Page 16 - BusinessWest June 17, 2024

Peter A. Picknelly, standing before some portraits of his predecessors, says there are very few family-owned bus companies in the U.S. today.
Staff Photo
“We listen to our customers — where they want to go — and we expand where it makes sense. We recently expanded to Newark, New Jersey, and a suburb right outside of Baltimore called White Marsh. And we’ve added service on Cape Cod. We’re always looking at new areas.”
But the company is also looking to the future in other ways, most notably some emerging leadership from the fourth generation
of this family business launched by Picknelly’s grandfather in 1933. “I kind of grew up just learning from him and wanting to work
here,” said Peter B. Picknelly, one of three children of Peter A. and Melissa Picknelly (the company’s vice president) now working at Peter Pan. A fourth is still in college and mulling career goals.
“I had no doubt in my mind that this is what I wanted to do,” added the younger Peter, who is the company’s director of Safety & Security. “I grew up going to school and trying to better myself so I could then come into the business. That’s what I always wanted to
do.”That’s a story his father can relate to. “I’m the third generation; Peter and his sisters are the fourth,” he said. “But I never forced them into it. When I grew up, some kids wanted to be baseball play- ers or football players. All I wanted to do was follow my father and grandfather. And I can’t tell you how proud I am that our kids chose to do that — but it was their decision.”
Other fourth-generation leaders at Peter Pan include Lauryn Picknelly-DuBois, who was promoted two years ago to controller, and Alyssa Picknelly-Dube, who is involved with the Maintenance division. (A fourth child is still in college and mulling career goals.)
“There are very few family-operated bus companies in the Unit- ed States anymore,” their father said. “Here, the fourth generation is already set, and they’re still in their 20s. I think it assures our employees and our customers that we will be around for a long time. They are doing an amazing job.”
All Aboard
They’re doing it at a time when public-transportation demo- graphics might be changing, but bus travel clearly remains important.
Peter Pan specializes in travel that’s longer than a typical work commute, but within 200 miles — a distance that can be covered as quickly as flying, once the airport time is factored in, the senior Picknelly explained.
These days, most travelers are between 18 and 35 years old or over 50, he added. “They may have an automobile, but the bus is
“You just don’t see workers commuting to work, and if they do, they’re not working Mondays and Fridays. I mean, the full- time office worker is just
not rebounding. It’s better than it was, and it will eventually come back, I think, but some businesses are just going
to thrive on people that work remotely.”
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