MTR Western
Encyclopedia
MTR Western, also doing business as Meridian Transportation Resources, is an American
motorcoach operator active in the western United States
and Canada
.
Charter clients include corporate customers such as Microsoft
, Nike
, Intel, Google
, and Yahoo, in addition to touring entertainers, campaigning political candidates, and college and professional sports teams. They carry essentially all of the NFL and Major League Baseball
teams that visit Seattle, Oakland, and San Francisco.
Tour clients include Tauck
World Discovery, American West Steamboat Company, Caravan Tours
, Contiki Tours
, and Trafalgar Tours
.
in 2003 by Darren Berg with four Prevost
H3-45 motorcoaches. By 2007, they were one of the largest premium motorcoach companies in North America
, with facilities in Seattle, Portland
, The Dalles, San Francisco, Salt Lake City, Vancouver
, and Calgary
, and winner of the BUSRide 2006 Motorcoach Industry Achievement Award.
MTR Western's three-year growth of 1,214.9% earned it national recognition in Inc. Magazine's
"Inc. 500", a list of America's fastest growing private companies in 2007. The list ranks MTR Western as number 166 in America
, number 9 in Washington, and number 3 in the Transportation category.
In 2008 they debuted in Metro Magazine's
"Motorcoach Top 50" at number 17. MTR Western is known for their award-winning "compelling and creative" bus wrap designs.
and Democratic Governor
Christine Gregoire
. In a press release, State Republican Party Chairman Luke Esser
said, "Gov. Gregoire has been making it harder and harder for businesses to survive here in our state for three years, so it's no surprise that her campaign hired a bus with Oregon
license plates to save money. The symbolism of Gov. Gregoire's bus tour couldn't be plainer."
Washington-based MTR Western responded the next day with a press release citing Federal law: "Our Oregon
license plates are issued pursuant to the International Registration Plan
(IRP), which was created by wise federal legislation put in to place to simplify the registration of commercial vehicles that travel in interstate commerce," said MTR Western CEO and founder Darren Berg. "It's disheartening to be associated with misleading statements that support an opinion that business opportunities are grim in the state of Washington."
One columnist from traditionally Republican Eastern Washington
wrote of the controversy, "On Thursday the state Republican Party issued a press release titled "Gregoire Driving An Oregon Bus on Re-Election Tour" that screamed of scandal... Long story short, there’s no story here, much less a full blown scandal."
emissions
. In 2008, they offset
more carbon dioxide
emissions than they created, achieving a net negative carbon footprint
. The company has six major environmental initiatives:
In 2008, MTR Western was awarded the UMA inaugural "Green Highway" award, honoring a corporation for its dedication to improving the environment.
-based Oregon Coachways in 2006 from owners Donald Moorehead and John Mikulvich. The company, now named OC&W Coachways, provides no-frills charter bus service in Oregon
, California
, and Washington.
is a U.S. company that produces travel-related audio and video content for GPS-enabled devices.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
motorcoach operator active in the western United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
.
Services
MTR Western provides group charters, sightseeing tours, driver-narrated tour programs, and on-call emergency transportation.Charter clients include corporate customers such as Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
, Nike
Nike, Inc.
Nike, Inc. is a major publicly traded sportswear and equipment supplier based in the United States. The company is headquartered near Beaverton, Oregon, which is part of the Portland metropolitan area...
, Intel, Google
Google
Google Inc. is an American multinational public corporation invested in Internet search, cloud computing, and advertising technologies. Google hosts and develops a number of Internet-based services and products, and generates profit primarily from advertising through its AdWords program...
, and Yahoo, in addition to touring entertainers, campaigning political candidates, and college and professional sports teams. They carry essentially all of the NFL and Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
teams that visit Seattle, Oakland, and San Francisco.
Tour clients include Tauck
Tauck
Tauck is an operator of guided tours and cruises; in 1925 it became the first tour operator to be awarded a federal Tour Broker’s License by the U.S. government. The company, which celebrated its 85th anniversary in 2010, is owned and operated by the Tauck family and is based in Norwalk, CT...
World Discovery, American West Steamboat Company, Caravan Tours
Caravan Tours
Caravan Tours is one of the oldest guided tour companies in the United States, having begun selling escorted travel tours in 1952. The company has been under the same family management and ownership since then...
, Contiki Tours
Contiki Tours
Contiki Tours is a Travel Corporation-operated coach tour company operating in Europe, Russia, Egypt, Australia, New Zealand, North America, and Asia...
