Virus-sapped bus lines see road to ruin without federal help

 

LEWISTON, Maine (AP) — The private bus industry is clamoring for federal help it says it needs if the country is to keep it as an option for cheap travel after the coronavirus pandemic. Rail lines, public transit and airlines received billions in aid through the coronavirus relief act. But a bus industry figure says more than 95% of the fleet is shut down, and bus lines are now calling on the government to provide $15 billion in grants and loans. The Treasury Department has not responded to a request for comment. The U.S. has about 3,000 private bus companies that carry some 600 million passengers every year.