A once much-heralded, then canceled, bus service from Chicago to the Quad Cities and beyond is returning.

On Tuesday Megabus announced that it has teamed up with Windstar Lines to bring back service between Nebraska, Iowa and Chicago. The company is also celebrating the launch by offering 500 seats for $1 in the first week of service.

“Many of our customers were understandably disappointed with our decision to exit the Iowa and Nebraska markets earlier this year. Windstar Lines is a solid operator with a strong history in the Iowa and Nebraska region. We are delighted to have the opportunity to work together and bring Iowa and Nebraska back to the megabus.com network.” said Colm Lynch, Vice President of Retail for Megabus.com.

The new service will begin on March 1, with one service daily in both directions and additional service on weekends/holidays as needed. The cities that will be served are: Lincoln, NE, Omaha, NE, Des Moines, IA, Iowa City (Coralville), IA, Moline, IL and Chicago, IL. This will also be the first time that Lincoln, NE and Moline, IL have been offered through megabus.com.

“Windstar Lines is excited to fill the gap left by megabus.com. We have a relationship with megabus.com that spans several years providing operational support and we look forward to building on that experience to provide safe affordable travel for our communities,” said Jeff Greteman, President of Windstar Lines.

Windstar Lines will manage the operations of the service, using Windstar Lines buses with WiFi and Power Outlets and megabus.com will manage the retail aspect of it, including ticket sales and customer services. Service starts on March 1 and tickets can be booked here.

ABOUT MEGABUS.COM
Since its launch on April 10, 2006, Megabus.com has served more than 50 million customers. Megabus.com maintains the highest (Satisfactory) safety compliance rating with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration and is approved by Transportation Safety Exchange (TSX), an independent safety rating organization. Megabus.com currently operates service to/from more than 120 major cities in North America and 23 hubs.

ABOUT WINDSTAR LINES:

Based in Carroll, IA, Windstar Lines, Inc. is one of the largest motorcoach operators in the Midwest. They have additional locations in Cedar Rapids, Des Moines and Dubuque, Iowa along with Lincoln, NE, Kansas City, MO, Rockford, IL and Sioux Falls, SD. The Windstar fleet is made up of over 100 motorcoaches, school buses, minibuses, and vans.Windstar prides itself on impeccable safety and customer service.The company was started in 1995 and is operated by the Greteman Brothers from Carroll, Iowa.Their website is