July 9, 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!
Reminder: UMA Board nominations due by Aug. 1
Please note, August. 1, 2019, is the deadline to submit nominations for open seats on the UMA Board of Directors. This year, there will be five open seats. Two seats are available in regions 2 and 3 and one seat is available in region 1.

The following is a breakout of states by UMA region:

  • REGION 1: AK, AZ, AR, CA, CO, HI, IA, ID, KS, LA, MI, MN, MO, MT, ND, NE, NM, NV, OK, OR, SD, TX, UT, WA, WI, WY
  • REGION 2: AL, DC, FL, GA, IL, IN, KY, MS, NC, SC, TN, VA
  • REGION 3: CT, DE, MA, MD, ME, NH, NJ, NY, OH, PA, RI, VT, WV
  • REGION 4: All Provinces and Territories in Canada

Written letters of nomination must state the candidate’s name, company affiliation and home base location. Nomination letters also must be postmarked, emailed or faxed before August 1, 2019.

CONTACT: If you have questions or wish to submit a letter of nomination (for yourself or another UMA member), please contact UMA President & CEO, Stacy Tetschner at stetschner@uma.org.
Having a plan in place is key to best outcome
How to manage the scene of a motorcoach accident or crisis
METRO | by Bob Crescenzo | July 2, 2019

No driver plans to have an accident; crashes are sudden and unexpected events. However, what you and your drivers can plan for is how to manage the people and the scene when an accident occurs.

By having a crisis/accident management plan in place and properly training your drivers in executing the plan, you can help keep them safe and protect your passengers and your company’s reputation. It can also have a tremendous impact on the outcome of the claim.
Four of twenty-three passengers injured en route to appearance.

WCMH Kansas City | by Chakour Koop | July 5, 2019

A Branson, Missouri, music group’s tour bus crashed and overturned early Friday morning in Ohio, injuring four people, media outlets reported.

The Duttons,  a family bluegrass band that has a theater in Branson , was traveling to a  performance aboard a cruise ship  when the bus overturned about 12:30 a.m. Friday, the family said in a Facebook post. The bus was turning on an exit ramp off Interstate 70 in Columbus  when it flipped on its side , radio station WCBE reported.

An essential event for safety & compliance pros
December 4-5, 2019 | Ashburn, VA
NTSB TRAINING CENTER
UMA to host regional town hall meetings on day one of EXPO
Your UMA regional Board Reps invite operators to attend a face to face “Regional Town Hall” meeting with colleagues from your region to discuss issues affecting operators in your area. It will be a great way to get acquainted and reacquainted on day one!

Sunday, January 19
  • 1 - 2 p.m. - Meetings for Regions 1, 2, & 3
  • 2:30 - 4 p.m. - Meeting for Region 4
Nashville's recipe for international appeal: Collaboration, cooperation, putting the city first
The Tennessean | by Butch Spyridon | July 5, 2019

Nashville’s prominence as a destination may appear to be an overnight success story, but the city’s international appeal comes after many years of thoughtful discussion, deliberate planning and hard work by many individuals. The hallmark of Nashville’s growth for decades has always been collaboration, cooperation and putting the city first, and our destination results are no exception.

Fifteen years ago, more than 140 community leaders from varied backgrounds gathered to discuss the future of Nashville as a visitor destination. The conversation lasted over a year and a half, resulting in a community-wide commitment to grow Nashville into a top-tier global destination. 

The plan worked. Perhaps much better and faster than anyone envisioned.

PERSONNEL

Employees have started doing something truly insulting to their bosses
(and the bosses are really angry)

Inc. | by Chris Matyszcyk | July 6, 2019

A bsurdly Driven  looks at the world of business with a skeptical eye and a firmly rooted tongue in cheek.

We're living in an era of enormous, and enormously fast, change.

Of course we can blame the thoughtless, heartless mind of technology.

We, though, have allowed it to systematize our behavior and reduce our sense of natural human feeling toward someone else.

I'm moved to this snippet from a (putative) mindfulness seminar by the sudden emotions of those who run ad agencies.

They're shocked, stunned and positively hurt that employees are treating them with utter disregard.
As Digiday reports , one agency head of talent -- um, fancy word for HR, I suppose -- declared themselves "flabbergasted" by employees' recent behavior.

What are these miscreants doing? They're quitting and walking straight out. Or, at least, not offering to work their two weeks' notice period.
Advertisement: New opportunities in Bus & Motorcoach News
PEOPLE

Noted bus photographer George Zieba honored by NEBA at summer meeting

Meeting at Nonantum Resort in Kennebunkport, Maine ahead of the July 4th holiday, members of the New England Bus Association gathered for their summer meeting. The annual event is an opportunity for colleagues to meet face to face, network, learn, and celebrate stand-outs in the industry.

Well known photographer of buses, George Zieba was honored by NEBA during the event and inducted into the group's Hall of Fame on June 22.
SAFETY
Summer: good time to brush up on tire safety

by Ken Presley, UMA Staff | July 9, 2019

If the past few weeks has been any indication, we’re in for a very hot summer.

While you should always keep a close eye on your bus and motorcoach tires and inspect them on a pre-trip basis, those hot summer months are a good time to pay a little extra attention as the high temperatures and hot roadways contribute to the breakdown of tires and a greater opportunity for tire failure.

