March 15, 2012 97 operators UNITED MOTORCOACH ASSOCIATION ‘Bluffton crash’ score grants New at MOTORCOACH EXPO 2012 five years on… to buy lifts landmark event WASHINGTON — The Fed- BLUFFTON, OHIO — A re- eral Transit Administration has membrance service was conducted awarded $8.8 million to 97 motor- at Bluffton University early this coach companies across the U.S. to month to mark the fifth anniversary retrofit buses with wheelchair lifts of the fatal bus crash that has for- or to help offset the cost of lifts on ever changed motorcoach safety. new coaches. The March 2, 2007, crash killed Last year, the FTA awarded five players on the university’s $20 million to 128 motorcoach baseball team, plus the bus driver companies to have lists installed and his wife. on buses or to help defray the cost Members of that 2007 Bluffton of lifts on new coaches. The team attended the remembrance, amount granted a year ago was which included scripture readings substantially higher than previous by James Grandey, the head base- years because there’s a major dead- ball coach then and now, and alum- line in 2012 for large line-run op- nus Tim Berta, who was among erators; they must have 100 per- those seriously injured. cent of their fleet wheelchair From the moment it occurred accessible by Oct. 29. at 5:38 in the morning, the Bluff- The requirement applies to ton University baseball team bus crash was a horrific, tragic and fixed-route operators having an- BCI America’s Explorer 45 and Temsa’s TS 30 are introduced. Turn to page 11. nual revenue of $8.6 million or landmark event. more. Driver Jerry Niemeyer was be- The amount awarded this year hind the wheel of a 45-foot Van is more in line with previous years. Hool owned by Executive Coach A total of 136 companies re- Luxury Travel of Ottawa, Ohio, that quested $40.9 million in lift grants, clear, calm morning, when he mis- meaning 39 companies didn’t re- takenly veered onto a left-hand exit ceive any money and most re- ramp on I-75 in metro Atlanta. ceived less than they sought. Some The ramp rose to a wide ele- of the money awarded can be used vated road — Northside Drive — for training. and a T-junction marked by a stop The wheelchair grant program sign. has been around for a dozen years Traveling at highway speed and has awarded tens of millions and without braking, the bus of dollars to operators to help them swerved rightward across the road, comply with federal accessibility attempting to go southbound on regulations. Northside Drive. Unable to make While 63 of the 97 grants, or the turn, it hit a low barrier wall, about two-thirds, were for less which caused the back end of the than $50,000 to pay for a single coach to swing around to the right, wheelchair lift, Greyhound Lines, pointing it due north. which has a fleet of more than The momentum of the swing 1,200 coaches, was awarded $2.44 caused the entire right side of the million to purchase roughly 70 bus to crash into and then over the lifts. low wall and through a chain-link security fence on top of it. CONTINUED ON PAGE 16 c CONTINUED ON PAGE 10 c ABC COMPANIES Pre-OwnedPre-Owned SaleSale Ready!Ready! 43 Passenger with 3-Point Seat Belts for only $159,000! VAN HOOL T2140 40’ Luxury Touring Coach Upgraded Features: New Van Hool White Paint with Wheel Flares New Front Cap including Two Piece Windshield New Rear Window Cap New Chrome Van Hool Logo Drivers and Entrance Area Carpet Upgraded LCD Monitors 2-15.4” and 1-19” New Wood Grain Style Flooring New LED 2012 Tail Lights New 43 Passenger Seats with 3-Point Seat Belts 2 Card Tables Chrome Lower Mirrors 8 New Goodyear Tires * PRICES STARTING @ $159,000 *Prices Determined By Year and Options Selected. LIMITED AVAILABILITY..... Contact your ABC Account Executive ASAP! View hundreds of other pre-owned equipment at www.abc-companies.com Actual coach may vary from photo. Financing and special lease rates available to qualified customers. 2/2012 MIDWEST NORTHEAST SOUTHEAST SOUTHWEST WESTERN CANADA 800-222-2875 800-222-2873 800-222-2871 800-222-2877 800-322-2877 800-345-1287 Bus & Motorcoach News INDUSTRY NEWS March 15, 2012 3 Operators continue to struggle with ‘GO Ground’ decision It’s March. That means “March dant, expensive third-party bus in- it won’t be refereeing the dispute GO Ground not only is recruit- by Transportation Safety Ex- Madness” — college basketball spections by TSX, has created between charter operators and GO ing carriers to transport college change, which is a fairly recently tournament time. widespread resentment in the in- Ground. sports teams to NCAA tourna- formed business associated with And motorcoach operators dustry among operators unhappy Instead, operators will have to ments but also to provide bus ser- Consolidated Safety Services, across the U.S. are wrestling with that GO Ground