Thelife- Hundreds of motorcoach drivers are engaging in a "rolling
rally " in Washington, D.C. on May 13. - They're coming to educate the public about the importance of the motorcoach industry, and ask for a $15 billion bailout.
- Nearly 600 million motorcoach trips occur in the US each year, just 100 million fewer than the domestic airline industry.
- Do you work in the motorcoach industry and have a story to share? Email rpremack@businessinsider.com.
- Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.
About 90% of motorcoach drivers own or work for small businesses — and shutdowns from the coronavirus pandemic has crippled their livelihood.
That's why up to 1,000
Dan Donnelly, vice president of operations at McCarter Coach & Tour, and his family are driving from Western Pennsylvania to participate in the rally. Donnelly told The Times, a local outlet based 28 miles northwest of Pittsburgh, that his business has been shuttered for eight weeks already.
More than 90% of the motorcoach workforce has been laid off, and small business owners like himself are still slammed with insurance and lease payments on their parked busses. "We need a little bit of help to get through," Donnelly told The Times.
The motorcoach industry is comprised of mostly small businesses, but their combined size is surprisingly massive. Nearly 600 million motorcoach trips occur in the US each year, just 100 million fewer than the domestic airline industry.
The American Bus Association said the purpose of the rolling rally is to ask for $15 billion in grants and loans for the motorcoach industry, along with modifications to programs to support small businesses and their payrolls. "This is a positive event showcasing how big buses and small businesses move America," a
But unlike airlines, motorcoach operators were shunned from the $2 trillion CARES Act signed into law in late March. While the CARES Act appropriated $50 billion for emergency small business loans, the lending program has an enormous backlog and has been unable to give funding to many applicants.
That includes Donnelly, who was unable to receive a loan when he applied. "I would venture to say half the motorcoach companies will go out of business if we don't receive some sort of additional help," Scott Lumbert, a motorocoach business owner in northern Arkansas, told local outlet KY3.
The owner of one Missouri motorcoach company, Mid-American Coaches, did manage to snag a loan. Still, business owner Dennis Jones told The Missourian on May 13 that he sent four of his drivers to participate in the rallies. Family, friends, and local veterans gathered Monday morning to send the drivers off.
"But we all want to be back on the road, bringing people from point A to point B while serving our communities again," Jones told The Missourian. "Without help from the federal government, I fear our buses may never return to the road and our passengers will be stranded without access to the nation's
Should a mass bankruptcy event slam the motorcoach industry, that would devastate many parts of domestic tourism, evacuation of natural disaster victims from hurricanes or wildfires, military transport, and — of course — school field trips.
But, even when things re-open, Donnelly of Pennsylvania is worried that folks still won't get on one of his motorcoaches. "If you think about the motorcoach industry, a lot of folks who travel are retirees, some of the most vulnerable, right – the older, the elderly," Donnelly told The Times. "So, it's a concern. Are we ever going to be able to start back up and do the things that are necessary to sustain?"
Do you work in the motorcoach industry and have a story to share? Email rpremack@businessinsider.com.
Read the original article on Business Insider