Sign in

Private company

Academy Bus

Logo: Academy Bus, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons3

Bus company in New Jersey, US

Academy Bus Lines is a bus company in New Jersey providing local bus services in northern New Jersey, line-run services to/from New York City from points in southern and central New Jersey, and contract and charter service in the eastern United States from Boston to Miami. In 2014, Academy acquired Go Buses, which currently operates bus service between Boston and Washington, D.C., and in southern Florida. On September 27, 2023, Academy acquired James River Transportation, which operates in Virginia.2 It is headquartered in Hoboken.1 Wikipedia text CC BY-SA 4.0

Last updated Oct 21, 2026.

Overview

1968Founded1

See how the biggest companies compare on our leaderboards

Academy 1339 (cropped)
Photo: Ken, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons5

Academy Bus Lines is a bus company in New Jersey providing local bus services in northern New Jersey, line-run services to/from New York City from points in southern and central New Jersey, and contract and charter service in the eastern United States from Boston to Miami. In 2014, Academy acquired Go Buses, which currently operates bus service between Boston and Washington, D.C., and in southern Florida. On September 27, 2023, Academy acquired James River Transportation, which operates in Virginia. Academy is the third-largest motorcoach operator in the United States and Canada.2

Products and brands

Other contract operations

Under contract to Rutgers University, Academy Bus operated the campus shuttles for the New Brunswick and Piscataway campuses under a 10-year contract, until June 30, 2011, after which time First Transit Services, Inc. took over operations of the Rutgers Campus Buses. Academy has filed a lawsuit against the university over the loss of the contract. Despite the loss of shuttle operations, the company continues to provide the chartered bus operations used for tours and other events. Academy Bus took back the Rutgers University Bus contract for Newark on January 20, 2026 from Transdev. They will take the New Brunswick contract on July 1, 2026.

Academy operates Columbia Transportation for Columbia University, using both Columbia-branded transit buses and Academy-branded coaches.

Academy continues to run a separate operation in New York City for New York University and various operations for universities in southern Connecticut and around Boston. Also, Academy Bus operates long-term parking shuttles around Newark Liberty Airport under contract to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey using Port Authority-owned and branded Orion VII buses, and using their own fleet as well.

In January 2014, Academy began operation of the SIM23 and SIM24 (formerly X23 and X24) routes between Manhattan and Staten Island, formerly operated by the now bankrupt Atlantic Express. These routes were subsidized by and operated under contract to the New York City Economic Development Corporation. On January 3, 2022, operations of the two routes transferred to the MTA, with minor changes to the operating times and routing.

Read the full text

As of October 1, 2014, Academy operates the MTA Maryland Commuter Express routes #410, #411, & #420 under contract to and using MTA Maryland owned buses. The #820 was also awarded by MTA Maryland and began operations on July 1, 2015.

In 2017, Academy began a contract with UNC Charlotte to operate shuttles for Niner Transit, where Academy currently operates 13 New Flyer XD-40 Buses. Academy's Contract is expected to expire June 30, 2028.

In 2021, Academy Bus Lines began operating the Tri-Rail Community bus network, where they operate a fleet of 21 ElDorado E-Z Rider II buses.

In July 2022, Academy Bus took over operations of Disney World's Cruise Line Bus route. This service was previously done by Mears Transportation, until they lost the contract in June 2022. Academy Bus also added a new Disney World Sunshine Flyer service in November 2022.

As of 2021, Academy is also contracted by Disney for shuttles for their Disney College Program participants. The routes are only for Flamingo Crossing Village residents in the College Program.

As of September 27, 2023, Academy Bus acquired James River Transportation of Richmond, Virginia. As part of the acquisition, Academy took over Amtrak Thruway service between Charlottesville and Richmond that was previously operated by James River Transportation.

On June 17, 2024, Academy Bus took over EZRide from Paul Revere Transportation. Academy Bus increased service, while adding new Eldorado buses to run the service.

Academy operated under contract BestBus, which provides intercity buses between New York and the Washington area. BestBus was acquired by competitor DC Trails.

Academy formerly operated under contract to Bridj, a private, app-based, on-demand transit service, in the Greater Boston area.

Academy Bus also provides Uber shuttle bus service, as of July 2024.

