
The awards are the first of their kind to recognize and honor the quality of service that bus and train companies have provided to travelers across North America.
Wanderu, the leading bus and train travel booking platform in North America, has announced the winners and honorees in the inaugural edition of the Wanderu Passengers’ Choice Awards for Excellence in Ground Travel.
The awards highlight the bus and train companies that offered the absolute best service to travelers between January and December 2021. The winners and honorees are based on the reviews that Wanderu users have provided after completing a bus or train trip in the United States or Canada at any point during that period. These reviews include multiple detailed aspects of each passenger’s experience, as well as ratings of the ground travel provider’s performance from 1 to 5 stars in several categories.
See the complete list of winners & honorees below and at www.wanderu.com/awards.
“We launched the Wanderu Passengers’ Choice Awards because we wanted to acknowledge and celebrate the incredible work that bus and train carriers have done to keep people traveling safely and comfortably during one of the most challenging years for the travel industry in recent history,” said Polina Raygorodskaya, co-founder and CEO of Wanderu. “The past two years have been particularly tough for ground travel providers, and we believe that those that were able to not only pull through the hard times but also continuously provide passengers with services of exceptional quality deserve special recognition.”
The Wanderu Passengers’ Choice Awards are divided into four main groups, each containing several categories recognizing the various aspects of a passenger’s experience:
- Best of the Best – The top ground travel providers in the United States & Canada.
- Best by Feature – Carriers that offer the industry’s best value, safety, Wi-Fi, COVID-19 protective measures, and other amenities.
- Best by Passenger Type – The favorite carriers of different kinds of travelers – from students to business professionals.
- Best by Region – The top bus & train carriers in each region of the United States.
Best of the Best
Best Ground Travel Provider in the U.S.
1. Amtrak
2. Vamoose Bus & Concord Coach (TIE)
3. Sprinter Bus
4. BestBus
5. Adirondack Trailways
Best Ground Travel Provider in Canada
1. The Canada Bus
2. ebus
3. VIA Rail
4. Ontario Northland
5. Cold Shot Bus
Best Bus Service in the U.S.
1. Vamoose Bus & Concord Coach (TIE)
2. Sprinter Bus
3. Best Bus
4. Adirondack Trailways
5. GoBuses
Best Train Line in the U.S.
1. Amtrak Pere Marquette & Amtrak Ethan Allen Express (TIE)
2. Amtrak Heartland Flyer
3. Amtrak Hiawatha
4. Amtrak Saluki & Amtrak Capitol Corridor (TIE)
5. Amtrak Keystone Service
Best by Feature
Most Helpful Crew
1. The Canada Bus
2. Concord Coach
3. Amtrak
4. Ebus
5. Vamoose, Burlington Trailways, Fullington Trailways & Via Rail (TIE)
Most Comfortable Seats
1. Amtrak
2. The Canada Bus
3. C&J
4. BestBus Prime
5. Concord Coach Lines
Best Value Service
1. The Canada Bus
2. Southeastern Stages & Concord Coach Lines (TIE)
3. Sprinter Bus
4. Jet Set Express
5. Barons Bus & Go Buses (TIE)
Best On-Time Performance
1. Martz Trailways & Concord Coach Lines (TIE)
2. Amtrak
3. Vamoose & Cold Shot Bus (TIE)
4. Adirondack Trailways
5. Jet Set Express
Best Quality Vehicles
1. Concord Coach Bus Lines & C&J (TIE)
2. Amtrak
3. Sprinter
4. BestBus Prime
5. Vamoose
Best Wi-Fi
1. Amtrak
2. Concord Coach Lines & Burlington Trailways (TIE)
3. Ontario Northland & BestBus (TIE)
4. Sprinter & Barons Bus (TIE)
5. Via Rail
Best COVID-19 Safety Measures
1. The Canada Bus
2. Amtrak
3. C&J
4. Via Rail & Burlington Trailways (TIE)
5. Concord Coach & Vamoose (TIE)
Best by Passenger Type
Commuters’ Favorite
1. BestBus
2. Amtrak
3. Adirondack Trailways
4. Concord Coach & Barons Bus (TIE)
5. Go Buses & VIA Rail (TIE)
Business Travelers’ Favorite
1. Amtrak & Barons Bus (TIE)
2. New York Trailways
3. Jefferson Lines
4. Ourbus
5. Peter Pan Bus Lines
Students’ Favorite
1. BestBus
2. Go Buses & Amtrak (TIE)
3. Ourbus
4. Greyhound
5. Peter Pan Bus Lines
Best by Region
Best Ground Travel Provider in New England
1. Concord Coach Lines
2. C&J Bus Lines
3. Amtrak Downeaster
4. Amtrak Northeast Regional
5. Amtrak Vermonter
Best Ground Travel Provider in the Mid-Atlantic
