American Bus Association Honored with 2024 TAT Champion Award

The ABA is honored for its pivotal role in supporting Truckers Against Trafficking’s mission through education, advocacy, and collaborative initiatives within the bus industry.

Photo: BISC Chair Jeff Shanker (left) accepts the TAT Champion Award for ABA from TAT’s Annie Sovcik.

The American Bus Association (ABA) has been recognized for its unwavering commitment to combating human trafficking by receiving the prestigious 2024 TAT Champion Award in the Association Category. The nonprofit organization Truckers Against Trafficking (TAT) honored the ABA during the Bus Industry Safety Council (BISC) meeting held in Orlando, Fla. Jeff Shanker, Chief Strategy Officer for Black Tie Bus Charters Inc. and current Chair of BISC, accepted the award on ABA’s behalf.

Truckers Against Trafficking is dedicated to educating, equipping, empowering, and mobilizing members of critical industries to fight human trafficking. Each year, the TAT Champion Awards celebrate outstanding partners whose innovative and dedicated efforts significantly advance TAT’s mission. An internal committee selects one winner in each category: Organization, State Agency, and Association.

Since the launch of TAT’s bus program in early 2018, known initially as Busing on the Lookout (BOTL), the ABA has been instrumental in opening doors and providing platforms for TAT to reach its members. The ABA assists TAT Motorcoach in providing forums for material distribution, information sharing, and webinars and periodically facilitates coalition-build events at the state and local levels.

“We are deeply honored to receive the 2024 TAT Champion Award,” says ABA’s President and CEO Peter Pantuso. “This recognition underscores our commitment to eradicating human trafficking and highlights the crucial role our industry plays in this fight. Together with TAT, we are making a significant impact and will continue supporting this vital cause.”

The ABA has worked with TAT to integrate human trafficking education into entry-level driver training materials and to distribute public education campaigns at bus terminals, casinos, hotels, and other large-scale group travel gathering points. Additionally, the ABA frequently invites TAT representatives and victim advocate spokespersons to participate in ABA events, such as presentations at ABA Board meetings, safety council events, state association meetings, and ABA’s Marketplace.

Annie Sovcik, TAT’s Senior Director of Programs & Strategic Initiatives, stated, “TAT cannot do this work without its partners, and the ABA—and its members—have been vital partners of ours in the fight against human trafficking in North America. We are grateful to the ABA leadership for their ongoing commitment to combating this heinous crime and look forward to the impact we will continue to have together.”

TAT, founded in 2009 to educate the trucking industry about human trafficking, has since expanded its efforts to include other transportation sectors, including the bus industry. Since 2018, over 175,000 members of the bus industry in the US and Canada have received human trafficking training, leading to numerous instances where industry members have identified trafficking red flags and helped survivors access resources and safety.

Earlier this year, TAT rebranded its program-oriented brands and logos, such as BOTL, to a more unified look for its various industry sectors. Those training resources are now known as TAT Motorcoach for the motorcoach industry.

About the American Bus Association (ABA)

The American Bus Association is the trade organization of the intercity bus industry, representing motorcoach and tour companies in the United States and Canada.

About Truckers Against Trafficking (TAT)

Truckers Against Trafficking is a nonprofit organization that educates, equips, empowers, and mobilizes members of the trucking, bus, and energy industries to combat human trafficking.