to road travel, but McDermott said
the time value still makes Bearing
a solid choice compared to Amtrak
Acela’s set schedule and lower
price point. “A train or plane will
run flawlessly most of the time,
but if you absolutely need to be
someplace at a certain time, chances
are you still will leave early and
spend an hour in the airport or at
your final destination,” he said. “The
difference is: With them, that buffer
you have to build in is spent in
inadequate waiting facilities. If you
get to your destination flawlessly
with us, that extra half hour can be
spent outside your meeting spot in
this environment.”
McDermott still is building
recognition for Bearing outside his
initial contacts in New York’s finance
industry and the metro
area’s regional headquarters.
As such, the company has
broadened its sales strategy
beyond executive end users
to travel buyers and others
“who can facilitate its use
across the entire platform.”
Ultimately, the sales process
is more akin to selling real
estate than travel services,
he said. “The value is not
getting from Point A to
Point B. It’s what you can
do onboard.”
Bearing CEO John McDer- mott wanted to re-create the private jet experience on the
ground, but as he sees it, the chief
commodity he is selling is not trans-
portation. It’s time.

Bearing operates five buses, each with a functioning office inside with leather seats, worktables, a conference room and Wi-Fi. The buses are soundproofed, so noise even while parked on a busy New York City street is minimal. And drivers, all retired law enforcement officials, go through more than eight weeks of training so they can “get through rush-hour traffic in New York without anyone spilling a cup of coffee,” he said.

The idea, he said, is for executives to enjoy seamless productivity from the moment they step out the door until they reach their destination. “When traveling in my prior life in my prior industry, I found I had every tool I needed to work in every environment of my professional life except road travel.

Once I realized I could solve that,
our job was to assess demand. The
more people we showed this to, the
more obvious it was a launch we
had to pursue.”
Pricing is based on daily use, not
broken down by hours or mileage.
Corporate users can sign one-off
contracts or long-term contracts for
recurring business or customized
projects, he said.

Bearing is expanding from New
York to Washington, D.C., and
McDermott envisions five total
cities within a year and 15 within
three years, including the West
Coast and Texas. Eventually, he
aims for as many as 100 buses. “The
build pattern will be a function
of the uptake,” McDermott said.
“People see this and immediately
get it. They know the space but
have just never seen it in this
external shell.”
Buses hold a maximum of 14
passengers, and traveling parties
range from five to 12, according
to Bearing. Since launching in
summer 2015, the company has
logged more than 1,000 unit days,
according to McDermott.