The company was selected by the Virginia Department of Rail & Public Transportation to operate the Tidewater Current, a bus line of the Virginia Breeze intercity bus service in Virginia, which started operations in the spring of 2026.

On August 31, 2026, MTA Maryland would debut a new route, the 411T. This service runs from White Marsh To Trade Point Atlantic and is operated by Academy.

Facilities

As of March 2026, Academy Bus Lines manages 25 locations along the East Coast in order to facilitate its Scheduled, Charter and Contract Service operations.

Bridgeport

Address: 114 River Street, Bridgeport, CT 06604

Services Offered: Charter

Fort Lauderdale

Address: 4160 Ravenswood Road, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33312

Services Offered: Charter & Contract (Miami Hurry' Canes Shuttle)

Jacksonville

Address: 3501 West Beaver Street, Jacksonville, FL 32254

Services Offered: Charter

Orlando

Address: 1155 Elboc Way, Winter Garden, FL 34787

Services Offered: Charter & Contract (Disney College Shuttle)

Tampa

Address: 12301 40th Street North Clearwater, FL 33762

Services Offered: Charter

West Palm Beach

Address: 6575 Southern Blvd, West Palm Beach, FL 33413

Services Offered: Charter & Contract (Tri-Rail Buses)

Atlanta

Address: 3535 Bestfriend Road, Atlanta, GA 30554

Services Offered: Charter

Baltimore

Address: 201 Frankfurst Ave, Baltimore, MD 21225

Services Offered: Charter & Contract (Johns Hopkins University Campus Shuttle)

Capitol Heights

Address: 1700 Rochelle Ave, Capitol Heights, MD 20743

Services Offered: Charter & Scheduled

Boston

Address: 531 Pond Street, Braintree, MA 02184

Services Offered: Charter & Contract (EZRide)

Chelsea

Address: 333 3rd Street, Chelsea, MA 02150

Services Offered: Charter & Contract (BU Shuttle & Logan Express Black Bay Shuttle

Corporate Headquarters

Address: 111 Paterson Ave, Hoboken, NJ 07030

Services Offered: N/A (office)

Body Rite

Address: 57 County Ave, Secaucus, NJ 07094

Services Offered: Body Shop, Charter & Contract (Newark Airport)

Hackensack Garage

Address: 600 River St., Hackensack, NJ 07601

Services Offered: NJ Transit

Hoboken

Address: 1515 Jefferson St, Hoboken, NJ 07030

Services Offered: Scheduled, Charter & Contract (NYU Shuttle, Columbia University Shuttle, Newark Airport)

Leonardo

Address: 890 State Route 36, Leonardo, NJ 07737

Services Offered: Scheduled, Charter & Contract (NJ Transit)

Newark Airport

Address: 620 Division Street, Suite J, Elizabeth, NJ 07201

Services Offered: N/A (office)

Perth Amboy

Address: 440 Florida Grove Rd, Perth Amboy, NJ 08861, USA

Services Offered: Charter & Contract (Rutgers Campus Buses)

Toms River

Address: 2253 Route 9, Toms River, NJ 08755

Services Offered: Scheduled, Charter & Contract (NJ Transit)

Westhampton

Address: 6 Western Drive, Westampton, NJ 08060

Services Offered: Scheduled, Charter & Contract (NJ Transit)

Charlotte

Address: 1251 W. Craighead Road, Charlotte, NC 28206

Services Offered: Charter & Contract (Niner Transit)

Durham

Address: 2020 South Briggs Ave, Durham, NC 27703

Services Offered: Charter

West Warwick

Address: 76 Industrial Lane, West Warwick, RI 02893

Services Offered: Charter

Bristow

Address: 7920 Gainsford Court, Bristow, VA 20136

Services Offered: Charter

Norfolk

Address: 33141 Azalea Garden Rd, Norfolk, VA 23513

Services Offered: Charter

Richmond

Address: 915 N. Allen Avenue, Richmond, VA 23220

Services Offered: Charter

From Wikipedia’s article on Academy Bus Lines, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4

Timeline

  1. 1968Founded Founded1

Sources

The numbers on this page point here. Each one links to the record it came from.

  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4
  5. 5