Member NewsFlash: Monday, August 24, 2020

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1. Twin hurricanes in Gulf underscore need for industry relief

As the hurricane season continues, and Marco and Laura move inland and toward the coast respectively, motorcoach operators are on alert to be called up to support safety and evacuation efforts, even as coronavirus relief legislation is stalled in Washington.

Federal Emergency Management Administration Emergency Declaration requests have been granted for Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas due to the threat posed by the two storms.

2. Sign up to be notified when your elected officials are having meetings in your area of the country

Town Hall Project - In addition to finding out which meetings are happening in your area, the Town Hall project also allows you to set up notifications so you can know of meetings in advance. Sign up for meeting alerts.

Be altered about meetings

3 . Remind Congress who evacuates communities during hurricanes, wildfires and other disasters

WRITE TO YOUR U.S. REPRESENTATIVE

WRITE TO YOUR U.S. SENATORS

FIND YOUR U.S. REP'S TELEPHONE NUMBER

FIND YOUR SENATORS' TELEPHONE NUMBERS

4. Sales pro Jim Pancero asks: Could these questions help your team sell more?

Sales training coach Jim Pancero offers ideas for questions that might help your sales team engage at a higher level when speaking with prospective clients.

Jim presented a sales training program at the original Virtual Summit: Ready. Aim. RESTART! back in June. He is a Hall of Fame speaker and has a big collection of free sales training videos and articles on his pancero.com website.

Have you clarified the best questions to be asking your customers now? 294

5. UMA AssurCLEAN surpasses 100 participating companies, and decals are showing up on fleets

The UMA AssurCLEAN program, which allows motorcoach operators to showcase their attention to a 7-point cleaning and disinfecting program for their fleets, has surpassed 100 participants.

At right are some photos of vehicles bearing AssurCLEAN decals, thanks to photos sent by participants. Send photos of your vehicles with AssurCLEAN decals affixed, to jryder@uma.org.

Each of the companies, by acknowledging the tenets of the program, can display AssurCLEAN decals on their vehicles so passengers can travel with confidence. Every AssurCLEAN member is listed on the AssurCLEAN website so consumers can see the program’s requirements and choose an AssurCLEAN participant for their travel needs.

“Every AssurCLEAN participant has designated one team member to head up all SARS-CoV-2 concerns and provided every employee with proper training to limit transmission,” according to Larry Killingsworth, President/CEO of the United Motorcoach Association. “Consumers who choose a company from our AssurCLEAN listings are able to travel with confidence knowing these companies are on top of recommending cleaning products and protocols at the federal, state, and local levels.”

The program is free of charge and exclusively for Members of UMA.

LEARN MORE ABOUT ASSURCLEAN

6 . New Jersey driver accused of texting while driving sentenced to prison for death of pedestrian

by Ken Presley

FREEHOLD, N.J. — A September 2016 crash has resulted in a New Jersey woman being sentenced to five years in prison in the death of a pedestrian that prosecutors said occurred as the driver was texting.

The woman, Alexandra Mansonet, 51, of Keansburg, NJ was convicted of vehicular homicide last fall.

Mansonet rear-ended another car that struck Yuwen Wang, 39, while crossing a street on a break from her nearby job. Ms. Wang died five-days later.

Despite Ms. Mansonet’s attorney indicating plans to appeal, the judge Friday denied a request to allow her to remain free pending an appeal.

“Imprisonment is not passive deterrence as the defendant argues,” commented Judge David Bauman.” It serves as a clarion call to stop texting and driving before the next person dies senselessly because of someone’s reckless and selfish behavior.”

7. University of Nebraska adds buses along campus routes to encourage social distancing

News UNL | August 24, 2020 | by Deann Gayman

University of Nebraska–Lincoln community members who utilize campus bus services will notice a few changes when in-person class instruction begins Aug. 24.

In order to accommodate riders and to comply with social distancing measures, University Parking and Transit Services has contracted with Arrow Stage Lines to add buses to the City Campus/East Campus routes. The Arrow buses will follow the Star Tran vehicles on routes 24 and 25, and after the first bus to filled to capacity, additional riders will immediately board the available trailing bus. Both the StarTran and Arrow buses will have decreased capacity, with StarTran limiting the number to 15 riders per bus, and Arrow allowing 27.

“Arrow will only be allowing the use of window seats to keep the six feet of distance,” Dan Carpenter, director of Parking and Transit Services, said. “They’ve also installed barriers between the seats to up protection, and they’re requiring masks.”