>RAILROAD DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION
>381 Mansfield Ave, Suite 500
>Pittsburgh PA 15220 USA - www.steelcityflyer .com
>
>For Immediate Release, 10 July 2009
>
>Steel City Flyer to End Service on July 16, 2009
>
>Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA – The Steel City
>Flyer business-class bus service operated by
>Railroad Development Corporation (RDC) between
>Pittsburgh and Harrisburg will cease operations
>upon completion of runs on July 16th. The
>service, initiated in November 2008, was
>intended to serve two markets: business
>travelers between Pittsburgh and Harrisburg, and
>passengers connecting to Amtrak’s high-speed
>Keystone Corridor between Harrisburg and the East Coast.
>
>“While we have received extensive support from
>the media and loyal riders from a broad range of
>the Pittsburgh business community, the reality
>is that we misread the market,” commented RDC
>and Steel City Flyer Chairman Henry Posner III.
>“Our anchor ridership was intended to be
>business travelers between Pittsburgh and
>Harrisburg, the logic being that they would save
>both time and money, given the ability of
>passengers to work or relax onboard as opposed
>to driving. What we did not consider was that in
>many cases our own potential passengers were the
>prime competition. Because the bulk of our
>potential market perceives itself to be
>receiving compensation through mileage
>allowances, we were in effect competing with their own economic interests.”
>
>“Our goal was to create an intercity passenger
>service for Pittsburgh that was second to none,”
>added manager George DeBolt. “In that we
>succeeded. Travelers who tried the Flyer loved
>it and vowed they would never drive to
>Harrisburg again. Unfortunately, it was just
>impossible to get enough people out of their
>private automobiles in spite of an outstanding, convenient green
alternative.”
>
>Posner added, “To be candid, our single biggest
>disappointment was that a single health care
>provider with offices in both Pittsburgh and the
>Harrisburg area told us that, while we could
>save them $1 million per year, that amount was
>not significant enough to make us part of their
>corporate travel policy (this is more evidence
>of why health care is so expensive!). Another
>disappointment was our inability to obtain
>access to Harrisburg’s ‘intermodal’ rail/bus
>terminal, thus preventing us from becoming part of the Amtrak network.”
>
>Steel City Flyer President Bob Pietrandrea
>commented, “We needed an anchor customer that
>could provide a base passenger load for the
>service. We thought that we had that customer so
>we were surprised when they would not commit to
>using the Steel City Flyer even though they
>acknowledged that they would achieve significant
>cost savings and productivity improvements. As a
>result, the region has lost a great
>transportation option because we could no longer
>afford to keep the service running while the passenger count built up
slowly.”
>
>Posner concluded, “To our loyal riders we offer
>our thanks and appreciate the enthusiastic
>support that our service received. It has also
>been a source of personal satisfaction to have
>been part of the transportation scene in our own
>hometown. We will take many of the lessons
>learned in the Steel City Flyer to our next
>venture, an intercity rail passenger business in Europe.”
>
>RDC is a privately held Pittsburgh-based railway
>management and investment company, focusing on
>“Emerging Corridors in Emerging Markets.” Its
>Iowa Interstate Railroad won the Gold Harriman
>Safety Award in May 2008 and is the designated
>route for the proposed Amtrak service to Iowa
>City under the Midwest Regional Rail Initiative.
>Most recently the government of France announced
>a joint venture with RDC to revive its carload freight business.
 
For more information about RDC and its investment and management activities in
the USA, Latin America and Europe, please visit: <http://www.RRDC.
com>www.RRDC.com.
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