How will increased fuel prices impact Peter Pan Bus Lines and the bus industry?
I am optimistic that it will help both Peter Pan and the bus industry in the long run. Initially, increased fuel costs caused operating costs to rise. The first six months of 2005 increased fuel costs and (delete) caused a negative impact on our bottom line. However, since July 2005 we have seen a dramatic spike in business on our regular route service systemwide. Every route has shown an increase in double digits. It is obvious that higher fuel prices are putting people on buses. This is providing us with a new customer base that is hopefully here to stay. In a recent speech, President Bush suggested that Americans should make better use of mass transit. Assuming that higher fuel prices are here to stay, more and more people will seek bus transportation for their travel needs. We believe there is a strong future for the motorcoach industry and, in particular, Peter Pan. My major negative concern is over home heating oil. Many homes in our service area use home heating oil. A substanti
