April 30, 2019
Are key members of your team receiving the UMA Member Newsletter every Tuesday? It's easy to sign up and keep everyone on your team up-to-date on industry trends, membership benefits, and important dates and events. Click the button!
UMA mourns loss of two founding members,
Rachel Allen and Joe Ready
UMA members have recently lost two important leaders who had been with our organization since its founding days as the United Bus Operators Association (UBOA). Rachel E. Allen of northern California's Amador Stage Lines, the mother of longtime board member Bill Allen and widow of UBOA founder Alex Allen, passed away earlier this month. And yesterday another founding member of UBOA, Joe Ready, the father of Tom Ready of Ready Bus Company in La Crescent, MN was laid to rest with military honors following a Mass of Christian Burial.

Remarking on the loss, UMA President and CEO Stacy Tetschner said, "UMA is so fortunate to have benefited from these amazing pioneers of the industry who helped develop and support the vision of what the organization has become today. They will be incredibly missed, and we send our deepest condolences to their families."
NPS WEBINAR
Pose questions in advance of the online event that will explain CUA permit changes relevant to tours
Operators who want to learn more about CUAs and fees for road-based commercial tours effective October 1, 2019 should join the National Park Service for webinar on May 6, 2019 at a time to be determined. You may submit questions in advance by e-mail by using a link on the following page: https://www.nps.gov/aboutus/commercial-use-authorizations.htm

The first of two webinars on this topic was held on April 24 and Rick Stoff of Bus & Motorcoach News logged in and reports the following was discussed:

The National Park Service promises an online platform will be available by Oct. 1 so commercial tour operators can simultaneously submit permit applications and pay fees to all 419 national parks they may visit. However, individual parks will still be permitted to impose site-specific conditions on the commercial use authorization (CUA) permits for "road based commercial tours."

During a webinar on April 24, officials disclosed additional details about policies that will take effect in the next federal fiscal year and impose permit and fee requirements at 302 parks that do not currently charge fees and increase fees at 35 parks that currently do. NPS has been working on the policies since 2017 to raise funds for a backlog in park maintenance needs.

During the webinar, NPS spokespeople revealed that tour passengers under the age of 16 will not be assessed entrance fees at parks that assess entrance fees. However, a $5 per-person "management fee" will be assessed for each passenger under 16 at parks that do not charge "entrance" fees, payable at the end of the year. Tour operators will be required to obtain $300 CUAs for all national parks and be required to file annual reports at the end of the year for every CUA they hold, even if they did not visit each park.
Sales Summit gives access to top tech solutions
Presenters at the Bus & Motorcoach Industry Sales Summit include experts and thought leaders from throughout the industry:  
  • Numaan Akram, Founder and CEO, Rally
  • Eric Elliot, VP Sales & Marketing, Distinctive Systems 
  • Brent Maitland, VP Marketing and Product Planning, MCI
  • Jim McCann of Spader Business Management
  • Joanna Patterson, Head of Business Development, FlixBus
  • Chris Riddell, President, United Bus Technology (and formerly of the Motorcoach Marketing Council)
  • Shawna Suckow, Travel Industry Sales Thought Leader
Bonus sales session with Shawna Suckow
Radisson Blu| Parkview Room | Tuesday, May 28, 2019 | 3:30 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. | $74 (bonus session)


Buyers all over the world are evolving and changing and are particularly different than they were just a few years ago. In fact, there’s been more disruption in the buyer mindset in the past five years than in the past 100! We’ve all changed how we behave, how we prefer companies market to us, and how/when/where we make our buying decisions. Every industry is poised to go through some level of disruption in the immediate future. How can you prepare your sales funnel for what’s coming? What tools do you need to be proactive, rather than reactive?

Join industry veteran and buyer behavior expert Shawna Suckow, CMP, as she shares the insider secrets from her best-selling book, based on extensive B2B and B2C research. She’s spoken to organizations on five continents to help them strategize, market better, and serve more customers.

This session will position your practice better for the immediate future, as well as what’s next. You’ll learn  new ways to use old tools  that will save you lots of marketing time and resources, so you and your team can focus on what you do best.

PARTICIPANT OUTCOMES:
 
  • Discover new tools and actionable strategies that will help you prospect more effectively, attract new business, get more referrals, and ultimately drive more revenue in 2020 and beyond
  • Learn from Shawna’s latest research: what strategies actually work today to get buyer attention, build credibility, and establish trust – all critical factors when choosing a company to partner with.
  • Learn the six easy steps that will keep you relevant and successful well into the future.
How New Yorkers make bank ratting out idling drivers
New York Post | by Julia Marsh | April 28, 2019

Dropping a dime on trucks and buses that keep their engines running while parked is paying big bucks to some New Yorkers.

The number of summonses issued for violating the city’s anti-idling law skyrocketed to 1,038 last year — up from just 24 in 2017 —  following the creation of a reward program  for ratting out offenders, The Post has learned.

Meanwhile, the city Department of Environmental Protection has handed out nearly $20,000 to 13 whistleblowers who each got a 25 percent share of the fines generated by their tips, according to official data.

