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The long-term recovery continues in the motorcoach industry after COVID as the American Bus Association Foundation (ABAF) released the First Quarter 2021 Motorcoach Builders Survey. Based on surveys of the major motorcoach manufacturers that sell vehicles in North America (U.S. and Canada), motorcoach sales from the participating manufacturers saw a drop of 52 percent in sales over Q1 2020. The biggest drop in sales came in the midsize bus (40-44-feet) dropping from 67 buses sold in 2020 to only 3 sold in Q1 2021. Forty-five foot buses saw a decrease of 37 percent falling from 244 to 153 quarter-over-quarter. The small bus market saw a drop of 76 percent falling from 38 units to 9 units sold.
Pre-owned sales over the same period fell by 52 percent from sales in Q1 2020 at 219 down to 105 in Q1 2021.
“The COVID pandemic not only decimated bus companies but also the suppliers who service the industry as well,” said Peter Pantuso, president of the ABA Foundation. “If buses are not running and industry companies are shuttering their businesses, then they are not buying buses. This effect will be felt by the supplier sector of the industry for some time as companies struggle to get back up and running with little help from the government.
ABA President & CEO Peter Pantuso
Pantuso continued: “The bus industry is the greenest and most affordable transportation sector and was moving more than 600 million passengers annually before the pandemic. If the United States wants to rebound from the effects of the pandemic and get Americans working again, it needs to support the motorcoach industry and its suppliers.”
Data were collected by New York City-based economic consulting firm John Dunham & Associates for the American Bus Association Foundation.
There is some positive news on the operator side. In addition to more motorcoach companies seeing increased business, the opening of the long-awaited CERTS Act funding application process is imminent. To prepare those companies that are planning on taking advantage of the non-competitive grants, ABA staff is hosting a CERTS information webinar on May 19 at 11:00 a.m. ET. The application window is only expected to last four weeks once available, and funding is limited, so being prepared to pull the trigger with the requisite information is critical. For more information about the session, including registration, click here.
Visit buses.org for more information.
[05.17.21]
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Employees from Mercedes-Benz USA (MBUSA) and its Southern Region Office in Jacksonville with assistance from a local dealership, Mercedes-Benz of Jacksonville, recently delivered a Mercedes-Benz Sprinter Passenger Van to Kim's Open Door, an area nonprofit whose volunteers serve the city's at-risk children by providing them with access to mentorship, educational assistance, the arts and local community events.
Mercedes-Benz USA presents Sprinter van refurbished by employees to Jacksonville nonprofit
Kim's Open Door acquired the pre-owned Sprinter with financial assistance from MBUSA to offset any associated costs. Together with Mercedes-Benz of Jacksonville, employees from the company's Southern Region Office and its Mercedes-Benz Vans team worked to pinpoint the most suitable vehicle to buy. From there, the Sprinter was shipped to Mercedes-Benz USA where its team of Jacksonville- based engineers and technicians donated more than 300 hours of their personal time to refurbish the vehicle to an optimal mechanical condition. Concurrently, employees at Mercedes-Benz of Jacksonville donated their time and resources to repair damage to the van's body.
"Mercedes-Benz USA, its employees and dealer partners are proud to be a part of the Jacksonville community. We are grateful for every opportunity, big or small, to lend a helping hand to those dedicated to making a positive impact in the lives of our city's most vulnerable children," said Mike Nolte, general manager, southern region, Mercedes-Benz USA. "We would like to thank our employees, especially our Vans team, and our partners at Mercedes-Benz of Jacksonville who generously and selflessly volunteered their personal time and expertise to help make this possible."
The newly acquired Sprinter Passenger Van will help the Jacksonville-based organization distribute meals to families battling food insecurity as well as double its capacity to transport children in the community, many of whom are recently settled refugees, to and from activities.
"Our employees noticed that the volunteers at Kim's Open Door was in need of affordable and reliable transportation for the children. We realized our resources and expertise, especially in commercial vans, could really benefit them," said Christian Barwig, department manager, Mercedes-Benz Vans, whose team in Jacksonville helped spearhead the effort. "I'm really proud of the way we came together, not only as Mercedes-Benz employees, but also as members of the community to help such a worthwhile organization."
The Sprinter is the most recent work of "MBUSA Curbside Caring," an initiative of the company's Greatness Lives Here community outreach program. The luxury carmaker's support of organizations such as Kim's Open Door is one of the many efforts it has undertaken in recent years to assist communities in which MBUSA employees live and work. The company is donating 100 meals per week to Kim's Open Door during the 2020-2021 school year to help combat hunger among students participating in the organization's reading program and their siblings at home. Last year, MBUSA prepared 2,500 meals for needy families in Jacksonville and enabled thousands more to be delivered by donating the use of 13 Mercedes-Benz Sprinters to organizations that feed the city's most vulnerable residents.
"We are thankful for Mercedes-Benz USA and their employees whose continued support has helped us provide nutrition along with education and the arts for hundreds of underserved children and families in Jacksonville," said Kim Bogart, founder of Kim's Open Door. "Kids need our services now more than ever and this new-to-us Sprinter van will enable our team to increase the number of families we serve."
Visit mbusa.com or kimsopendoor.com for more information.
[05.17.21]
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Create-A-Card Founder & CEO Arthur Messina and Limo Marketer Founder & Owner Mark Petree will be presenting a free Zoom webinar this Wednesday, May 12 at 2 p.m.
The session is designed to educate transportation companies on how to book more rides with the use of Google in 2021. They will be joined by transportation company owners who are currently working with this program to help increase their rides during the recovery. Hear from corporate transportation provider Derek Stattford of Elegant Image Limousine in California and retail provider Andres Acevedo of New York’s Limo Star as they discuss the successes they are having using Google to book more rides and how their follow-up system is working for them.
To join the meeting on Zoom, use meeting ID# 84717750666 and password 654321.
Visit createacardinc.com for more information.
[05.11.20]