Luke Loy, Sr. Mechanical Engineer at the U.S. Department of Transportation is noted for saying, “Tires are made with heat and pressure, they come apart the same way.”

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Crash Causation Study found that there was an issue with a tire before a crash occurred in 1 of 11 crashes. Those issues included tread separations, blowouts, bald tires, and underinflation.

While you should always follow the original equipment and tire manufacturers instructions, here’s a few items you likely need to keep a close eye on:

Air Pressure - Low air pressure leads to increased tire temperature and is one of the main causes of blowouts. Know what your tires’ air pressure requirements are and regularly check the air pressure to make sure the level is at the correct standard. Notify maintenance if you observe a tire is having problems maintaining air pressure. Remember, under-inflation is generally considered any pressure less than the minimum recommended for the tire load. It’s a good idea to check air pressure when the tire is cold, prior to starting a trip.

Condition - check the condition of tires during a pre-trip inspection by listening for air leaks, signs of uneven wear, sidewall damage and anything out of the ordinary.

Tire tread - tires with low tread depth are more likely to blow out when striking road debris. Uneven tread wear wearing is often a sign of improper air pressure. According to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration regulations, “the minimum tread depth for a steer tire is 4/32 of an inch on every major tread groove.”

Speed rating - Observe the speed rating of your tires and note that some states now permit speeds that may exceed the speed rating of your tires. The speed rating of your tire is your “speed limit."

Properly maintaining your tires is not only going to make you safer on the road, but it will help you avoid citations, improve your fuel mileage, help your tires last longer and avoid passenger inconvenience.
Luke Loy, Sr. Mechanical Engineer at the U.S. Department of Transportation is noted for saying, “Tires are made with heat and pressure, they come apart the same way.”

A few more tips:

  • Immediately replace missing valve caps.
  • When you strike or run over any road debris, locate a suitable place to exit the roadway and check to see if any damage was done.
  • Don’t forget to look between dual tires to see if anything has become lodged or any abnormal bulges.

For more tire safety tips and a convenient reminder to place in your bus and motorcoach, click here .
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.
California commits to global leadership on climate change
Bus & Motorcoach News | by Shandra Martinez | July 3, 2019

MONTREAL—In a recent press conference announcing successes, the International Transport Decarbonization Alliance touted California coming on board as a major accomplishment. Launched in 2018, the group brings together countries, cities, regions and companies committed to shrinking the transport sector’s carbon footprint before 2050.

The Golden State is the first country, state or city in North America to join the group, speakers said. With the world’s fifth-largest economy, California could have a bigger impact than any of the group’s member countries, such as Costa Rica, Finland, France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Portugal.
“We are very proud to have the state of California as one of the new members we gained this year,” said Maruxa Cardama, secretary general of the Partnership on Sustainable, Low Carbon Transport (SLoCaT), at the press conference held at Movin’On Summit in Montreal.

The three-day gathering in early June, described as the “Davos of mobility,” drew 6,000 leaders from business, politics and academia representing 43 countries with a goal of moving from “ambition to action” in addressing sustainable mobility.

Safety rating system brings insurance nightmare for some operators

Bus & Motorcoach News | by Hal Mattern | June 25, 2019

Api Dogan had no idea when he purchased 10 late-model motorcoaches in March 2018 that he would spend the next year in insurance hell. Or that he would lose hundreds of thousands of dollars and nearly go bankrupt—all of which could have been avoided.

Dogan, owner of Infinity Transportation Management in Chicago, is among a small percentage of motorcoach operators who lose their liability insurance after their safety rating is downgraded from “satisfactory” or “no rating” to “conditional” by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.

Cancellation or non-renewal of an operator’s insurance by one of the six standard insurance companies that offer motorcoach policies pretty much shuts the operator out of the standard insurance market until it can get its rating back to satisfactory. Such operators are forced into the secondary insurance market where companies are willing to write policies for carriers with conditional ratings. In return they charge exorbitant rates that can raise an operator’s premiums five-fold.
MEMBER BENEFITS

Show your professionalism with a UMA member badge on your website

UMA Members are given the opportunity to use the UMA logo on any of their promotional materials. Two formats of the logo are available - high resolution for use with printed material and low resolution for use on your website with web-based products. The logo can be added to your stationery, business cards, and promotional material to proudly display your membership with the United Motorcoach Association.   Get details on the UMA website in the members-only section.

And did you know that UMA members on Busrates.com get special treatment for their profile to make it stand out, and can use the UMA logo on their listing to show their professionalism? It's another way UMA membership helps your business stay on top.

Please contact us at 1.800.424.8262 should you experience any difficulties in downloading the image files. A UMA staff member will be happy to assist you. Similarly, email Julie Ryder at     jryder@uma.org  and you can receive the artwork via email.

Motorcoach Industry Calendar

JULY 2019
  • 14-20 Operation Safe Driver Week Learn More
  • 28- August 1 , Regional Meeting of AMA, GMOA, and SCMA, Renaissance Hotel/Convention Center, Montgomery, AL Learn More

AUGUST 2019
  • 1 Deadline to nominate candidates for UMA Board of Directors
  • 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

NOVEMBER 2019

DECEMBER

JANUARY 2020

MARCH 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!