PBA Member, Old Barracks Museum, in Trenton is closed until further notice but has opened an online exhibit titled "When Women Vote: The Old Barracks and the Anti-Suffrage Movement." Visit  barracks.org/whenwomenvote to view.

As executive director of PBA Member  Discover Lehigh Valley, Alex Michaels  leads a small team of professionals who market the region for tourism. Normally, his staff would meet with travel groups to pitch Lehigh Valley attractions such as Dorney Park, the IronPigs or the Appalachian Trail.  Read more...

As thousands of operators were forced off the roads in mid-March, PBA Member,  ABC Companies, turned its focus to shaping solutions that navigate the "how" of operating in this new reality. Putting effective safeguards and protocols in place designed to ensure the comfort and security of drivers and passengers will be paramount in the post-COVID environment.  Read more...

In response to COVID-19, PennDOT has implemented a variety of operational changes and maintaining all of the CDL updates on their corona virus site. 

Governor Tom Wolf announced on April 15th that the Department of Revenue is providing relief to Pennsylvanians and businesses affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The department is offering taxpayers increased flexibility, additional time to meet their tax obligations, and a pause on several of its standard enforcement actions.  Read more...

The American Bus Association Foundation released a report showcasing the effect COVID-19 is having on the U.S. motorcoach industry.

Nearly the entire industry is currently shut down in every corner of the country. Most charter and tour companies have closed their doors, commuter operations have mostly stopped running, and scheduled service operations are operating at approximately 15% of capacity. The industry is seeing a fallout between 80% to 90% of cancelled trips and very few future bookings.  Read more...

The Senate approved roughly $484 billion in new coronavirus aid for small businesses and hospitals and more funding for testing, ending a lengthy battle over the size and contents of the package. 

The deal includes an additional $310 billion for the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), including $60 billion specifically for community banks and smaller lenders, as well as $75 billion for hospitals, $25 billion for testing, and $60 billion for emergency disaster loans and grants.  Read more...

The Senate's passage of a $484 billion coronavirus relief bill is setting the stage for negotiations on an even bigger package that could rival the $2.2 trillion CARES Act passed by Congress last month. The legislation would funnel tens of billions if not hundreds of billions to state and local governments and could address infrastructure spending and election security. Read more... 

These FAQs provide clarity regarding how COVID-19 preparations impact certain FTA requirements. They also contain recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to help grantees and subgrantees prepare for COVID-19.  Read more...

The pressure on transport organizations has shifted from moving citizens to keeping a core system operational for workers essential to the COVID-19 response," Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited said online. "A secondary effect is the sudden change in sources of revenue for transport operators, with many experiencing an unexpected shortfall in their finances.  Read more...

The workplaces we will go back to at some point will be totally different. Budget costs will trim staff and those of you that have a job to go back to will have to take on some additional tasks, I'm sure. Some of you won't be called back and will have to look for new positions ( check out a new resource at the bottom of this post for you). Either way, picking up a new job skill is a good idea.  Read more...

A group of operators decided to form the Ohio Motorcoach Association to serve as one statewide voice for the industry.  Members say the new Ohio association they've formed is not only working to support the business owners, but the thousands of employees across the state.  Read more...

Even Alexa has a opinion on why we need more dedicated help from the government during this COVID-19 crisis!  Click below to watch the video.

On March 3, the US Department of Transportation (DOT) announced the availability of an updated guidance portal. The guidance portal will provide convenient public access to the various DOT agencies guidance documents, ensure transparent use of guidance documents, and implement the Executive Order titled, "Promoting the Rule of Law Through Improved Agency Guidance Documents". All DOT guidance documents remaining in effect will be found through the guidance portal.    Read more...

Construction projects in Pennsylvania will resume beginning Friday, May 1, 2020 as part of Governor Wolf's phased reopening plan for Pennsylvania.

Commercial drivers and their services are vital to the construction industry, as well as other businesses. Offering these CDL services is an important step in supporting the business community as we prepare for a phased reopening of Pennsylvania. To support this effort, PennDOT will reopen a limited number of driver license centers that will provide Commercial Driver Licensing (CDL) services by appointment only, beginning Tuesday, April 28, 2020. Available services for commercial drivers at these locations will include CDL knowledge and skills testing, hazmat renewals and security threat assessments.

These locations will reopen for CDL services ONLY:

• Lehigh Valley - Address: 1710 Hoover Ave, Allentown;
• Somerset - Address: 5593 Glades Pike, Somerset;
• Lewistown - Address: 13217 Ferguson Valley Rd, Yeagertown; and
• Selinsgrove - Address: 1015 US-522, Selinsgrove

With a stay-at-home order in effect statewide, fewer people are driving on the Pennsylvania Turnpike.

