Fun Bus plans expansion, terminal

LANCASTER - By the end of the year, Fun Bus passengers should see a new terminal with parking, vending machines and other amenities.

Employees also will have more space to work after owner Rebecca Vaughn purchased the former Three-C Body Shop property at 2188 E. Main St.

She plans to have the new building renovated in time for her company's 20th anniversary in November. The building sits on three acres, and the new terminal will be about 7,000 square feet. Her employees currently work in a 12-foot by 60-foot space on Commerce Street.

"We are going to upgrade significantly to being an official bus terminal," Vaughn said. "So we're no longer just going to be a maintenance facility and a storage facility. We are going to be able to invite the public to our property. We are going to be able to park our passengers onsite in a safe location.

"We're going to have a waiting area for our customers where they can be comfortable while they wait for bus departures. We're also going to have a gift shop here so you can get anything with Fun Bus tattooed on it. And we're going to do light snacks and things like that they can take on a bus trip with them."

Vaughn said buses will be able to pull into the new terminal off Main Street and load under a canopy and on an asphalt lot. She said mechanics will still perform vehicle maintenance on Commerce Street, and some of the company's 24 vehicles will still be stored there. The vehicles range from small to the large coaches used for interstate trips.

The company currently picks up passengers in several area commercial parking lots, including Wal-Mart.

"This will be so much better that they'll be able to come on site," Vaughn said. "We're going to have some frontage, some visibility out here on Main Street."

She said the total cost of the project will be about $600,000, including the $200,000 for the building. Fairfield County economic development director Rick Szabrak said the county helped with a loan.

"This is amazing," he said. "It's great to see a local business like this grow and expand. They'll add employees over time as they continue to expand, which is great to see. It's nice to get businesses to come and invest in our community. But to me, it's even better to see businesses already in our community make an investment."

Vaughn had kept her plans secret from her employees and told them Wednesday. They celebrated with cake and a champagne toast.

Employee Millie Willis is a bus driver who also works in the office and has been with Fun Bus for almost 18 years.

"This is just going to give us a better working atmosphere, and we can accomplish a lot more," Willis said. "And we could even grow more because we're limited in our space now. We're at a little trailer, and there's four desks in there. And anybody that comes in there, we're just all cramped together. So this will make it a lot better and give us more working area and a lot more pleasant environment to work in."

Fun Bus has 41 employees, both full-time and part-time.

jbarron@lancastereaglegazette.com

740-681-4340

Twitter: @JeffDBarron