The BISC serves as an industry-wide bus safety educational outreach and advisory group. The organization brings top safety professionals together in the North American motorcoach industry with a mission to promote methods, materials, and procedures to enhance passenger transportation safety and security. In doing so, BISC connects all facets of the industry, government agencies, equipment manufacturers, consultants, vendors, motorcoach operators, tour planners, school bus operators and many more. BISC provides an unprecedented level of safety information, networking for safety professionals and collaborative review across the entire bus industry. Members of the Council participate in the development of training programs and templates; providing recommendations or subject matter experts to industry associations, regulators, lawmakers and organizations; the refinement of industry definitions and guidelines on best safety practices; the publication and the upcoming BISC Summer Meeting in Minneapolis, MN August 19-21, 2025. During the Summer meeting, BusMARC is holding a number of informative maintenance sessions and will feature site visits to area operators and maintenance facilities in partnership with the Minnesota Charter Bus Operators Association. A third meeting will be held in conjunction with the Greater Northeast Motorcoach Association, taking place in Atlantic City, NJ in September called BISC East. A fourth meeting will be held in conjunction with the California Bus Association’ s Annual Convention in Visalia, CA in October and is called BISC West. The BISC also holds quarterly open conference calls with the Transportation Security Administration( TSA) and timely webinars. They also support other state and regional motorcoach meetings as requested. So add BISC or BusMARC to your next meeting agenda! dissemination of safety bulletins and alerts; and the support of safety educational forums and will soon be re-adding certification programs. BISC not only follows and provides updates on the current state of bus safety, but it is also the leading voice and forum for the discussion of future bus safety initiatives. Membership in the BISC is open to anyone in the passenger transportation industry who is interested in providing, improving, educating on topics related to transportation safety and joining us for a meeting. All someone has to do is attend a meeting or online event to get involved. BISC typically holds four in-person meetings per year and aims to be accessible to interested individuals no matter where they are based. The first meeting of the year is held during ABA’ s Marketplace, which occurs annually around the country during the winter months. The second meeting is held in summer. For this year, TSA will be conducting a vehicle ramming exercise and intelligence briefing at
Together We are Stronger
In the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic and as part of the ramp up of a return to normal operations, the BISC has created a new resource to help those who may have been displaced or have taken on new roles in charge of safety or compliance. The BISC has formed a mentor program to help companies return to success with the resources they currently have available. We have assembled a cadre of dozens of mentors with decades of industry experience. These mentors run the gamut of experience as experts in a wide range of topics, including regulatory compliance, safety and driver training, OSHA regulations, drug & alcohol supervisor training, vehicle maintenance, security, Human Resources as well as the day-to-day operations of a bus company. Staying ready for compliance reviews, OSHA audits, ADA requests for service, and the daily monitoring of our drivers and buses must continue.
28 | BUSRIDE. COM | JUNE / JULY 2025