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L to R: American Bus Association (ABA) Director of Regulatory Affairs Brandon Buchanan of, CD’s Managing Editor Susan Rose, and ABA President & CEO Peter Pantuso
Two councils of the American Bus Association—Bus Industry Safety Council (BISC) and Bus Maintenance and Repair Council (BusMARC)—recently held back-to-back summer meetings that included tons of seminars, networking, and operator site visits. The June meetings, both sponsored by ABC Companies, took place at the BWI Airport Marriott Hotel in Linthicum, Md. Managing Editor Susan Rose was in attendance for parts of each meeting.
BISC, which is comprised of security, mechanical, safety, operational, and maintenance leaders from across the North American motorcoach industry, was the first of the meetings held June 28-29. Over 100 operators met for sessions that focused on the most pressing bus issues, including the adoption of electronic logging devices (ELDs), legislative and OSHA updates, and driver training. As a highly regulated and politically focused industry, fire safety training and policies topped the docket.
The newer council of the two, BusMARC, was created in 2015 specifically to address the needs of maintenance education and compliance training among motorcoach operators. As one of its first meetings, held June 29-30, about 50 operators from all over the country joined the two-day event. Like its counterpart, BusMARC’s education was dominated by current regulations, compliance, safety, and training, but also included roundtable discussions with major bus and parts manufacturers, as well as site visits to area operator Dillion’s Bus Service.
We will have more information and pictures from the two meetings in the August issue of Chauffeur Driven.
Visit buses.org for more information on the American Bus Association, its councils, and educational opportunities. Its annual conference, Marketplace, is scheduled for January 14-17, 2017, in Cleveland, Ohio.
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Tristar Worldwide CEO Dean de Beer
London — U.K.-based vehicle-for-hire provider Addison Lee recently acquired Tristar Worldwide, effectively creating Europe’s largest executive car service. With Tristar’s operations in the U.S., Asia, U.K., and continental Europe, Addison Lee is now a major international operator of car services around the globe.
“This is a major landmark for our business,” said Addison Lee CEO Andy Boland. “Our customers will benefit from access to the best executive car service in the world. Coming together with Tristar means our shared ethos and commitment to quality, service, and reliability can be expanded globally.”
Tristar already operates the largest executive car fleet in the U.K. Together with Addison Lee’s fleet, the combined operation will total almost 1,000 premium vehicles around the world.
Addison Lee CEO Andy Boland
The acquisition fulfils both companies’ strategy to focus on the premium end of the market and increase the availability of high quality car services to customers. There is strong demand for executive car services, particularly on a trans-Atlantic basis, which means the combined business is well positioned for growth.
Tristar has global revenues of £50m, more than 200 staff, and over 450 chauffeurs. It has over 35 years of heritage and a reputation for being one of the most trusted brands in the industry. The Tristar brand will continue to be bolstered by Addison Lee’s substantial fleet, 23,000 business customers, and market-leading technology.
“There will be significant growth in the executive car market following the 15 percent jump in volumes we saw in 2015,” added Boland. “With Tristar, we will be able to take our service to the next level and into new markets around the world. For the customers of both companies, this means a better and more efficient experience and a global service.”
Tristar Worldwide CEO Dean de Beer said, “Both Addison Lee and Tristar are market leaders in their respective sectors with long standing reputations for service quality and reliability. When we set out to look for a partner with whom we can grow and take our business to the next level, Addison Lee was the obvious choice. I am proud of what we have achieved so far and excited about the next chapter for Tristar.”
Visit addisonlee.com or tristarworldwide.com for more information.
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TBR Global Head of Security Walter Graham
Glasgow — Executive ground transportation company TBR Global Chauffeuring recently appointed Walter Graham as head of security. Graham has been a security industry professional and respected security consultant, including experience in the British Army for over 30 years.
In addition to his extensive military background, which included time in the Special Forces, Graham also has a wealth of experience in the commercial security industry, where he served on the main board of Securiguard Group PLC as a divisional managing director.
TBR Global called him a highly self-motivated individual with a good analytical approach, able to make decisions quickly in all types of environments.
An award-winning ground transportation management company, TBR Global specializes in catering to the events, corporate, roadshow, air show, and pharmaceutical markets.
Visit tbrglobal.com for more information.
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