Charters

Village Travel Acquires Kincaid Coach

On April 4, Village Travel agreed to purchase the assets and business of Kincaid Coach Lines. Kincaid began in the charter bus business back in 1977 in the Kansas City area. They grew to have locations in Wichita, Oklahoma City, Tulsa, Amarillo, Siloam Springs, and Panama Beach, Florida. Kincaid went on a dramatic growth spree in 2015 and even acquired Red Carpet Charters (OKC, Tulsa, and Dallas locations) in 2018. Before the pandemic, they ran over 80 coaches and thousands of school buses as the country’s largest Thomas school bus dealer.

During the pandemic, Kincaid shifted from the charter coach business to focus on their school bus and other business ventures. They contracted their fleet and shuttered all locations except Oklahoma City and Tulsa. At the time of the acquisition, Kincaid operated 23 units out of these two locations. Several older coaches had been parked and out of service since 2020, and those units were all sold.
So what does this mean for Village? After consolidating their business with ours, Kincaid’s coaches were absorbed into our OKC and Tulsa fleets.

In preparation for future growth, 10 acres of land was purchased last year in Oklahoma City for a new facility. Due to this Kincaid purchase, we have accelerated plans to construct a new terminal located west of the intersection of I-35 and I-44, only about a mile from our current OKC location.
It’s an exciting time to grow! Fifteen years ago, we had seven coaches in Oklahoma City and none in Tulsa – now, we are the clear market leader in both locations, with more than 65 coaches in Oklahoma.


Transportation for Medical Workers in Texas

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Village Travel has been providing transportation for medical first responders in high-risk areas. First, in New York City for more than 3 months as they battled rising COVID numbers. Now, our business has moved to southern Texas. KAKE News, in Wichita, did a feature story on our work in Texas.

“This job has certainly helped the Village drivers and the company as well. It has come at a great time and at a time that we needed it,” said Rusty Handy, General Manager of the Village Travel OKC Office.

There are currently 52 coaches throughout Texas, providing transportation for medical first responders. Our fleet consists of more than 125 seated coaches. We have drivers from all of our locations (in Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Arkansas) who have volunteered to be part of this important mission.

“Village was fortunate enough to be able to answer the call to move large numbers of medical personnel,” said Handy.

Our country has typically relied on the charter bus industry to move large numbers of people. Normally, the crisis is a hurricane or flooding, but this time it is a pandemic.

Providing paying jobs for employees to support their families and helping in the fight against COVID makes all the difference.

“There’s no better feeling than knowing that every day your efforts are helping those that are in need, down in Texas,” said Handy.

KAKE News aired a video story on our Texas charter efforts, which you can watch here.

We are so proud of all our drivers who have sacrificed time away from home and their families to help out with this important cause. Want to learn more about our heros on the frontlines transporting medical workers? Several of our drivers have been featured by local news outlets!

  • Read about our Arkansas Driver, Gregg O’Bryan here.
  • Read about our Wichita Driver, Renee Moraine here.
  • Read about our Salina Driver, Richard Holmgren here.

Richard Holmgren “Giving Miles of Smiles” During NYC COVID-19 Charter

FROM SALINA JOURNAL IN SALINA, KS

Read the full article here.

Richard Holmgren, well known for his Flying Debris comedy and juggling shows, took his act to Broadway every morning and night for nearly 3 months, as a bus driver for nurses during the height of the COVID-19 crisis.

“They poured their heart and soul into it under stressful conditions,” said Holmgren, who is back home in Salina, where he completed a 14-day quarantine. “They worked 84 hours a week. They were exhausted when they got back on the bus and there was no hiding it.”

Holmgren was in Baltimore driving a bus of Fort Hays State students when the pandemic brought the country to a halt. He drove them back to Kansas and his employer at Village Travel called to say he had a possible job for Richard. That was good news, because during the pandemic his juggling shows and bus tours would be shut down.

The job was in New York transporting medical staff from around the country from hotels to hospitals and back. It was supposed to last three weeks to 45 days. Holmgren started April 1 and came home June 17. They must have liked his humor. Did they know he was a performer?

“They did,” admitted Holmgren, who juggles bowling balls and machetes, as part of his act. “I joke a lot. I brought my basketball and did some spinning, did some juggling, did all the tricks my mom said I would never need.”

On the Flying Debris Facebook page, there is a thank-you card from one of the Coney Island crew.

“Richard, you were so much more than our driver. You made us laugh when we had reasons to cry. Thank you for being a friend and a fantastic human being. You are an unforgettable part of our Coney crew and we love you. We were lucky to have you! Thank you!”

“I really had a good time with them all. They were fun to joke with,” said Holmgren, who has been performing since 1994.

Holmgren never felt he was part of history while he was in the pandemic epicenter that the world was watching on the news each day. And, he was a floater, so he went to all of the boroughs and many different hospitals. And, he experienced a different New York.

’I drove through a well-lit, but empty, Times Square four times a day,” Richard remembered. “Every evening at 7 p.m., there were the sounds of appreciation, people banging pots and pans, applause, singing, police and fire sirens.”

 

Continue reading on the Salina Journal website.