UPDATE
ABA statement on COVID-19: Don’t
ignore a major strategic part of the
transportation industry
The American Bus Association (ABA) — an industry leader
advancing North American motorcoach travel and tourism —
asked Congress and the Trump Administration to not ignore the
movers of America: the motorcoach and bus industry.
In a statement, ABA President and CEO Peter Pantuso said:
“The private bus and motorcoach industry has often been
described as the “strategic reserve” of the transportation
industry. It connects people to work and children to schools,
evacuates people in times of emergency, provides vital
connections for rural communities to access necessary services,
and serves as cost effective and environmentally sensitive leisure
outlet for many, playing a key role in the overall transportation
network. Historically the industry provides between 500 – 600
million passenger trips annually and with little or no government
subsidy. It is an industry of mostly small family businesses, many
of whom have operated for multiple generations, employ nearly
100,000 people and are the fabric of the community.
“Now, in these unprecedented times, when Congress and
the Trump Administration are considering helping the airline and
cruise industry, they can’t forget the private bus and motorcoach
industry that gets people to their destinations and is a vital
transportation link to the airlines, to Amtrak and commuter trains,
to cruise ships and to countless other destinations. Without help
from the federal government these small family businesses will
be lost forever. Their business has dropped from 50% to 100% in
many cases and the business they’ve lost can never be recovered
or made up. Meanwhile they have bus payments, insurance,
rental for facilities and other costs that mount every day.
“Although Congress did provide disaster loan assistance in its
first economic package, there are a lot of strings attached and
Governors need to take action, holding this up. We can’t wait – we
need economic relief specific to our industry, and we need it fast!
“If we want to maintain the entirety of the transportation
network, we need Congress and the Administration to act now
and provide relief to the bus and motorcoach industry. ABA calls
on Congress to provide dedicated funding for motorcoach, tour
and travel industry businesses and their employees, to restore,
collectively, the industry and ensure the viability of these small
businesses. We want to see Congress establish a grant program,
without a match requirement, to offset economic losses and
cancelled revenue; and establish long term, zero-interest loan
programs for the motorcoach, tour and travel industries, to
enable these businesses to return to stabile footing.
“Bottomline, it is important that Congress passed a bill to
assist families and workers affected by COVID-19, but if the
government let’s this industry fail, these employees will not
have the opportunity to go back to work and many will lose
transportation access. We need help today!”
ABA site advises Coronavirus
best practices
The American Bus Association (ABA) has built a
comprehensive page on the association’s website on the
Coronavirus for members and industry professionals. It includes
information on how to handle the virus and government resources
as well as ABA’s current actions, such as writing a letter to
the president, Congress, Testimony on the Small Business
Committee and signing on an industry-wide letter to Congress.
You can visit the site at https://www.busesmoveamerica.com
BUSRIDE.COM | 7