West Columbia, S.C.-based Capitol Tours recently marked 30 years of partnering with Prevost, by adding a brand new X3-45 motorcoach, bringing their total number of Prevost coaches to eight.

Capitol Tours provides charter services to local businesses, primary and secondary schools, and universities. They also carry local military personnel as a U.S. Department of Defense-certified carrier.

Unlike a traditional X3-45, which seats 55, the new coach was configured with only 50 seats, providing even more legroom in the already spacious cabin environment. The coach also features plush, luxury seats, individual climate control settings, and 110-volt outlets at each seat.

Capitol Tours usually purchase a new Prevost coach every two years, rotating each vehicle through three distinct stages over a 10- to 15-year period. First, coaches start out in the highway market, serving corporate travelers and seniors. After roughly five years, the interior is refurbished, and the coach moves to the school and university market, where it carries students on sports and field trips throughout the Southeast. After several more years and another refurb, the coach transitions to the local market, servicing local airports and other destinations within a 100-mile radius.

In addition, Prevost announced the appointment of Jean Dupont to director, pre-owned coach sales.

Dupont has worked in the bus industry for over 25 years, most notably as the third-generation owner and GM of Autobus Dupont — one of the oldest service centers for motorcoaches and motorcoach operators in the province of Quebec. In 1997, Dupont founded a company called Dupont Industries, known also as DuponTrolley, which built trolley replica buses that were primarily sold to American municipalities and completed major refurbishment of transit buses for municipalities across Canada.

Dupont assumed his new role, based in Sainte-Claire, Quebec, Canada, the first week of January 2017.