PEOPLE


GMOA honors legacy
of industry leader
Woody Shelnutt

Al Harris, president of Horizon Motorcoach in Augusta, Georgia and current president of Georgia Motorcoach Operators Association, presents Connie Shelnutt a memento and recognition of Woody Shelnutt’s many years of tireless service to GMOA. Woody and Connie owned Coastal Georgia Trailways in Brunswick prior to Woody’s passing last November. 
Bus & Motorcoach News is mailed twice monthly to all UMA members. In addition, it's available online 24/7 at www.busandmotorcoachnews.com and by email, on a schedule you choose! Invite everyone on your staff to stay informed about the industry by signing up for email updates from  Bus & Motorcoach News .  Sign up here. You can choose daily or weekly updates! Below is a sampling of what's in our latest digital and print editions.
Ramp in deadly VA crash investigated

Bus & Motorcoach News | April 23, 2019 

A month before a deadly March 19 bus crash, the Virginia Department of Transportation began investigating the safety of an I-95 exit ramp after a complaint that signs were confusing drivers, causing them to take the exit at too high of a speed, Associated Press reported.

The Tao’s Travel bus was carrying 57 people from Orlando to New York City when it ran off the ramp on a dark, foggy morning, leaving two dead and dozens more injured. Driver Yui Man Chow, 40, charged with manslaughter, told police the bus was going 70 mph when he took the exit. An injured passenger is suing Tao’s and Chow for $10 million.
Aerial view of a massive highway intersection in Los Angeles
L.A. considering congestion pricing

Bus & Motorcoach News  |  April 23, 2019 

In a move to relieve traffic congestion and combat climate change, the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) board of directors voted to continue to explore congestion relief pricing.

The authority will do a 12- to 24-month feasibility study to evaluate three options: a cordon model, where anyone traveling into a designated zone is charged a fee; a Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) model, where charges are based on the number of vehicle miles traveled within congested areas; and a corridor model, where anyone traveling within a congested corridor is charged based on number of vehicle miles traveled within that corridor, according to the trade publication, Metro.
Advertisement: New opportunities in Bus & Motorcoach News
Exclusive offer for UMA members only from Century Business Solutions
Century Business Solutions has an exclusive offer for members of the United Motorcoach Associaton.

Send us the last three months of your credit card processing statements. If we find we cannot save you money, we will pay your next THREE YEARS of UMA membership dues in full.  Click to fill out the form or for more information. 
Motorcoach Industry Calendar

MAY 2019
  • 6 NPS Webinar on road-based commercial tour CUA requirements and commercial tour entrance fee changes effective October 1, 2019 -- Time and link TBA
  • 29-30 UMA Inaugural Sales Summit, Mall of America, Bloomington, MN Learn more and register

JUNE 2019
  • 1 Spring Fling at the Museum of Bus Transportation, Hershey, PA https://busmuseum.org/events/spring-fling/
  • 4-6 CVSA International Roadcheck
  • 18-21 PBA Annual Meeting, Resorts Casino, Atlantic City, NJ (Hosted by Atlantic City/MeetAC)
  • 20-23 New England Bus Association Annual Conference, Nonantum Resort Kennebunkport, ME
  • 21 PBA Board Meeting, Atlantic City http://pabus.org/

JULY 2019
  • 28- August 1 , Regional Meeting of AMA, GMOA, and SCMA, Renaissance Hotel/Convention Center, Montgomery, AL Learn More

AUGUST 2019
  • 6-9 IMG Strategic Alliance Meeting, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
  • 12-14 Midwest Bus & Motorcoach Association (MBMCA) Annual Convention and Trade Show (and Roadeo Competition), Isle Casino Hotel, Bettendorf, IA www.mbmca.org
  • 14 PBA Safety & Preparedness Workshop, York Springs, PA http://pabus.org/
  • 15-18 NAMO Annual Conference & Marketplace – Springfield, MO Oasis Hotel and Convention Center  http://www.namo-coaches.org/

SEPTEMBER 2019
  • 11, Maryland Motorcoach Association Annual Crab Feast, Kentmorr Restaurant and Crab House. Stevensville, MD
  • 18-22 Regional Meeting of NCMA, VMA, and MCASC, Embassy/Marriott/Benton Convention Center, Winston-Salem, NC Learn More

OCTOBER 2019
  • 9-10 GNJMA Fall Annual Meeting & Related Events including Group Leader Marketplace, Resorts Atlantic City http://www.gnjma.com/
  • 13 -15 California Bus Association’s 46th Annual Convention and Trade Show, Sheraton Carlsbad Resort and Spa www.cbabus.com
  • 20-22 Bus Association of New York (BANY) Annual Meeting and Marketplace, Sands Bethlehem, Bethlehem, PA – bany@banybus.org
  • October 21-23, 201920th Annual North West Motorcoach Association ROADEO Location TBD

JANUARY 2020
OCTOBER 2020
  • 25- 27 California Bus Association’s 47th Annual Convention and Trade Show, Omni Rancho Las Palmas in Rancho Mirage, CA (Palm Springs) www.cbabus.com
YOU ARE UMA
Remember, as a UMA member you have the power of discounts on the best products and services, access to relevant education, targeted professional resources, and colleagues all over the map. Remember to consult your member directory when you need help on the road, access to more vehicles to meet demand, or services out of your area. We are UMA! Want to find other members to do business with? Use the online directory.

Reach the UMA staff by calling (703) 838-2929 or by email at info@uma.org . We love to hear from our members!