has gotten be- decide on their own if they want to vice for elementary and high school which for years has been doing in- the issue of whether to sign up with tween colleges and universities the join the Chicago-based transporta- students in some parts of the spections for carriers that trans- GO Ground Options and its motor- operators have served for years tion management company they country. port military personnel and civil- coach inspection arm, Transporta- Motorcoach operators hopeful say is threatening their relationship Many operators say they object ian employees of the U.S. tion Safety Exchange. the Federal Motor Carrier Safety with many of their long-time school to a requirement that they pay up- Department of Defense. GO Ground has a contract with Administration might get involved, and university customers. wards of $4,000 for safety inspec- Operators worry if they don’t the National Collegiate Athletic and rein in third-party organiza- “Joining them is a business de- tions (of a handful of buses) that join GO Ground they could lose Association to handle team move- tions that claim to be using “certi- cision you will have to make,” says GO Ground uses to promote its some of the contracts they have had ments during NCAA-sponsored fied” over-the-road bus inspectors, the FMCA’s Chief Safety Officer business as hiring only the safest with the colleges for regular student tournaments. appear to be out of luck. Jack Van Steenburg. “We can’t stop carriers in the country. and sports team transportation. The arrangement, and its atten- The FMCSA has served notice them.” The inspections are conducted CONTINUED ON PAGE 10 c Transit agency practices targeted by California Bus Association SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The tax dollars and federal grant money received a copy of the CBA letter won SACRT the contract will re- third parties, or to deliberately un- California Bus Association is call- to try to run competing motor- and would comment on the issues quire the agency to subsidize the dercut or eliminate lower-cost pri- ing on federal regulators to investi- coach operators out of the market. after reviewing it. association to the tune of $1.1 mil- vate bus competitors from the mar- gate the public transit agency here “There is a great need for a true “We are still reviewing it,” said lion in capital costs for the buses ketplace and then campaign for for supposedly using some of its independent risk assessment and spokeswoman Alane Masui. that will be used for the service, more federal funds and county sales “scarce funds” to undercut prices financial forecast audit of the true Giddens said the most recent and he said the agency plans to tax increases or new bond measures of private bus operators so it could state of SACRT’s public finances, instance of undercutting by cover the subsidy with $400,000 to pay for artificially-induced oper- expand operations and then claim taking into consideration the risks SACRT was done late last year from a previous bond issue and ating deficits caused by such prac- funding shortage issues to cam- involved in continuing to lowball when the agency bid for a shuttle $700,000 from another account tices,” Giddens told the FTA. paign for more tax dollars. third-party contracts,” Giddens contract with the North Natomas that will be paid back when addi- “Presumably SACRT is antici- Tom Giddens, association wrote the Federal Transit Adminis- Transportation Management Asso- tional bonds are sold. pating issuing more public debt to president, said Sacramento Re- tration, which provides transit ciation, a nonprofit group that of- “No FTA recipient should be al- finance its under-funded capital gional Transit Authority has been agencies with capital and opera- fers bus service on the city’s north- lowed to redeploy or otherwise shift expansion plans.” struggling financially in recent tional funds. west side. scarce public capital or operating Masui said SACRT has signed years and should not be spending The transit agency said it has He contends the low bid that funds to either subsidize private CONTINUED ON PAGE 10 c Amaya-Astron Seating Mexico Phone: +52 (55) 5311 5000 email: [email protected] Sales representatives for the U.S. & Canada SAFETY AND COMFORT IN PERFECT COMBINATION George Farrell Phone: (864) 895 4127 email: [email protected] Darrell Niswander Phone: (419) 892 2377 email: [email protected] Transit Sales Phone: (610) 265 3610 email: [email protected] FOLLOW US Grupo Amaya-Astron @amayastron www.amaya-astron.com.mx 4 March 15, 2012 Bus & Motorcoach News House/Senate highway bills UMA Capital Hill Days are next month WASHINGTON — The Unit- in conjunction with the National UMA and NSTA members with in- beset by pots holes, detours ed Motorcoach Association is en- School Transportation Assoc.