Megabus.com will offer 29 daily departures from its arrival and departure location on the south side of John F. Kennedy Boulevard, near North 30th Street and the west entrance to the 30th Street Station.

“Popularity in bus travel continues to rise as travelers search for economical options and quality service,” said Dale Moser, president and COO of megabus.com. “The great travel values offered by megabus.com provide a real opportunity for Philadelphia residents to travel frequently and do more at their final destinations; catch a game, visit friends and family, take an inexpensive working business trip or plan weekend getaways.”

Megabus.com, a subsidiary of Coach USA, launched in April 2006 and has served more than 5 million travelers. In addition to low fares, megabus.com offers customers high-value including environmentally-friendly, 81-seat double-decker buses, free Wi-Fi, power outlets and restrooms. Customers are encouraged to book early to secure fares from $1.

“We are thrilled megabus.com continues to find success in this region and has selected Philadelphia as their second Northeast hub,” said Jack Ferguson, executive vice president/incoming president, Philadelphia Convention & Visitors Bureau. “These new routes will definitely be of interest to travelers who have been looking for easy and cost-effective ways to explore this part of the United States. Philadelphia will become a hub-and-spoke city for travelers to start and end their holidays and vacations while exploring the Northeast.”

“Additional megabus.com service adds to the accessibility of the Greater Philadelphia region—a destination that is within a five-hour ride for 25 percent of the U.S. population,” said Meryl Levitz, president and CEO of the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation. “The affordability of megabus.com makes it a popular mode of transportation, especially for young, tech-savvy travelers. And, with pick-up and drop-off located downtown at Philadelphia’s 30th Street Station, travelers have easy access to other transportation systems including Amtrak and SEPTA, or a close walk to University City and Center City.”

Visit www.megabus.com for additional information about service, schedules, arrival and departure times and fares.

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Megabus.com high-resolution and broadcast-quality content for download:
NE DD b-roll - http://www.hanser.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/ne-dd-broll.wmv
Double-deck photos - http://www.hanser.com/2009/news/northeast-photos/

About megabus.com
Megabus.com is the first intercity, express bus line dedicated to bringing high-quality, low-cost travel options to 19 Midwest cities and 14 Northeast cities for as low as $1 via the Internet. Service for megabus.com operates daily. Fares shown are one-way and include all government taxes. Since its launch on April 10, 2006, megabus.com has served more than 5 million travelers. Northeast cities now served by megabus.com include: Albany, Atlantic City, Baltimore, Boston, Buffalo, Harrisburg, New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Rochester, State College, Syracuse, Toronto and Washington D.C. Midwest cities now served by megabus.com include: Ann Arbor, Bloomington-Normal, Chicago, Champaign, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbia, Columbus, Des Moines, Detroit, Indianapolis, Iowa City, Kansas City, Madison, Memphis, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, St. Louis and Toledo. Visit www.megabus.com for additional service routes to and from the listed cities.

Chicago-based megabus.com is a subsidiary of Coach USA. Paramus, N.J.-based Coach USA owns and operates more than 20 local companies in North America, some that have been in business for more than 70 years, which operate scheduled bus routes, airport transportation, motor coach tours, charters and city sightseeing tours.

Megabus.com will offer four daily departures from its arrival and departure location at pole 23 in the southeast corner of the Harrisburg Mall parking lot. This is the corner closest to the intersection of PA Route 441 and Friendship Rd.

“Popularity in bus travel continues to rise as travelers search for economical options and quality service,” said Dale Moser, president and COO of megabus.com. “The great travel values offered by megabus.com provide a real opportunity for Harrisburg residents to travel frequently and do more at their final destinations; catch a game, visit friends and family, take an inexpensive working business trip or plan weekend getaways.”

Megabus.com, a subsidiary of Coach USA, launched in April 2006 and has served more than 5 million travelers. In addition to low fares, megabus.com offers customers high-value including environmentally-friendly, 56-seat single-deck buses, free Wi-Fi, power outlets and restrooms.

Customers are encouraged to book early to secure fares from $1.

Visit www.megabus.com for additional information about the service, schedules, arrival and departure times and fares.

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Megabus.com high-resolution and broadcast-quality content for download:
B-roll link:
http://www.hanser.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/b-roll.wmv
Photo links:
http://www.hanser.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/megabus_com_skyline.jpg
http://www.hanser.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/megabus_com_side_leaving.jpg
http://www.hanser.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/megabus_com_side_approaching.jpg

About megabus.com
Megabus.com is the first intercity, express bus line dedicated to bringing high-quality, low-cost travel options to 19 Midwest cities and 14 Northeast cities for as low as $1 via the Internet. Service for megabus.com operates daily. Fares shown are one-way and include all government taxes. Since its launch on April 10, 2006, megabus.com has served more than 5 million travelers. Northeast cities now served by megabus.com include: Albany, Atlantic City, Baltimore, Boston, Buffalo, Harrisburg, New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Rochester, State College, Syracuse, Toronto and Washington D.C. Midwest cities now served by megabus.com include: Ann Arbor, Bloomington-Normal, Chicago, Champaign, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbia, Columbus, Des Moines, Detroit, Indianapolis, Iowa City, Kansas City, Madison, Memphis, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, St. Louis and Toledo. Visit www.megabus.com for additional service routes to and from the listed cities.

