Report: COVID Pandemic Continues to Rock Motorcoach Industry as Recovery Is Slow

The American Bus released a report today showing how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the motorcoach industry not only in 2020 but also in 2021. Since March of 2020, when COVID-19 hit the nation and a government-imposed shutdown followed, the motorcoach industry has suffered unprecedented economic loss. These losses have continued to this day, and the industry is showing little sign of improvement.

• In 2020, the industry recorded an 82.6 percent loss of business
• In 2021, the industry posted a 62 percent loss
• Recovery is not expected until at least 2023 and not at 2019 levels for some time after
• In 2020, Congress allocated $2 billion for the Coronavirus Economic Relief for Transportation Services (CERTS) Act in 2021, which was to be shared amongst motorcoach, school bus and passenger vessel industries. These industries need $6 billion more to bridge losses until recovery

“The industry is not asking for a government handout,” said Pantuso. “We need a bridge to help our industry survive the pandemic. We have already lost half of our businesses; America can’t afford for us to lose more.

“The motorcoach industry is more than just another transportation choice for many Americans. We are an important piece of the nation’s infrastructure and economy. We move more than just students on field trips and commuters to work each day, we connect rural areas to bigger cities; evacuate people when natural or man-made disasters are occurring and move our military to where they need to mobilize to protect this great nation. While people may not notice the lack of buses on the road, they do notice the lack of mobility opportunities that buses have provided them for over a century.”