Coach America was formed in 2003 when, after Stagecoach Group evaluated its Coach USA business, it decided to retain mostly its scheduled and local transit services in the Northeast and North Central region and put the rest of the company up for sale.

The Southeast division was sold to a separate buyer, Lincolnshire Management, and became American Coach Lines.

[6] In November of that same year, Kohlberg sold Coach America to another private equity firm, Fenway Partners.

Stagecoach repurchased eight of the Coach America properties that it had sold in the 2003 divestiture, plus Lakefront Lines/Hopkins Transportation in Ohio.

Tornado Bus Company bought the El Expreso operation, Professional Transportation, Inc. purchased Coach America's rail crew division, and Transportation Management Services purchased the remainder of Coach America's operations, forming Horizon Coach Lines, except for the Los Angeles DOT contract, which was sold to MV Transportation; three Florida locations were later flipped to Academy Bus.