Tennessee Voices, Episode 322: Alex Danza, founder and CEO, Vonlane
On Friday, Nov. 4, Vonlane will launch its luxury passenger bus service in Tennessee.
The Dallas-based company had been operating in major Texas cities including The Big D, Austin, Houston and San Antonio. Now, it's coming to Nashville with back-and-forth service to and from Atlanta. Each trip is $99 and is geared toward business travelers as an alternative to flying or driving themselves.
On this episode of the Tennessee Voices video podcast, Vonlane founder and CEO Alex Danza spoke about the expansion, the opportunities and the challenges.
"I love Nashville," said Danza, who was searching for cities with growth potential that would embrace luxury ground transportation.
Each bus has 22 seats and passengers are pampered by attendants. They can rest or work on the route and don't have to worry about getting to boarding spots too early or waiting in long lines.
The business was disrupted by COVID-19 and growth plans were put on hold, but with the Nashville connection, Danza says he is looking at Memphis as a possible new route.
A persistent challenge is shortage of commercial vehicle drivers, which is a trend across work sectors be it local governments, schools or truck driving companies.
More:Luxury motor coach company, Vonlane, to launch service between Nashville, Atlanta
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The Tennessee Voices videocast is a 20-minute program, which started in March 2020 and invites leaders, thinkers and innovators who have written guest columns for a USA TODAY Network Tennessee publication to share their insights and wisdom with me and our viewers.
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David Plazas is the director of opinion and engagement for the USA TODAY Network Tennessee and an editorial board member of The Tennessean. Tweet to him at @davidplazas.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Tennessee Voices: Alex Danza, founder and CEO, Vonlane
