FYI from MCI™

Ontario operator celebrates 30 years with MCI

When Cherrey Bus Lines of Drayton, Ontario, bought its first new MCI, an MC8, in December 1976, founder Alva Cherrey was just beginning to expand beyond the school bus business that was started in 1947. Today, Cherrey Bus Lines travels throughout North America, commanding a fleet of 20 tour and charter coaches — and all but one of them are MCIs.

Allan Cherrey, who operates the company with his brothers Larry and Ron, remembers that first MC8 well. "It was a family event," he says of the Cherrey outing to Winnipeg, where he, his wife and his parents took the first of many plant tours. "It was an excellent bus," says Cherrey, recalling that it served the company for about 10 years.

Cherrey Bus Lines went on to become the first operator in Ontario to take delivery of an MC9 — Allan Cherrey remembers that the coach was so popular, there was a 30-month waiting list. Cherrey was also among the first to take delivery of a 102EL3 and has steadily added a mix of new and pre-owned coaches over the years.

Today's Cherrey fleet is mostly a mix of late-model D-Series coaches, EL3s and J4500s, though there remains one 1984 MC9 that's still going strong with a couple million miles on the odometer. Some of its coaches even feature drivers' bunks so that the coaches can cover more distance with fewer breaks. "We're proud of our MCI family and how well we've been served with service and parts," says Cherrey, who is also chairman of the Ontario Motor Coach Association. "It's kept us an MCI company."

Allan, Larry and Ron all trained as mechanics before taking the reins in the family business, qualifications that makes Cherrey Bus Lines especially valuable on MCI's Maintenance Council, a select group of operators that MCI relies on for in-depth customer feedback on technological and other issues. Cherrey Bus Lines employs 35 people full-time with an additional 25 drivers, tour escorts and other part-timers. The company has grown to include a facility in Stratford, Ontario, that also services as a Greyhound depot, and three travel agencies: Robin Hood Tours, Maxey Travel and CBL Tours. Their maintenance facility is big enough that it does repairs for other operators — and Cherrey also says the company has been well served by MCI's Emergency Roadside Assistance service.

Allan Cherrey clearly values his ties throughout the industry, including the bonds he's made at MCI. "We've made a lot of friends, and we thank many of them for our success. It's the same with MCI — it's like a family.  Part of success is being part of a larger picture."

Cherrey's goals? "To keep growing and upgrading our fleet. MCI is a very good product. It's done very well for us."

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