founded 2003 headquarters seattle washington locale usa service area western united states service type contract service charter service hubs seattle main office portland eugene spokane fleet federal mini coach krystal mini coach prevost h3 45 x3 45 setra s417 temsa safari van hool double decker chief executive marka waechter website mtr western mtr western is an american motorcoach operator active in the western united states and canada . contents 1 services 2 history 2.1 gregoire license plate controversy 3 environmental initiatives 4 associated companies 4.1 oc & w coachways 4.2 geogenius 5 references 6 external links services edit mtr western provides group charters sightseeing tours driver narrated tour programs 1 and on call emergency transportation . 2 charter clients include corporate customers such as microsoft nike intel google and yahoo in addition to touring entertainers campaigning political candidates 3 and college and professional sports teams . they carry essentially all of the nfl and major league baseball teams that visit seattle . 4 tour clients include tauck world discovery american west steamboat company caravan tours contiki tours and trafalgar tours . history edit mtr western was founded in seattle washington 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 spokane eugene the dalles san francisco salt lake city vancouver and calgary and winner of the busride 2006 motorcoach industry achievement award . 4 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 . 5 in 2008 they debuted in metro magazine s motorcoach top 50 at number 17 . 6 mtr western is known for their award winning compelling and creative bus wrap designs . 7 december 1 2010 according to the seattle times 8 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 . 9 january 15 2011 according to the seattle times 10 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 11 berg diverted as much as 85 million to his personal use including 45 million channeled into the luxury bus company he established mtr western . february 8 2012 according to the seattle times darren berg sentenced to 18 years in washington states largest ponzi scheme . http seattletimes.nwsource.com html businesstechnology 2017465361 meridian10.html february 8 2012 according to www.mercerislandpatch.com mercer island man sentenced to 18 years . including rare video footage of darren berg in a video made for the last mtr western company wide christmas party held in huntington beach ca . december 2008 http mercerisland.patch.com articles mercer island man sentenced to 18 years in prison for state s largest ever ponzi scheme video 9083296 gregoire license plate controversy edit on april 10 2008 mtr western became involved in a controversy between the washington state republican party and democratic governor christine gregoire . in a press release 12 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 3 citing federal law our oregon license plates are issued pursuant to the international registration plan irp which was created by wise federal legislation put into 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 . 13 environmental initiatives edit mtr western is committed to reducing its greenhouse gas emissions . in 2008 they offset more carbon dioxide emissions than they created achieving a net negative carbon footprint . 14 the company has six major environmental initiatives 15 they have reduced their emissions by more than 50 % by purchasing new motorcoaches outfitted with exhaust gas recirculation egr engines . 14 they burn the most aggressive blend of biodiesel fuel allowed by the company s engine manufacturer . 14 they are the only motorcoach company on the west coast to use european style fuel saving super single tires . 14 their drivers are trained to conserve fuel and avoid excessive engine idling . 14 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 . 16 they purchase forest carbon offsets from the pacific forest trust including 6 000 metric tons of carbon dioxide emission reductions from the van eck forest project . 17 in 2008 mtr western was awarded the uma inaugural green highway award honoring a corporation for its dedication to improving the environment . 18 19 associated companies edit oc & w coachways edit mtr western purchased eugene oregon 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 . 20 21 geogenius edit geogenius was a company based in seattle washington that produced travel related audio and video content for gps enabled devices . 22 geogenius llc type privately held company industry tourism founded 2007 founder darren berg headquarters seattle washington usa products gps triggered travel guides website geogenius geogenius was founded by ceo darren berg in 2007 . the company s first client was the parent company which contracted them to develop gps triggered audio and video content for use by their motorcoach tour customers . 23 the geogenius proof of concept a multiple channel multiple interest gps triggered 7 day tour from san francisco to seattle commenced operation in may 2007 . 1 another video tour was scheduled to be installed mtr western s hop on hop off city sightseeing tour of vancouver b.c. in april 2008 . 24 historical and travel related content is featured on other tours of vancouver operated by mtr western subsidiary sightline tours . 25 the company was developing content for personal download to multiple platforms allowing tourists to construct their own tours . 26 geogenius development is overseen by lorayne deceour larayne decoeur . 27 references edit a b the online home of mtr western . mtr western company website . retrieved 2008 06 19 . unhappy campers . mtr western company website . archived from the original on november 14 2006 . retrieved 2008 06 19 . a b mtr western responds to misleading statements about gregoire s motorcoach . business wire . reuters . april 11 2008 . retrieved 2008 06 19 . a b hubbard david february 2007 . mtr western delivers the mail . busride . pp. 20 22 . inc. 500 number 166 mtr western . inc. magazine . 2007 . retrieved 2008 06 19 . starcic janna january 2008 . coach america grabs the reins in motorcoach top 50 . metro magazine . pp. 22 23 . . 2007 busride avery dennison graphics motorvision competition winners . busride . november 2007 . pp. 18 19 . darren berg loses attempt to be free while awaiting trial . the seattle times . december 1 2010 . mtr western & oc & w coachways acquired press release . retrieved 2011 05 01 . grunbaum rami january 15 2011 . financial empire luxurious lifestyle were built on a mirage . the seattle times . grunbaum rami march 25 2011 . berg creditors may recoup 15 25 percent says bankruptcy plan . the seattle times . gregoire driving an oregon bus on re election tour press release . washington state republican party . april 10 2008 . retrieved 2008 06 19 . mulick chris april 11 2008 . that gregoire license plate scandal never mind . . tricity herald . retrieved 2008 06 19 . a b c d e mtr western environmental responsibility website . archived from the original on april 12 2008 . retrieved 2008 06 19 . wimberly rachel 2008 01 28 . seattle rolls green carpet out for pcma . tradeshow week . reed business information . retrieved 2006 06 19 . ontario ministry of environment ban on burning used oil in space heaters . mtr western motorcoach fleet goes carbon neutral with van eck emissions reductions . the pacific forest trust . retrieved 2008 06 19 . roman alex february march 2008 . uma expo brings green message to san francisco . metro magazine . pp. 32 34 . sightline tours home page . retrieved 2008 06 19 . meridian transportation resources llc signs agreement to acquire oregon coachways and announces plans to introduce new price driven charter motorcoach brand pdf press release . mtr western . september 19 2006 . retrieved 2008 06 20 . oc & w coachways home page . retrieved 2008 06 19 . mtr western announces formation of geogenius pdf press release . mtr western . september 25 2007 . retrieved 2008 06 18 . mtr western launches new service to provide content using gps technology pdf . aba insider . american bus association . 1 7 7 . october 15 2007 . mtr western expands vancouver operations pdf . aba insider . american bus association . 1 13 7 . january 7 2008 . double decks take sightline tours to new level . busride . 45 1 16 17 . january 2009 . dead link geogenius website . retrieved june 26 2008 . double decks take sightline tours to new level . busride . 45 1 17 . january 2009 . dead link external links edit mtr western u.s. website oc & w coachways website sightline tours website geogenius website retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title mtr western & oldid 738800737 categories companies based in seattlebus transportation in washington state bus transportation in oregonbus transportation in californiabus transportation in utahbus transport in albertabus transport in british columbiaeconomy of the western united statesbus 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