With fewer drivers, the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission is generating a lot less money from tolls. From March 22 through April 18, the turnpike commission has seen a 50 percent drop in revenue from tolls.

The drop in revenue poses serious challenges for the turnpike commission. Turnpike Commission CEO Mark Compton said the commission is cutting costs and scaling back repair projects.  Read more...

TSA and FEMA announced an extension of the FY 2020 Intercity Bus Security Grant Program deadline for submitting applications, from April 15 to April 30, in response to the COVID-19 crisis. The $2 million in competitive grant funding is available for bus operators. ABA hosted a webinar with TSA and FEMA on the application process and the changes to the grant program. Click here. The 50 percent cost-sharing requirement remains, the maximum number of submitted projects is limited, pre-award cost limits are lowered, Urban Area Security Initiative locations changed, and a new preparedness grants manual is now available. Grant applications due April 30. Click here to learn more.

The Department of Defense's (DOD) military bus program has extended the expiration date of its previous set of agreements to April 30, 2020. They were previously scheduled to expire on March 25, prior to ABA's request for an extension. All new agreements must be executed by that date to ensure continued work with the DOD.  Read more...

The National Park Service (NPS) has withdrawn plans to implement a standard, nationwide commercial use authorization (CUA) requirement for road-based commercial tours and will not increase commercial tour entrance fees. This decision was made in part to reduce significant changes to commercial tour procedures once COVID-19 related modified operations cease.

Parks that issue road-based commercial tour CUAs may continue to do so and will charge current CUA fees. Parks that have not historically issued road-based commercial tour CUAs may not begin issuing at this time.  As usual, road-based commercial tour operators need to check with each park individually for specific CUA requirements and fees as well as any park-specific operating requirements. 

The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance's (CVSA) new 2020 North American Standard Out-of-Service Criteria went into effect on April 1. The North American Standard Out-of-Service Criteria is the pass-fail criteria for CMV inspections. The new criteria is available for sale now! Click here to see the changes for 2020.

Effective Monday, April 27, 2020, there are changes for how registrants will use their USDOT Number and MC/MX Docket Number Personal Identification Numbers (PIN) to access Federal Motor Click here to view an "FMCSA Customer Update" one-pager that summarizes our efforts to consolidate the USDOT No. and MC/MC Docket No. PINs into one USDOT No. PIN.Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) Systems.

At the beginning of this year, the FMCSA began work on an effort to consolidate the USDOT No. and MC/MX Docket No. PINs into a single USDOT No. PIN.

Again, effective Monday, April 27, 2020, only the USDOT No. PIN will be accepted when accessing the FMCSA online registration system, or by selecting the "FMCSA Registration and Updates" link under FMCSA Services from the SAFER website.

If one does not have a USDOT No. PIN, or needs to reset it, please visit the PIN Request website.

Click here to view an "FMCSA Customer Update" one-pager that summarizes our efforts to consolidate the USDOT No. and MC/MC Docket No. PINs into one USDOT No. PIN.

FMCSA has updated the Clearinghouse Learning Center with additional resources to help you use the Clearinghouse.  

Additional resources for Employers, Including Owner-Operators:
How to Designate Your C/TPA
Query History: Employers
How to Report RTD Information (Employers)

FMCSA Clearinghouses and Portal Contact Numbers  

To better assist motor carriers, FMCSA has set up a new phone line for support with the FMCSA Portal. If you hear from carriers who are experiencing issues creating or accessing their Portal accounts, please refer them to the phone number below. The Portal Registration Call Center's hours of operation are Monday thru Friday, 8:00 am-8:00 pm, EDT.  FMCSA is continuing to work on streamlining support for this effort.

FMCSA Portal Registration Call Center
800-724-2811

If stakeholders have questions about using the Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse, you can direct them to the Clearinghouse Help line.

Clearinghouse Help Line
844-955-0207
They can also use the Clearinghouse Help form in the Contact Us page.

Enforcement Resources
For more information on how employers and other stakeholders are required to use the Clearinghouse, be sure to visit the Clearinghouse Enforcement Resources page. 

As a reminder, we moved our offices last July.  Please make sure your databases have been updated with our NEW address.  We are still getting mail forwarded to us, but that will expire in July.  

We would love to hear from you.  S hare your news via email to  director@pabus.org .

Personal checks may be made payable and sent to:

Motorcoach PAC

200 North Third Street, Suite 1500

Harrisburg, PA 17101

 

Corporate funds are not permitted in any form. Unincorporated business checks are acceptable providing no owner or partner of the business is a corporation. Please contact Milliron & Goodman if you have any questions at (717) 232-5322. Political Action Committee donations are not tax deductible.

Download the solicitation form for more information.