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Suburban Express
(217) 344 - 5500
714 S Sixth Street
Champaign, IL 61820

AVOID LEX

Background

Suburban Express has been around since 1983. In the 26 years we've been in business, we've had some people copy us. New entrants generally fail because they are not able to duplicate our high quality and reasonable prices.

Our most recent competitor is LEX aka Lincolnland Express. LEX is run by a local drop-out named Bob. Bob's background includes renting out mobile homes and installing hot tubs.

In 2005, Bob bought four 1979ish buses which had recently been sold for about $2500 in the bankruptcy liquidation of defunct bus company Illini Swallow Lines. As you might imagine, $2500 doesn't buy much of a bus. In fact, it doesn't even buy a brake job for a bus! They were pretty lousy buses.

Bob put his $2500 buses in service between Champaign and the Chicago Area. When he began operating suburban service, Bob seemed to adopt low prices as his main strategy. But Bob's low prices didn't seem to come from a clever approach or a low cost structure. Bob's low prices seemed to come from cutting corners, especially in maintenance, equipment, and driver quality.

Bob must have realized that low prices don't work as a long-term strategy if you can't afford to keep your buses running, because Bob started slapping big hidden charges on his fares. He'd advertise a fare that seemed low, but then he'd add extra charges when the customer showed up to buy a ticket.

To this day, Bob advertises fares that seem reasonable, but which have significant extra charges added at the time of purchase. His fall 2009 advertising includes fine print and asterisks which boost the price by a whopping 15%! A $29.95 ticket really costs $34.44 with a 15% surcharge. But you won't see $34.44 in big type!

Even though Bob no longer charges low fares, he seems to still be skimping on maintenance, drivers, and other crucial ingredients. We've documented some of his history below. Have a look.

Robbery on LEX

What could be worse than having a driver go through your backpack and pat you down during a trip?

  1. LEX Driver Arrested for Robbing Passenger

LEX Safety

Here are some of the highlights of Bob's safety and maintenance record:

  1. Surprise DOT/State Police inspection in May 2009 resulted in numerous failures.
  2. Driver ticketed/arrested for DUI while driving a LOADED LEX bus.
  3. FMCSA "SAFER" Website shows LEX with failing scores and "Critical Violations".
  4. Fails many State of Illinois vehicle inspections.
  5. Runs decrepit buses with no IL safety inspection sticker and other serious problems. You may see these buses on the road with a fresh paint job. They may look better now, but it's what you don't see that is potentially dangerous.
  6. Runs buses/vans which look like they belong in a junkyard.

LEX Financial Distress

Bob seems to have a spotty financial history. Maybe that's why his buses seem to have big maintenance problems. The following documents are all available from the Champaign County Circuit Clerk:

  1. Bob had a Foreclosure in 2003. Since United States of America is listed as a defendant in the suit for foreclosure, he may have also declared bankruptcy around the same time.
  2. Bob can't seem to pay his advertising bills on time, even when they send him collection letter after collection letter.
  3. Bob can't seem to keep his rent current with the people who run the train station here in Champaign.
  4. Bob must not have paid City of Champaign promptly when one of his buses wiped out a traffic signal, because they filed suit to recover damages: City of Champaign Suit
  5. Bob seems to attract lawsuits from customers for lost/stolen/damaged bags: Gladney Suit | Bell Suit
  6. And Bob seems to bounce LOTS and LOTS of checks (5mb pdf).

LEX Owner's Temper

With all this going on, it's no wonder that Bob can't seem to control himself -- even when his actions are being videotaped. Frankly, we're a little frightened.