BostonCoach Cuts Jobs, Focuses On Adapting Business

Fidelity Investments' ground transportation company BostonCoach Tuesday made targeted staff reductions of more than 11 percent, intended in response to the dour business travel environment. The cuts were the first for the 16-year-old company. As with all ground transportation firms, BostonCoach was hit particularly hard in its airport transfer market, and the company remains about 20 percent below its normal overall business, said Fidelity Investments spokeswoman Eileen Newman. "This won't be a quick recovery," she said.

Like its competitors Carey and Empire International, Boston Coach has presented a new city-to-city program to meet the rise in requests for longer distance ground transport, with BostonCoach offering new, flat rates for the program between metropolitan areas. The company said it will concentrate on serving group ridership as it waits for airport traffic to rebound. "Nowadays people are literally carpooling," Newman said.