, and Trafalgar Tours
Trafalgar Tours
Trafalgar is a travel company that provides guided holidays to worldwide destinations. Trafalgar is owned by The Travel Corporation which has been in business since 1947 including Insight Vacations and Contiki Tours...
.
History
MTR Western was founded in Seattle, WashingtonSeattle, Washington
Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...
in 2003 by Darren Berg with four Prevost
Prevost
-People:*Abbé Antoine François Prévost , French novelist*André Prévost , Canadian composer*Augustine Prevost , British general*Constant Prévost , French geologist*Daniel Prevost, writer*Daniel Prévost, French actor...
H3-45 motorcoaches. By 2007, they were one of the largest premium motorcoach companies in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
, with facilities in Seattle, Portland
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
, The Dalles, San Francisco, Salt Lake City, Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
, and Calgary
Calgary
Calgary is a city in the Province of Alberta, Canada. It is located in the south of the province, in an area of foothills and prairie, approximately east of the front ranges of the Canadian Rockies...
, and winner of the BUSRide 2006 Motorcoach Industry Achievement Award.
MTR Western's three-year growth of 1,214.9% earned it national recognition in Inc. Magazine's
Inc. (magazine)
Inc. magazine, founded in 1979 and based in New York City, is a monthly publication focused on growing companies. The magazine publishes an annual list of the 500 fastest-growing private companies in the U.S., the "Inc...
"Inc. 500", a list of America's fastest growing private companies in 2007. The list ranks MTR Western as number 166 in America
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, number 9 in Washington, and number 3 in the Transportation category.
In 2008 they debuted in Metro Magazine's
Metro Magazine
Metro Magazine is a trade magazine for bus and rail transit and motorcoach operators, published in the United States since 1904, taking its current name in 1975...
"Motorcoach Top 50" at number 17. MTR Western is known for their award-winning "compelling and creative" bus wrap designs.
- December 1, 2010 - According to the Seattle Times, Darren Berg was denied bail as result of potential flight risk in association with Federal charges alleging he orchestrated a ponzi scheme of approximately $100 million in losses for investors into his Meridian group of companies. MTR Western is in the process of being sold by a bankruptcy trustee.
- January 14, 2011 - MTR issued a press release announcing the sale of MTR Western and OC&W Coachways to GTO LLC.
- January 15, 2011 - According to the Seattle Times, "Financial scandals have trailed Frederick Darren Berg across the Northwest for more than 25 years — each linked to his unusual lifelong fixation on tour buses."
- March 25, 2011 - According to the Seattle Times, "Berg diverted as much as $85 million to his personal use, including $45 million channeled into the luxury bus company he established, MTR Western."
Gregoire License Plate Controversy
On April 10, 2008 MTR Western became involved in a controversy between the Washington State Republican PartyWashington State Republican Party
The Washington State Republican Party is the state affiliate of the national Republican Party, headquartered in Bellevue.The Chairman of the Washington State Republican Party is Kirby Wilbur, former host of the morning drive show on 570 KVI radio in Seattle for over fourteen years. The Vice Chair...
and Democratic Governor
Governor
A governor is a governing official, usually the executive of a non-sovereign level of government, ranking under the head of state...
Christine Gregoire
Christine Gregoire
Christine O'Grady "Chris" Gregoire is the 22nd and current Governor of the state of Washington, and a member of the Democratic Party. Gregoire defeated Republican candidate Dino Rossi in 2004, and again in 2008. She is the second female governor of Washington...
. In a press release, State Republican Party Chairman Luke Esser
Luke Esser
Luke Esser was the chairman of the Republican Party of Washington from 2007 to 2011. He was elected on January 27, 2007, when he defeated incumbent chairwoman Diane Tebelius, was re-elected in 2009, but lost to Kirby Wilbur in 2011....
said, "Gov. Gregoire has been making it harder and harder for businesses to survive here in our state for three years, so it's no surprise that her campaign hired a bus with Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
license plates to save money. The symbolism of Gov. Gregoire's bus tour couldn't be plainer."
Washington-based MTR Western responded the next day with a press release citing Federal law: "Our Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
license plates are issued pursuant to the International Registration Plan
International Registration Plan
The International Registration Plan is a registration reciprocity agreement among the contiguous United States and Canadian provinces which provides payment of registration fees on the basis of total distance operated in all jurisdictions...
