The Bailey Family of Companies is celebrating 25 years since the founding of their transportation company, PBA Member, Bailey Coach. In addition to celebrating 25 years, this milestone also marks 100,000 charter reservations and represents the transportation of approximately 2.5 million passengers.

In celebration of 25 years, Bailey Coach hosted a 25 years of Bailey Coach Celebration at WellSpan Park on July 11th, in downtown York, just blocks away from the original Bailey offices. The event had over 100 guests, including current employees, past employees, and various clients and vendors. John also threw the ceremonial first pitch at the game. "Boy does time fly. What started out as a small addition to our family travel business, to help with airport groups, has grown to be the third largest employer in the Spring Grove PA area. All I can say is what a RIDE!!!" says John Bailey.  Read the press release.

PBA Member, Martz Bus held their first annual Bus Roadeo event! Qualifying drivers from Martz PA, MD and FL demonstrated their skills at safely maneuvering a motor coach bus by completing a 5-event course without being penalized for knocking over the cones which all had tennis balls atop to alleviate interpretation. Safety is the very essence of their company’s existence, and this was a chance for all their competitors from Martz PA, MD and FL to show how well they can safely operate their motor coach. Read the press release and check out their social media post with pictures!

Cheers to Steel Pier! PBA Member, Steel Pier opened June 18, 1898 and has lasted through storms, fires and major changes this seaside resort has undergone over the past century to remain a tourism mainstay.

Steel Pier’s owners, Atlantic City officials and invited guests gathered for a party under the 227-foot-tall Ferris wheel last month.

Join us in congratulating them on their incredible milestone! Here's to many more years of bringing joy and excitement to visitors from near and far. For more info, contact Sharon Franz.

PBA Member, Destination Niagara USA recently added two new team members to their staff, as the demand for group travel and conventions in Niagara Falls USA continues to rise. Holly Avino, Travel Trade Sales Manager and Courtney Paterson, Convention Sales Manager are the latest hires for the destination marketing organization (DMO). Read the press release.

Have You Contacted Your Senators and Representatives Yet?

Senators. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Susan Collins (R-Maine), Bob Casey, Jr. (D-Pa.), Steve Daines (R-Mont.) and Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) introduced the Coronavirus Economic Relief for Transportation Services (CERTS) Tax Exemption Act in the Senate (S.1944). S.1944 is companion legislation to the House bill (H.R. 3510) re-introduced in May.

Bill H.R. 3510, reintroduction of a bill that would eliminate the tax burden for those who received CERTS Act money during the pandemic, was referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means after being sponsored by Rep. Darin LaHood (R-Ill.). The bill has since garnered the support of Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.), Jared Golden (R-Maine), Mike Kelly (R-Pa.), Jimmy Panetta (D-Calif.), and John Rose (R-Tenn.).

We need your help to advocate for our industry! Please contact your Senators and ask them to support S. 1944 and contact your Representatives and ask them to support H.R. 3510. Below are two easy forms that will only take a few minutes of your time to complete.

Registration is open for the 10th Annual PBA Motorcoach Safety & Preparedness Workshop scheduled for August 16, 2023.

This year's sessions have been designed to address issues that a variety of our motorcoach members are seeking. Motorcoach owners and their key staff will be able to pick and choose which topics are most relevant to their job responsibilities.

Session Topics:

• Regulatory and Compliance Updates from FMCSA
• ADA Compliance with Jill Nagy
• Vehicle Inspections and Panel with PA State Police
• Camera Use Discussion - The Good, the Bad and the Ugly with John Bailey & Rich Rombach

Get more information and register today!

PBA is joining New England Bus, Connecticut Bus, Greater New Jersey Motorcoach, New York Bus and Mass Bus on September 6, 2023 at the Spa at the Norwich Inn, Norwich, CT. The content will include presentations that affect the collective association members from CARB 24 to knowing your rights when pulled over by the police. Sponsor opportunities available. Click here for more information and to register. If questions, please give us a call at the PBA office.

Marketplace - March 25-26, 2024

The 2024 Marketplace will be hosted by Happy Valley Adventure Bureau at the Nittany Valley Sports Centre in State College, PA on Tuesday, March 26.

Annual Conference - June 17-20, 2024

The 2024 Annual Conference will be hosted by Visit Ithaca in Ithaca, NY! While we will be experiencing the area with FAMS, Dine-Around Night and Opening & Closing venues at area partners, the meetings will be held at Hotel Ithaca. The beautiful, renovated Hotel Ithaca is located in the heart of downtown Ithaca and is less than 1 mile from both Cornell University and Ithaca College.

PA Is Still Without a Final Budget

A few weeks into the new fiscal year, Pennsylvania is still without a spending plan, and lawmakers in the divided Legislature won’t return to Harrisburg until September. Read more...

10,000 Bridges at Risk Due to Poor Maintenance: NTSB

Last year's Pittsburgh bridge collapse demonstrates what could happen to other spans across the country that are at a similar level of risk. Read more...

Pennsylvania Motor Truck Association Sues State Over CARB Regs

The Pennsylvania Motor Truck Association (PMTA) and four of its members have filed a lawsuit against the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection and the Pennsylvania Environmental Quality Board for what they say is the “outsourcing regulations on truck sales to California regulators,” according to a statement. Read more...

TSA Assists American’s Motorcoach Routes Between Airports

TSA announced it has issued a short-term security program amendment to assess the security effectiveness of an industry-first program that transports screened passengers, their carry-on items and their checked baggage by bus from the secured area of Lehigh Valley International Airport into the secured area of Philadelphia International Airport. Read more...

Towing Company’s Catalytic Converter Theft Ring Busted

A Pennsylvania tow truck business, TDI Towing, was busted for allegedly running a multi-million dollar "organized criminal enterprise that specialized in the theft of catalytic converters throughout the Delaware Valley region," according to the Bucks County District Attorney. Read more...

Protecting Your Marketplace from Unfair Competition

When the charter service protections were renegotiated in 2008 a provision was included by negotiators that required any public transit desiring to perform specific charter service notify operators registered as a charter service provider in their area.  Get more information and register.

New National Cybersecurity Strategy Implementation Plan Published

This plan details more than 65 high-impact Federal initiatives, from protecting American jobs by combatting cybercrimes to building a skilled cyber workforce equipped to excel in our increasingly digital economy. Read more...

Documents from Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

Did you know that you can clip documents from search results? From any search result on FederalRegister.gov you can add a document to your clipboard or a folder in your MyFR account. Look for the 'flag' icon on the right hand side of each search result and your only one click away from having the documents you're interested in quickly available for future reference! 

Did you know that you can subscribe to any search result? After performing any search on FederalRegister.gov you can choose to receive any future documents that match your search via email. Just click the subscribe button on the right side of the search box.

Leisure Travel Demand Normalizing from Post-Pandemic Surge

The U.S. Travel Association released its biannual forecast for travel to and within the United States through 2026, showing a normalized rate of growth in the domestic leisure travel sector after months of elevated demand. Read more...

Al Roker Honors NYC Bus Drivers and Shares Memories of His Dad

Al Roker is remembering his late father’s years of service as a New York City bus driver. Read more...

ICYMI

Alerts, Invitations, Press Releases, and more are sent out to our Members as needed. Here are the emails we sent out since last Go News below.

• Register for the PBA 10th Annual Motorcoach Safety & Preparedness Workshop! Sponsorships Are Available!
• Join FMCSA Webinars about Passenger Transportation Interpretive Rule that Clarifies Federal Regulations