gave and the railways are giving up; they wanted speed and comfort, and our club cars can give them just this."
"Voyageurs"
"We have named our club cars the ' Voyageurs '", said Mr. Furry, "and they represent the most lavish transportation of our times, developed and constructed expressly for businessmen who want to travel in utmost style and comfort.
Mr. Furry continues: "Our Voyageurs are furnished in the most discriminating taste with distinctive, colour-keyed decor. Each has automat:c heating, air conditioning and indirect lighting: all are wired for hi-fl music and have dictating machine
outlets, all of which goes to make the new charter service the ultimate medium for group travel. The exteriors are in green and silver, and operate out of our home office at South .Bend, Indiana."
To date all club cars have been heavily booked since the service was established. The charter charge is $1 per mile with a minimum charge of $100, and overnight use of the coaches costs $1.25-per-mile rate. No club ca is ever sent out without a steward to supervise proper operation of the special features.
For daytime use the club cars can accommodate 23 persons, although 10 to 13 is the usual party number. A party
of eight persons can be accommodated for longer overnight travel.
The Luxury Concept
To project the luxury concept with a view of large-volume 'business Mr. Furry visualizes increased capacity coaches, with somewhat altered facilites, providing express through-way highway services, competitive with short-haul airline service in total-lapsed time from city centre to city centre.
Many people, suffering from throughway, high-speed travel boredom in their private cars, are willing to pay a premium for pampering