1. Amtrak Ethan Allen Express & Amtrak Thruway (TIE)
2. Vamoose
3. Amtrak Vermonter and Acela (TIE)
Best Ground Travel Provider in the Southeast
1. Amtrak City of New Orleans
2. Amtrak Piedmont
3. Southeastern Stages
4. Amtrak Crescent & Jet Set Express (TIE)
Best Ground Travel Provider in the Southwest
1. RedCoach
2. Amtrak Heartland Flyer
3. Amtrak Thruway
4. Amtrak Southwest Chief
5. Tornado Bus Company
Best Ground Travel Provider in the Midwest
1. Amtrak Pere Marquette
2. Amtrak Hiawatha & Amtrak Saluki (TIE)
3. OurBus & Burlington Trailways (TIE)
Best Ground Travel Provider in the West
1. Amtrak Capitol Corridor
2. Amtrak San Joaquins
3. Amtrak Thruway
4. Amtrak Empire Builder
5. Amtrak Pacific Surfliner
National rail provider Amtrak came out on top as the winner in the Best Ground Travel Provider in the U.S. category. Amtrak snagged the top honors in three other categories and ranked in the top 5 for six more. In addition, 19 of the train provider’s regional lines were prominently featured in several of the Best by Region categories.
“We are honored to receive these accolades as we work hard every day to make Amtrak the smarter and safer way to travel,” said Amtrak’s Vice President of Marketing Kerry McKelvey. “Our workforce has continually gone above and beyond to maintain an efficient, high-level of quality passenger rail service during the pandemic and it is encouraging to know that it has not gone unnoticed in the industry and by our customers.”
Two carriers were tied for the #1 spot in the Best Bus Service in the United States category – Concord Coach Lines and Vamoose Bus. Concord Coach Lines also snagged the top spots in the Best On-Time Performance, Best Quality Vehicles and Best Ground Travel Provider in New England categories, while Vamoose Bus was featured in the top 5 for Most Helpful Crew and Best COVID-19 Safety Measures categories, among others.
“Being recognized as one of the best bus lines in the country is incredibly gratifying for all of us at Concord Coach Lines,” said Benjamin Blunt, Vice President at Concord Coach Lines. “Our maintenance, safety professionals, operations, facilities and administrative staff, and incredible drivers work together to execute every trip. This award is an enormous credit to the efforts of every person across the entire organization. As more people look for opportunities to reconnect with the world, we look forward to bringing the same degree of service and professionalism that travelers have come to expect from Concord Coach Lines.”
“We are extremely grateful to our long-time partner Wanderu for launching the Passengers’ Choice Awards,” said Vamoose Bus COO Zalmen Bluzenstein. “This is a wonderful way to give travelers the opportunity to recognize the hard work done by our staff in meeting our customer satisfaction goals. At Vamoose Bus, we pride ourselves in providing a hassle-free experience to our passengers, and an award of this kind further motivates us to maintain a culture where each and every customer’s needs are met beyond their expectations.”
In recognition of their success, all winners and honorees will receive a Wanderu badge for their website and an award certificate to show travelers that they have been formally recognized as one of the top ground travel providers in North America.
Wanderu plans to make the Passengers’ Choice Awards for Excellence in Ground Travel an annual event to keep travelers informed on the best ground travel options available and encourage bus and train carriers to continue providing top-quality service.
About Wanderu
Wanderu is the simplest way to book bus and train travel. Either online at Wanderu.com or through the free Wanderu app for iOS and Android, travelers can find, compare and book tickets for the most convenient and cost-effective itineraries across numerous bus and train lines in North America and Europe.
Wanderu’s partners include some of the largest ground travel companies in the world, including Amtrak, Greyhound, Peter Pan Bus Lines, Deutsche Bahn, VIA Rail Canada, National Express, FlixBus, and Trailways of New York, among many others.
For more information, visit www.wanderu.com and follow Wanderu on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
For inquiries, please reach out to us at [email protected].
For photos of the Wanderu team and products, please visit our Press Images Directory.