Abstract
This article looks at intercity bus transportation's ability to provide small communities and rural areas with affordable travel and access to the goods and services of metropolitan areas. It also describes the intermodal role of intercity bus service. Integral to the nation's surface transportation network, rural intercity bus services have been developing mostly at the state level with federal rural assistance funding. A range of strategies has been employed to initiate, preserve, and enhance effective rural intercity bus links with other carriers, Amtrak and regional rail, rural feeder lines, local urban transit, and major airports.