You can ride in a luxury bus from Nashville to Memphis starting this spring
A new transportation option is launching between Nashville and Memphis.
Vonlane, a luxury motor-coach service with routes in the Southern U.S., announced Monday it would offer a new daily route between the two Tennessee cities beginning May 26.
The Texas-based transportation company also operates a route between Nashville and Atlanta in addition to several routes within Texas.
“Our goal is to provide travelers (with) an alternative to the hassle of driving their own vehicle,” founder and CEO Alex Danza said in a news release. “We are pleased to expand our Southeast presence, and we know leisure travelers love the luxurious, first-class travel experience that we offer, and our business travelers know they can work in a quiet, comfortable environment and bill their travel time.”
One-way fare is set at $109 and roundtrip service costs $218. The service offers a leather seat, complimentary Wi-Fi and an on-board attendant offering snacks, meals and beverages.
Growing list of transportation companies offer luxury bus travel
Launched in 2014, Vonlane is one in a growing class of luxury and sleeper coach services making headway in the United States. Bus travel, even luxury offerings, are commonplace in South America and Europe, where brands like RedCoach have been offering services at multiple price points for decades.
In recent years, bus service in the U.S. has gained momentum with more competitors in the market. The Jet offers comfortable business-class service from New York City to Washington, D.C., while Napaway offers an almost daily overnight trip from Washington, D.C. to Nashville.
Each of the fledgling bus companies offers some kind of niche patented perk. Think: motion-canceling technology or custom memory foam mattresses. But almost all of them market to a customer who doesn't want to fly for one reason or another.
“Today, there are zero nonstop flights between Memphis and Nashville, and the shortest connecting flight is more than three hours, plus the time passengers spend waiting at the airport,” Danza said.
“With our service, you arrive 15 minutes before departure, board the coach, put your feet up, pull out your book or laptop, and we are on the way to your destination, and it beats driving your own vehicle and losing productivity sitting behind the wheel in traffic.”
Vonlane trip frequency
Memphis to Nashville
Monday, Thursday, Friday: 6 a.m., 10 a.m., 2 p.m., 6 p.m.
Tuesday: 10 a.m., 6 p.m.
Wednesday: 6 a.m., 2 p.m.
Saturday, Sunday: 10 a.m., 2 p.m.
Nashville to Memphis
Monday, Thursday, Friday: 6 a.m., 10 a.m., 2 p.m., 6 p.m.
Tuesday: 6 a.m., 2 p.m.
Wednesday: 10 a.m., 6 p.m.
Saturday, Sunday: 10 a.m., 2 p.m.
Passengers on the outgoing coach from Memphis to Nashville board at the Hilton Memphis, 939 Ridge Lake Blvd., and arrive at the Omni Nashville Hotel, 250 Rep. John Lewis Way S.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Vonlane, luxury bus service, launches Memphis to Nashville route