Chicago-based megabus.com is a subsidiary of Coach USA. Paramus, N.J.-based Coach USA owns and operates more than 20 local companies in North America, some that have been in business for more than 70 years, which operate scheduled bus routes, airport transportation, motor coach tours, charters and city sightseeing tours.

The 3-day “Iowa-PHMSA Pipeline Safety Education Conference” in West Des Moine was hosted by Iowa Utilities Board.

Ron’s presentation – “Public Awareness in 2010; Effective, affordable & easy communications strategies” – outlined message development for the pipeline industry, and the integration of public relations, Email, social media and more.

Questions? Call Ron at 515-224-1086 or email to rhanser@hanser.com.

• Case study on social media: customers’ voice creates growth
• PRspective: BP’s trouble is not about public relations
• Awards: “Best PR” photo in Times Square; 11 awards
• Three new clients

Today, the Telly is one of the most sought-after awards by industry leaders, from large international firms to local production companies and ad agencies. With over 200 categories, more organizations than ever are eligible to participate.

Click on the following link for more information and to view a list of winners by category: http://www.tellyawards.com/winners/

First, do the right thing. Act as required to fix problems quickly. Take the additional actions required to mitigate damages. Do yet more work to ensure that the problem will not happen again.

Then, talk about it. Sure, communicate while acting, but communicate in support of action. Efforts to distract, distort or do anything other than directly and contritely fix it will fail.

Reputation is often forged by crisis – behavior in the face of adversity. Communication is important, but people want to see actions.

Instead, we’re seeing ineffective action *and* poor communication.

Consider that BP’s response plan has been denounced as ’severely flawed’ and says “No statement shall be made containing … promises that property, ecology or anything else will be restored to normal…” (note the recent national advertising promising to ‘make this right’). And the company is restricting access and buying attention. Meanwhile, the scope of the problem continues to grow — 55 days and counting today.

What do you think of BP’s action and communication in the wake of the spill? How would you handle it?

We can cut this data for your industry/company, too. Just ask!

Awards received include:

1)    Megabus.com “Planes, Trains… and Buses” (Award of Excellence in Newspaper Placement category)

2)    Megabus.com “Mega Hot Sale” (Award of Distinction in Low Budget Video category)

3)    Metalcraft  “RFID Case Study” (Award of Distinction in Other category)

The Awards of Excellence, the highest honor, is given to entries whose ability to communicate put them among the best in the field.  The Award of Distinction is presented for projects that exceed industry standards in quality and achievement.

The Communicator Awards is sanctioned and judged by the International Academy of the Visual Arts, an invitation-only body consisting of top-tier professionals from a “Who’s Who” of acclaimed media, communications, advertising, creative and marketing firms.

Check out this year’s winners at www.communicatorawards.com.

Lee Levitt, a visionary champion of the public relations profession for more than 50 years, passed away May 19 at the age of 80.

He was a student (and “professor”) of the history of public relations.  For example, he often stated that one of the earliest successful PR campaigns was implemented by Roman emperor Alexander the Great, whose rise to power was fueled by assuring that news of his far-flung military victories reached “headquarters” and was disseminated throughout the Roman Empire.

Lee started a PR firm in the early 1950s.

With the advent of business computing, he saw the opportunity for the “new tool” to revolutionize the placement of press releases.  In 1957, Lee co-founded PR Aids (later rebranded as PRA) which offered a new concept for mass distribution of press releases. PRA became one of the world’s largest PR service organizations.

Following the advent of laptop computers, he was never without his trademark shoulder bag, making him one of the first to demonstrate the advantages of using portable technology.

Lee also became one of the top experts on forging productive international (he used the term “transnational”) business relationships through PR campaigns.

More info in PRWeek

This week the public relations profession – and industry – pause for a moment to remember Betsy Plank, one of the trailblazers and pillars of our profession. She passed away yesterday (May 23) at the age of 86, after mentored hundreds of fellow PR professionals.

I met Betsy 20 years ago at a national Public Relations Society of America conference when she was an energetic 65-year-old; we discussed education/internships for the next generation of PR professionals. 

During Betsy’s six decades in PR, she marked many “firsts” including roles as:

- Co-chair (in 1967) of a national commission to develop guidelines for the undergraduate public relations curriculum.

- First woman exec to head a division of Illinois Bell (AT&T).

- First woman elected national president of PRSA.   

In her 2002 acceptance remarks upon becoming the first woman to receive the Institute for Public Relations’ Alexander Hamilton Award, Betsy said,

“In my philosophy, public relations is fundamental to a democratic society where people make decisions in the workplace, marketplace, the community and the voting booth.  Its primary mission is to forge responsible relationships of understanding, trust and respect among groups and individuals – even when they disagree!”

More info recognizing Betsy’s achievements is posted on the PRSA website.