Van Galder Bus Company

Van Galder Bus Company

Van Galder motorcoach in downtown Chicago
Parent	Coach USA
Founded	1947 [1]
Headquarters	715 South Pearl Street
Locale	Janesville, Wisconsin
Destinations	Madison and Janesville, Wisconsin, South Beloit and Rockford, Illinois to Chicago (O'Hare, Union Station)
Fleet	150 [2]
Operator	Sam Van Galder Inc.
Chief executive	Allen Fugate
Website	at Coach USA

Van Galder Bus Company, legally Sam Van Galder, Inc. is a regional bus service headquartered in Janesville, Wisconsin. A subsidiary of Coach USA, the company had been a family-owned business for over 50 years until it was sold in 1999 to the Stagecoach Group, who retained Stephen Van Galder as president under the Coach USA banner. In 2004, Van Galder acquired Rockford Coach Lines, which provided airport service from Rockford to O'Hare, from Greyhound Lines. ^[3]

The company operates school buses for the Janesville School district, coach and school bus charters, tour and travel excursions, daily airport shuttles, Amtrak Thruway service to downtown Chicago, and the only intercity service on the I-39/90 corridor. ^[1] The company has bus terminals in Janesville and Rockford. It picks up curbside in Madison on North Lake Street and at the Dutch Mill Park and Ride and has two pick-ups in Rockford, one on Walton Street for O'Hare customers and one on N. Lyford Street for downtown Chicago customers. However, all buses currently only stop at the Rockford terminal on Walton Street. Service to Chicago Midway Airport was suspended March 17, 2020, and there are no plans to reinstate it.

In September, 2009, the company started double-decker bus service on the route between Madison and downtown Chicago. ^{[4] [5]}

In June 2024, Coach USA filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, blaming corporate impact caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The company has plans to sell its assets, and plans to sell its Megabus subsidiaries (including Van Galder) to Bus Company Holdings, a unit of the Renco Group. ^[6]

Route

As of August 2025, Van Galder operates regularly scheduled service between University of Wisconsin–Madison and Chicago Union Station in different patterns serving the following stops: ^[7]

State/Province	Town/City	Station	Connections
Wisconsin	Madison	North Lake Street near University of Wisconsin-Madison	Metro Transit, Greyhound, Jefferson Lines
		Dutch Mill Park & Ride off the West Beltline Highway and Stoughton Road (Highway 51)	Metro Transit, Greyhound, Jefferson Lines
	Janesville	Janesville Terminal off I-39/90 and Highway 14	Janesville Transit System, Wisconsin Coach Lines
Illinois	South Beloit	Fas Mart/McDonald's on southeast corner of I-39/90 and Highway 75	Beloit Transit
	Rockford	Rockford Terminal off State Street (U.S. Route 20 Business)
	Chicago	O'Hare International Airport - Terminal 1/2/3	CTA Blue Line, Airport Transit System
		O'Hare International Airport - Terminal 5	Airport Transit System
		Chicago Union Station	Amtrak, Metra, Pace, CTA buses, Chicago "L", Greyhound

References

1. Coach USA, Van Galder - about us
2. The Business Journal: Rising diesel costs force industry changes
3. "Stagecoach Group PLC and Coach USA, Inc., et al.-Acquisition and Consolidation of Assets-Rockford Coach Lines, L.L.C." Federal Register. May 14, 2004. Retrieved October 16, 2019.
4. Karen Rivedal (September 9, 2009). "Van Galder to start double-decker bus service in Madison". Wisconsin State Journal. Retrieved October 3, 2009.
5. "Chicago Airport Shuttle Bus Schedules". www.govangalder.com. Retrieved September 21, 2018.
6. "Coach USA files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in Delaware". Bloomberg Law. June 11, 2024. Retrieved June 11, 2024.
7. "Coach USA | Airport Transportation | Van Galder | Bus Schedule". www.coachusa.com. Archived from the original on November 11, 2024. Retrieved November 7, 2025.

External links

• Van Galder Bus Company at Coach USA website