(IRP), which was created by wise federal legislation put in to place to simplify the registration of commercial vehicles that travel in interstate commerce," said MTR Western CEO and founder Darren Berg. "It's disheartening to be associated with misleading statements that support an opinion that business opportunities are grim in the state of Washington."
One columnist from traditionally Republican Eastern Washington
Eastern Washington
Eastern Washington is the portion of the U.S. state of Washington east of the Cascade Range. The region contains the city of Spokane , the Tri-Cities, the Columbia River and the Grand Coulee Dam, the Hanford Nuclear Reservation and the fertile farmlands of the Yakima Valley and the...
wrote of the controversy, "On Thursday the state Republican Party issued a press release titled "Gregoire Driving An Oregon Bus on Re-Election Tour" that screamed of scandal... Long story short, there’s no story here, much less a full blown scandal."
Environmental Initiatives
MTR Western is committed to reducing its greenhouse gasGreenhouse gas
A greenhouse gas is a gas in an atmosphere that absorbs and emits radiation within the thermal infrared range. This process is the fundamental cause of the greenhouse effect. The primary greenhouse gases in the Earth's atmosphere are water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and ozone...
emissions
Air pollution
Air pollution is the introduction of chemicals, particulate matter, or biological materials that cause harm or discomfort to humans or other living organisms, or cause damage to the natural environment or built environment, into the atmosphere....
. In 2008, they offset
Carbon offset
A carbon offset is a reduction in emissions of carbon dioxide or greenhouse gases made in order to compensate for or to offset an emission made elsewhere....
more carbon dioxide
Carbon dioxide
Carbon dioxide is a naturally occurring chemical compound composed of two oxygen atoms covalently bonded to a single carbon atom...
emissions than they created, achieving a net negative carbon footprint
Carbon footprint
A carbon footprint has historically been defined as "the total set of greenhouse gas emissions caused by an organization, event, product or person.". However, calculating a carbon footprint which conforms to this definition is often impracticable due to the large amount of data required, which is...
. The company has six major environmental initiatives:
- They have reduced their emissions by more than 50% by purchasing new motorcoaches outfitted with exhaust gas recirculationExhaust gas recirculationIn internal combustion engines, exhaust gas recirculation is a nitrogen oxide emissions reduction technique used in petrol/gasoline and diesel engines. EGR works by recirculating a portion of an engine's exhaust gas back to the engine cylinders. In a gasoline engine, this inert exhaust...
(EGR) engines. - They burn the most aggressive blend of biodieselBiodieselBiodiesel refers to a vegetable oil- or animal fat-based diesel fuel consisting of long-chain alkyl esters. Biodiesel is typically made by chemically reacting lipids with an alcohol....
fuel allowed by the company's engine manufacturer. - They are the only motorcoach company on the West Coast to use European-style, fuel-saving, super single tires.
- Their drivers are trained to conserve fuel and avoid excessive engine idling.
- Their shops are heated with recycled engine oil. (A space heater burning used oil can emit more lead than is produced by 10,000 homes using clean burning fuel.)
- They purchase forest carbon offsetCarbon offsetA carbon offset is a reduction in emissions of carbon dioxide or greenhouse gases made in order to compensate for or to offset an emission made elsewhere....
s from the Pacific Forest Trust, including 6,000 metric tons of Carbon dioxideCarbon dioxideCarbon dioxide is a naturally occurring chemical compound composed of two oxygen atoms covalently bonded to a single carbon atom...
emission reductions from the Van Eck Forest Project.
In 2008, MTR Western was awarded the UMA inaugural "Green Highway" award, honoring a corporation for its dedication to improving the environment.
OC&W Coachways
MTR Western purchased Eugene, OregonEugene, Oregon
Eugene is the second largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon and the seat of Lane County. It is located at the south end of the Willamette Valley, at the confluence of the McKenzie and Willamette rivers, about east of the Oregon Coast.As of the 2010 U.S...
-based Oregon Coachways in 2006 from owners Donald Moorehead and John Mikulvich. The company, now named OC&W Coachways, provides no-frills charter bus service in Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, and Washington.
Sightline Tours
Sightline Tours is a Canadian sightseeing company located in Vancouver, British Columbia. They exclusively use MTR Western coaches and driver/guides.GeoGenius
GeoGeniusGeoGenius
GeoGenius is a company based in Seattle, Washington that produces travel-related audio and video content for GPS-enabled devices. It is a subsidiary of MTR Western.GeoGenius was founded by CEO Darren Berg in 2007...
is a U.S. company that produces travel-related audio and video content for GPS-enabled devices.