Klein expands its bus service to NYC
Expands service from Berks and Lehigh counties
MUHLENBERG TOWNSHIP >> Sporting a purple cap and stylish sunglasses, Albright College sophomore Hoe Kei Choi was ready to travel to the Big Apple.
“I love New York,” Choi said, as she waited Friday afternoon for a Klein Transportation bus in the parking lot of the Fairgrounds Square Mall in Muhlenberg Township. “We are going to the fashion district. New York has the best restaurants. The bus is great. It’s so convenient.”
Choi, 19, a sophomore, and her friend Mi Zuki Ino, 19, a freshman, arrived early for the 2:35 p.m. bus to New York. They got a ride from a friend at Albright College, about a five-minute drive to the Fairgrounds lot on the Fifth Street Highway.
While there is no official Klein bus stop in the mall parking lot, the regular users know its location: the parking lot between Boscov’s North and the Wells Fargo Bank.
Shortly after Berks County’s longtime regional bus service, Bieber Tourways, went out of business in February, Klein Transportation, based in Douglassville, Amity Township, began providing regular bus trips
to New York City.
The regular New York trips are a new addition to Klein Transportation’s business of providing chartered tour buses and student transportation services.
The daily New York bus trips began with two bus rides daily to and from New York City with stops in Amity and Muhlenberg townships, and Kutztown in Berks County, and Wescosville and Hellertown in Lehigh County. In New York City, the bus drops off passengers at 369 Park Ave. and picks them up at 51 Madison Ave.
As a result of an increase in demand for seats on the New York buses, a third bus has been added on Fridays and Sundays.
On holiday weekends, including this Columbus Day weekend, a fourth bus was added on Friday, Monday
and Tuesday.
Klein Transportation hopes to open a bus stop in Reading, according to Alison Klein Sherman, vice president of Klein Transportation.
A location has not yet been determined, Sherman said.
While waiting for the bus Friday afternoon, Choi and Ino, both of China, said they discovered the bus to New York by researching online.
“I don’t have a car, and I love big cities,” Choi said.
Choi said she rode on the Clydesdale bus last year to Philadelphia.
In March, Exeter Township entrepreneur Derek Sheldon started Clydesdale Bus Line, providing a 14-passenger van to Philadelphia, with stops in Reading, Kutztown, Wescosville and other locations. In August, Sheldon said he put the business up for sale because he became ill. Sheldon said Monday that the company was sold. The new owner, Joel Azumah, said in an email Monday that he plans to resume bus service from Reading to Philadelphia in mid-November.
On Friday afternoon, when the Klein bus pulled into the fairgrounds parking lot, about a dozen people emerged from parked cars.
Exeter Township residents Seth Dowell, 21, and Ashley Rodriguez, 15, were among those waiting.
The two were going to Rolling Loud, a music festival in Brooklyn. They were staying in a relative’s apartment.
Myrta Rodriguez, 74, their grandmother, dropped them off.
“They love to go to concerts,” Myrta Rodriguez said. “When they go to concerts in Philadelphia, they take a train from Lancaster. We need more transportation.”
The Klein bus keeps to a regular schedule.
Sherman said the bus service will provide as many buses to New York as necessary to meet the needs of the Berks County community.
Each bus has 56 seats, and includes free WiFi, electric outlets, a water bottle and luggage space. The tickets cost between $21 and $34. Tickets are purchased in advance on the web at ourbus.com.
“We have more people traveling to New York on weekends to see family members,” Sherman said. “Fridays and Sundays are the busy days. There are also some regular commuters.”
Sherman said most of the business commuters are from Lehigh County, which is closer to New York.
Keeping to the schedule, at 9:30 a.m. Friday, the bus pulled into the mall lot.
Anh Le, 23, who lives in Brooklyn, got off the bus to visit family here.
“My family moved to Reading when I was in college,” she said. “I’ve been taking the Klein bus home for three months. It’s very comfy. It costs $34 each way. This has worked out great.”
Le said she occasionally meets people on the bus who travel regularly.
“Sometimes, it’s packed,” Le said.
Joan Brennan, 63, of West Reading got off the bus after a week-long visit with her daughter, who lives in New York.
“It’s a great ride,” Brennan said as she was waiting for an Uber ride home. “New York is awesome.”
Brennan said a bus stop in Reading would be an excellent addition.
“There are a lot of people in Reading who could really use a bus stop,” she said.