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 A Jefferson Lines bus in La Crosse, WI | |
| Founded | 1919; 106 years ago (1919) |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Minneapolis, Minnesota |
| Service area | North CentralUnited States |
| Service type | Intercity coach service |
| Alliance | Greyhound Lines |
| Chief executive | Steve Woelfel |
| Website | jeffersonlines |
Jefferson Lines (JL orJLI) is a regionalintercity bus company operating in 14 states in theMidwest and theWest of theUnited States.
The company is operated byJefferson Partners L.P., located inMinneapolis, Minnesota. Jefferson Partners also conductscharter bus service within Minneapolis and Billings for large group travel. The company is the second-largest bus company in theUnited States that operates from fixed stations.[1] Jefferson was founded in 1919 during the early days of motorcoach travel.[2] The company's name originates from theJefferson Highway, a north–south route in the earlyNational Auto Trail system that once ran fromWinnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, south toNew Orleans, Louisiana. Jefferson expanded south ofKansas City in 1966, when it purchased Crown Coach.[3]
By 1990, the company was believed to be the second-largest intercity bus company in the country after Continental Trailways was bought by Greyhound Lines.[4] Jefferson went through bankruptcy in 1990 and was sold to a group led by Norwest Equity Partners. Charlie Zelle acquired a majority of Norwest's stake in 1998.[5] Jefferson acquired the scheduled service of Jack Rabbit Lines in the Dakotas in 2000.[5]
Jefferson Lines was the defendant in a 1994Supreme Court case,Oklahoma Tax Commission v. Jefferson Lines. The state of Oklahoma filed a claim in Jefferson Lines' bankruptcy process, arguing that it was entitled to sales tax revenues on the full value of interstate bus tickets that were sold in Oklahoma. The court ruled in favor of the state, effectively overturning the precedent that it had set in 1948 inCentral Greyhound Lines, Inc. v. Mealy. TheCentral Greyhound Lines decision had allowed states to levy sales taxes on interstate bus tickets, but only on the value of the ticket proportional to the mileage traveled within that state.[6]
Intercity bus lines underwent many changes in the 2000s decade, afterGreyhound Lines entered bankruptcy and shed a number of its routes. Jefferson Lines has taken over operation of many former Greyhound routes and improved ridership significantly on some of them. The service to Winnipeg was cut back toGrand Forks, North Dakota, on October 7, 2010.[7]
On May 15, 2013, Jefferson Lines expanded its service to the MinnesotaIron Range, including toHibbing, where Greyhound Lines had been founded nearly a century earlier.[8] The company serves 13 states in 2018:[9]
According to the company website, Jefferson Lines has 210 employees, including roughly 100 drivers. Jefferson Lines is a member of the American Bus Association, the United Motorcoach Association, and the National Tour Association.[10] The company is reported to have 75 buses in its fleet.[11][1] Jefferson Lines was voted the best transportation company in Minnesota in 2021 in Minnesota's Best contest of theStar Tribune.[12]
Since 2004, some of the company's bus routes are subsidized by the state of Minnesota.[13]
Jefferson Lines was operating the following routes in September 2022. Only the termini of each route are shown.[14]
Steve Woelfel became president and CEO of Jefferson Lines in January 2013 after formerly serving as CFO of Jefferson Lines for eight years. Before his career at Jefferson, Woelfel was vice president and general manager of Fox Sports Net North.
Previous to Steve was Charlie Zelle. Charlie had been aninvestment banker inNew York City until returning to Minnesota in 1987 to take over the company from his late father, Louie. Due to poor real-estate investments, such as in theSt. Anthony Main project in Minneapolis, the company was in danger of foundering, but Zelle helped restructure the company underChapter 11 bankruptcy in 1989 and 1990.[4] The company was founded by Zelle's grandfather—Charlie Zelle marks the third generation of his family to work at Jefferson Lines. He owned 60% of the company as of 2010, with the remaining 40% owned by business partner Fred Kaiser of Texas.[1] As of 2011, Charlie Zelle was also chairman of the board of the Minneapolis Regional Chamber of Commerce.[15] In 2012, Charlie was appointed Commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Transportation. Upon beginning his new position in January 2013, Zelle withdrew as a Jefferson employee with any management authority while remaining as the Chair of the Jefferson Lines Board of Directors. He is recused from matters associated with MnDOT and Jefferson Lines relationships.[16]
