Motorcoach Companies Helping Communities Devastated by Hurricane Helene

Hurricane Helene has left widespread destruction, impacting thousands of families and communities along the Atlantic Coast. Now, more than ever, our efforts can make a difference. Several motorcoach companies are stepping up to provide essential support, supplies, and aid to help these communities recover. Join us in this relief effort by donating or volunteering.

How You Can Help

You can get involved in the following ways:

  • Monetary Donations: Financial contributions go directly toward providing essentials like food, water, and shelter for those affected. You can donate directly to local relief organizations.
  • Supply Donations: Essential items like bottled water, canned goods, hygiene products, blankets, and first aid supplies are urgently needed. Find local drop-off points where you can bring these much-needed supplies.
  • Volunteer: Consider volunteering your time to help distribute supplies or assist with rebuilding efforts. Local organizations and motorcoach companies are organizing efforts to transport volunteers and supplies to the affected areas.

 

ABA in the News

GOVERNING: Intercity Bus Service Gets No Respect from Government

Share

Intercity Bus Service Gets No Respect from Government
Governing
By Jake Blumgart
September 30, 2021

 

The summer of 2021 hasn’t been the palliative the intercity bus industry hoped for after suffering a particularly bad pandemic. Ridership plummeted by over 80 percent as COVID-19 swept across the nation. But unlike the airline, rail or transit sectors, it did not receive any direct aid in either the Trump-era CARES Act or the Biden-era American Rescue Plan Act.

“The business traveler who’s riding an airplane has a bigger voice than somebody from a poor, rural part of the country who needs basic transportation,” says Peter Pantuso, president of the American Bus Association. “I always tell people, we’re like wallpaper, we just blend into the background. They just don’t think about us.”

For tens of millions of Americans, intercity bus companies like Greyhound, Megabus, and myriad smaller actors are an essential part of the nation’s transportation system. Pre-pandemic, the intercity bus industry carried more than double the passengers of Amtrak.

Intercity buses have long served as a lifeline to areas without train or plane service, and for riders who don’t have access to a car. It is an essential service for rural America, for students, and for low-income people.

But intercity bus travel has been in decline for decades. Despite a resurgence in ridership during the Great Recession, and a blossoming of direct express services like Megabus around the same time, the industry began shrinking again after 2015. The pandemic took a terrible toll too, elongating travel times, driving many smaller bus companies to the edge of bankruptcy, and pushing thousands of drivers out of their jobs.

Read article. 

ABA logo

Tell Us What You Think!

Have a question? Ideas for new content? ABA wants your thoughts on this new resource and how it can better serve our members.

Send Feedback

© 2024