Motorcoach Council Wins Strong Association Support DENVER — the Motorcoach $2,000 “Founding Partner” Fee
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March 15, 2009 Motorcoach Council wins strong association support DENVER — The Motorcoach $2,000 “founding partner” fee. with a $25,000 check — more than UMA tradeshows, and for this rea- little as $2,000. The directors not Council, the fledgling organization The boost from the associations 12 times the founding partner rate. son we wanted to keep that momen- only bought the idea but upped the set up to promote motorcoach trav- came in the wake of appeals made And, just days later, the North tum alive and strong,” said Bill contribution by another $5,000. el throughout North America, has by the council at two national trade Carolina Motorcoach Association Gentry of Gentry Trailways in At the same time, the Tennessee gotten a major boost from two state shows in January. sent in a membership application Knoxville, Tenn. group issued an industrywide chal- motorcoach associations. The Tennessee Motor Coach with a check for $10,000, five times Gentry and Chris Levering of lenge for other states to join the The Tennessee Motor Coach Association responded to the ex- the founding member fee, and indi- Gray Line Nashville, jointly asked group and match its contribution. Association and the North Carolina citement the council generated at cated that amount was just a start. their association’s board to join the The North Carolina association Motorcoach Association joined the the UMA Motorcoach Expo and “The energy and excitement council and to spend $20,000 to do was the first to respond, agreeing to council and made financial contri- the ABA Marketplace and joined about the Motorcoach Council was it even though the group could have sign up for $10,000, plus a commit- butions many times larger than the the organization just weeks later astounding following the ABA and become a founding member for as CONTINUED ON PAGE 14 c New bus safety bill in Congress State registration proposal Called most important would double fleet charges legislation in decades WASHINGTON — The Feder- that don’t pay the fees. WASHINGTON — A Pennsylvania congressman al Motor Carrier Safety Adminis- “Any increase seems premature whose industry-supported bus and motorcoach safety tration will soon be considering a inasmuch as it appears enforcement legislation stalled in Congress last year has introduced proposal that would more than of the UCRA fees has been lax at an updated version of his proposal again this year. double state bus and truck registra- best,” said Ken Presley, vice presi- Rep. Bill Shuster (R-Pa.) said he’s optimistic his tion fees paid under the two-year- dent of industry relations at the Bus Uniform Standards and Enhanced Safety Act will old Unified Carrier Registration United Motorcoach Association. Agreement. Bob Pitcher, vice president for have a better run this year. The board that oversees the state laws for the American Truck- “We hope the introduction of this legislation rekin- UCRA, which replaced the old ing Associations and vice chair- dles the debate over motorcoach and bus safety,” he Single-State Registration System man of the UCRA board, told a said. in 2007, voted last month to rec- leading trucking publication the Ken Presley, vice president of the United Motor- continued support of much of the industry. ommend that the FMCSA overhaul new structure unfairly punishes coach Association, called the measure — H.R. 1135 “It is essential that the traveling public is protected the UCRA fee structure, boosting carriers who have been complying — the most important piece of legislation affecting the with safety requirements that are based on science fees for 2010 by more than 100 with the registration requirements. bus and motorcoach industry in decades, and he urged rather than government mandate alone,” stressed percent. “We think that in the case of… operators from around the country to support it and Shuster. The proposed increase has out- most of the states, the effort in en- urge their congressional representatives to do so, too. Under the proposed legislation, the National High- raged bus and truck industry asso- forcement has been lacking,” he Although the new version of the bipartisan legisla- way Traffic Safety Administration would be required ciations, and appears to be another said, “and without a decent effort at tion has some key changes, it again emphasizes estab- to conduct studies to determine what safety measures example of where companies that enforcement, it certainly sends the lishing safety measures that come from extensive gov- might be needed, including possible requirements for are doing the right thing will be pe- wrong signal to carriers and bro- ernment studies and testing rather than federal seatbelts, stronger roof construction, improved win- nalized because states are incapa- kers who have not been paying the mandates, a critical element that helps assure it the CONTINUED ON PAGE 12 c ble of coping with the scofflaws CONTINUED ON PAGE 6 c A little straight talk: Why we would print ‘a union view’ By William Allen hardcore union man, it’s his vision own company of economic regulation that should Operators Repond would have For the March 1 issue of Bus & Opinion trouble the entrepreneurs who popu- Turn to Page 8 remained just Motorcoach News, the editorial late the bus and motorcoach industry. t h a t — a committee selected an op-ed piece ber awareness of how others envi- It is very likely the majority of made their businesses possible. dream. from the president of the Amal- sion the future of the bus and mo- bus and motorcoach companies in Of course, there are those bus Imagine a gamated Transit Union National torcoach business. business today did not exist 25 and motorcoach companies whose government William Allen Local 1700 because of its thought- Judging by the calls we have years ago. Many operators may not owners were bus and motorcoach system that provoking content, with the goal received – it worked. even know that it was the econom- drivers before deregulation, and decides who gets the opportunity and responsibility of raising mem- While it is clear the author is a ic deregulation of the industry that any dream they had of owning their CONTINUED ON PAGE 11 c ABC COMP A NIES Sale Ready starting at $150,000 1999-2000 Lease Rates starting at $2,495 Van Hool T2145s • Detroit Series 60/B500 or Cummins/B500 • 57 Passenger • 5 Monitor Video • Aluminum Wheels • 3 available ALSO AVAILABLE: 2005 J4500 $285,000 2003 J4500 $240,000 CAT/ZF / 54 Passenger Detroit S60 / B500 / 55 Passenger Used vehicles sold “as-is.” Actual coach may vary from photo. No warranties expressed or implied. Financing and special lease rates available to qualified customers. 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The United Mo- diesel fuel 80 percent of the time ers want to gain an understanding of (802) 656-9141, or by e-mail at ated standards and protocols for a torcoach Association is encourag- • Offset carbon emissions by the impact of the program on consum- [email protected]. Upscale competition: Classic Coach buy changes dynamic BOHEMIA, N.Y. — Classic for the past 35 years. Both Classic Coach/Hampton Island 18 hours a day.