March 1, 2007 WHAT’S GOING ON IN THE BUS INDUSTRY FTA proposes major overhaul of charter bus rules WASHINGTON — The Fed- began in May — to come up with a representatives from public transit during the advisory committee To accomplish that, a team of eral Transit Administration has pro- new set of rules that would end agencies, private bus companies meetings.” FTA attorneys, lead Chief Counsel posed a complete revamping of the decades of fighting between public and trade associations representing The rules proposed by the fed- David Horner, took the advisory regulations that prohibit public transit agencies and private bus both, reached consensus on much eral agency that sends billions of committee’s recommendations and transit agencies from providing operators. of the proposed regulatory lan- taxpayer dollars annually to public the FTA’s own thoughts and mold- charter bus service. Many of the proposed revisions guage. transit agencies across the U.S. ed them into proposed regulations The rules overhaul is contained were developed by the Charter Bus Where the advisory committee were specifically developed to stop that retool nearly every aspect of in a 55-page “Notice of Proposed Negotiated Rulemaking Advisory members could not agree, the FTA transits from using taxpayer-paid- the charter rules. Rulemaking” the FTA issued last Committee that met monthly be- has stepped in to serve as arbitrator for buses to compete unfairly with month. tween May and December to craft and has proposed revisions that it private bus operators, and to do Gone, gone, gone The proposal is a major mile- recommendations for the FTA. says are based “on the open and away with old rules that have been For example, the new rules stone in a tedious process — that The committee, made up of informed exchange that took place a constant source of friction. CONTINUED ON PAGE 15 þ Truckers warming up to ’07 diesel engines Early reports from the trucking over-the-road applications and industry indicate the ’07 reduced- short hauls with various cus- emissions diesel engines are per- tomers. forming, well, just fine. Penske provided early feed- Take Penske Truck Leasing, back on component changes, as which has one of the largest fleets well as design issues pertaining to in North America with more than the placement of particulate traps. 200,000 heavy-, medium- and “With all the engines we’ve light-duty trucks. been running,” Mike Hasinec, While other truck operators Penske’s vice president of mainte- were — or are still — debating nance systems and support told whether to buy even one Class 8 one trucking publication, “we truck with a new EPA-certified en- haven’t seen any issues we’d con- gine, Penske is knee-deep in 2007 sider alarming.” engine-performance checking. As a result, Penske plans to The company’s maintenance purchase 7,000 to 9,000 Class 8 operation began evaluating and trucks with the cleaner-burning en- testing preproduction ’07 engines gines from various manufacturers as early as October 2005, running CONTINUED ON PAGE 12 þ A forklift operator loads new Detroit Diesel engines into a tractor-trailer for shipment to a truck manufacturer. Bus rental outfit is scrutinized by coach operators ROME, Ga. — A new breed of 25- and 41-passenger buses to col- Charters in Gainesville, Ga., said are liable for insuring both the coach company it is not subject to competitor for tour-and-charter leges, high schools, businesses, of the issue, which was a major driver and the vehicle. federal regulations that require reg- bus companies is drawing sharp churches, senior groups and others topic of discussion at Motorcoach “They just sign the contract ular bus safety inspections and fre- scrutiny from coach operators in from its locations in Cartersville Expo in New Orleans. just like you and I do when we rent quent driver testing. Georgia who say the new entry is and Rome, just outside of Atlanta. He said that while people who a car,” he said. “In my opinion that puts the not only putting the public at risk It essentially operates like any rent the buses have to sign a con- The dangers of such a practice public at risk and I don’t think the but could tarnish the safety reputa- car rental agency, except it also tract detailing their responsibili- could be astronomical, says Brenda public even realizes it,” she em- tion of the entire industry. offers large and midsize coaches. ties, he believes that most of them Tidwell of Leisure Time Charters phasized. Being closely watched is Auto- “It’s a very, very scary situa- are not reading the fine print in the in Emerson, Ga., who said that She warns that if someone Max Rent-a-Car, which is renting tion,” Jimmy Cantrell of Daniel’s rental agreement that explains they because AutoMax is not a motor- CONTINUED ON