1. TMS updates UMA Members on hurricane relief at Town Hall
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With scores of motorcoaches providing relief for those in the path of Hurricane Laura, UMA Members gathered online for an update on evacuation efforts from Mike Moulton of Transportation Management Services.
He reported that while numbers are still coming in and the situation is fluid, he's aware of at least 4,000 people being moved to safety by motorcoaches as of this morning. "We were activated early on Saturday with a hundred buses . . . and by Monday evening at ten o'clock Texas had ordered a total of 400 buses and Louisiana had ordered 65. We are working with about 85 different vendors."
"All the insurance vendors out there scrambled to make sure the insurance certificates were updated and buses were back on," he said. "The whole industry did a great job."
"As of now we really don't know when things are going to wind down." He said the location where the storm hit was fortuitous because if it had hit closer to New Orleans the evacuees could have numbered greater than 45,000.
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2. Resources from today's Town Hall
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3 . Legislative and regulatory briefing explains Congressional timelines and relief options
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Just this afternoon Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Chief of Staff Mark Meadows signaled that they are ready to commence negotiations after a stalemate during which Congress left town. UMA's Ken Presley briefed operators on the Town Hall on the status of co-sponsors for the CERTS Act, a proposal to give employers a second draw on PPP and the RESTART Act, another more generic relief measure for small businesses.
Ken also offered a regulatory update on No Defect DVIRs and Beyond Compliance. Links are above with the rest of the Town Hall resources.
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4. UMA Associate Members Sardo and USI Insurance share ways their products can help operators
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UMA featured two of our business partners on today's Town Hall so they could share ways their products can be helpful in giving customers confidence when they travel with your company.
Sharon Broo of USI Insurance shared an overview of two travel insurance products that give operators an advantage when it comes to closing the deal with a prospective customer. In a risk-averse world, consumers are more interested than ever in protecting their investments and that includes travel plans. UMA Members who participate with
Sharon can offer their customers the option to purchase:
- Comprehensive Travel Protection Plans for Individuals
- Group Charter Medical and Evacuation Plans
The Comprehensive Travel Protection Plan even allows operators to earn a 30 percent royalty on sales of the product.
Sandy Follis, President of Sales for Sardo Bus & Coach Upholstery shared information and a video about various affordable products that can help with social distancing and avoiding the spread of germs. They make clear plastic dividers shields and two kinds of do-not-sit bands.
Sandy said the team at Sardo is happy to send out samples to operators who are interested in these products.
When it comes to installation, you can do it yourself or Sardo can help. "Our crews go right to the operator," Sandy told operators. "You just call and we send our crew out." Some of the products operators can opt to install themselves."
"Facebook," she said "bought 11,000" of Sardo's wrap-around do-no-sit-here barriers.
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5 . DC Police outline road closures and parking restrictions for Commitment March on August 28
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The Metropolitan Police Department announced numerous road closures and parking restrictions related to the Commitment March - "Get Your Knee Off Our Necks," planned for August 28, 2020 in the nation's capital.
The event runs from 7:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m., with the march beginning at the Lincoln Memorial and ending at West Potomac Park.
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6 . Maine summer camps offer lessons in successful group management
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As schools begin reopening around Maine this fall, education officials could perhaps learn a lesson or two from Maine’s overnight summer camps.
A new national study of four Maine camps details how they prevented the transmission of COVID-19, while similar camps in other states suffered major outbreaks.
Dr. Laura Blaisdell, a pediatrician from South Portland and medical director at one of the camps, said the facilities coordinated to devise similar outbreak prevention strategies that included testing, masking, quarantine, physical distancing and making sure students stayed in small groups of 10-20.
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7. Disney, Universal say California's theme parks are ready to open
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ANAHEIM (CBSLA) — Every day the rides and main attractions at theme parks remain closed in California.
Florida’s governor, Ron DeSantis, said it’s not just the parks that lose, but the people around them.
“Not just thousands. Not just tens of thousands. But really, when you talk about these operations, hundreds of thousands of jobs are connected to these operations,” he said at a roundtable on Wednesday, where executives from Disney, Universal, and Seaworld met to show Gov. Newsom that they are ready to reopen on a limited basis.
Parks in Florida got the green light to reopen with new safety guidelines months ago and have been operating ever since. Online reservations, social distancing, and masks are some of the new requirements at Florida theme parks.
Now that Orange County is off the state’s COVID-19 watch list, Disney and Seaworld are hoping to begin operations again soon.
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UMA Membership is FREE through 12/31/2020
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Because our industry is stronger together, we invite operators to try UMA Membership FREE through year's end. Join us.
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UMA Members have access to a variety of resources to help sustain your business and our industry.
Check out our Social Media Tool Kit to enhance your online profile and promote our industry and UMA's AssurCLEAN Program to put your passengers at ease so they can travel confidently.
And remember to read and subscribe to Bus & Motorcoach News, which is powered by UMA, and your source for the weekly Motorcoach Minute video.
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2020
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Virtual Summit Final Follow Up, Sept. 9, 2020 11:00 a.m. Learn more.
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UMA Town Halls, every Thursday at 2:00 p.m. ET Learn more.
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UMA Safety Management Seminar, December 2-3, 2020, Ashburn, VA Learn more.
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2021
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UMA Motorcoach EXPO, March 3-7, 2021, Orlando, FL Learn more.
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Every Thursday at 2 p.m. ET on the Zoom platform. Join from your computer or phone.
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Resources, news and important links for advocacy, federal programs, and more
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