PAGE 16 þ Bus & Motorcoach NEWS INDUSTRY NEWS March 1, 2007 3 FirstGroup to acquire Laidlaw; what about Greyhound? NAPERVILLE, Ill. – When it tion. Perhaps sold, spun-off or speculation and conjecture. operating companies, including Coach USA and Stagecoach are was announced last month that downsized even more. In article For his part, Greyhound Pres- Greyhound.” ginning up megabus.com in the Britain’s biggest bus company after article there was sentence ident and CEO Steve Gorman con- While it will be weeks before U.S., and there are strong indica- planned to buy Laidlaw Interna- after sentence suggesting Grey- firmed that Greyhound is in limbo. anything concrete develops, that tions that an expansion of mega- tional, the No. 1 operator of school hound wasn’t a good fit with In a message to employees, hasn’t slowed British media and bus.com is in the offing. Currently, buses in North America, much of FirstGroup, the company that pro- Gorman said “no decision has some financial analysts from spin- megabus operates only in the the comment generated by the deal poses to buy Laidlaw for $2.8 bil- been made on Greyhound’s future. ning out scenarios that would have Upper Midwest, with Chicago as focused on Laidlaw’s dogged sub- lion. No decision will be made until the Greyhound being bought by its hub. sidiary, Greyhound Lines. FirstGroup CEO Moir Lock- deal closes. At that point, a deci- Stagecoach Group, the Scottish In a reality check, it should be There was immediate specula- head and Laidlaw executives sion on all key assets will be made parent company of Coach USA noted that Greyhound has never tion Greyhound could be headed remained mum about plans for by FirstGroup. Until then, it will and Coach Canada. been much of a fit with Laidlaw for yet another uncertain destina- Greyhound, helping stoke the be business as usual at all of the After all, the thinking goes, CONTINUED ON PAGE 16 þ New York promises halt to indiscriminate ticketing NEW YORK — Tour and char- indiscriminately, but also handing lem developed when police sent were not adequately versed in greater distances from their desti- ter bus drivers who have been hit out traffic citations and criminal traffic officers from outside motorcoach regulations, which nations to avoid these tickets,” he with parking tickets and other summonses for standing and drop- Manhattan to help control the likely caused the surge in tickets told the mayor. vehicle violations — some of off violations even when coaches growing traffic congestion prob- that the bus drivers received. Additionally, he warned that them criminal summonses — in were in areas designated specifi- lem that has developed in the heart NYC & Company was brought some out-of-state operators could midtown New York City are in for cally for commercial buses. of the city, especially during holi- into the situation after Eyre sent a start avoiding New York entirely as some major relief. Many of the citations came days and special events. letter to New York Mayor Michael a destination for their charter NYC & Company, the city’s during the holiday seasons when “We in New York City have R. Bloomberg asking him to look groups, a move he noted could official tourism marketing agency, many more charters than usual been a victim of our own success into the problem and warning of cost the city millions of dollars. says it has reached an agreement visit the city. in that the city has been incredibly the possible loss of tourism rev- Eyre said he was extremely with the New York Police Depart- The tickets were the topic of congested during these periods,” enue if the issue was not resolved. pleased with the quick resolution ment that should slow the issuance discussions by motorcoach owners Dixon said in a letter to Ronald “Our primary concern is that of the problem. “Nobody could of tickets. who attended the annual gather- Eyre, immediate-past chairman of this activity could result in a ask for more cooperation than Beginning with the 2005 holi- ings last month of both the United the American Bus Association and severe disruption of motorcoach what we received,” he said. day season and continuing into Motorcoach Association and the president of Eyre Bus Service in operations in the city and safe Under the negotiated agree- this year, there have been wide- American Bus Association. Maryland. operating procedures, as drivers ment, the police agreed to: spread reports of New York police Fred Dixon, vice president of Dixon said the traffic officers may be forced to circle the city • Provide in-depth training of not only issuing parking tickets NYC & Company, said the prob- brought in from other boroughs streets or drop passengers at CONTINUED ON PAGE 12 þ HURRY THEY ARE MOVING FAST! Call your nearby ABC Account Executive today.