ABA Members Lead the Way in Bus Security Grants
ABA Members Lead the Way in Bus Security Grants
| Washington, DC � October
2006 � When it comes to trying to make bus passengers secure, members
of the American Bus Association (ABA)
are top notch. Since 2002, ABA members have received a full 90 percent
of the $48.8 million in grants awarded to the motorcoach industry by the
U.S. Department of Homeland Security. That means that ABA members have
gotten almost $40 million to secure the nation�s private motorcoach industry
and help protect this valuable portion of the commercial passenger transportation
industry.
ABA analyzed the list of companies that since FY 2003 have won grants from Homeland Security. Of those successful recipients, 163 awardees have been ABA members. �All along I�ve known that our members are able and experienced. We are pleased to be able to help and guide them in working with the United States government to fulfill the critical role they play in making bus transportation secure,� Peter J. Pantuso, President and CEO of American Bus Association, said. The statistics about the federal measure to secure private motorcoach operations, the Intercity Bus Security Grant Program, break down as follows. For FY 2006, $9.5 million was awarded to 35 recipients, of which 30 were ABA members. For FY 2005, $9.6 million was given to 25 recipients, all 25 of which belonged to ABA. For FY 2004, $9.9 million was awarded to 55 recipients, of which 45 were ABA members. And for FY 2003, $19.8 million was given to 67 recipients, of which 63 belonged to ABA. �For FY2007, our job will be to convince Congress to provide more funds for bus security grants,� said Clyde Hart, ABA�s Senior Vice President for Government Affairs. ABA was instrumental this fall in securing a $12 million appropriation for FY2007 from Congress for bus security. But not only does ABA win federal dollars for its members, it also shows its members how to apply for grants. On July 27 and August 12, ABA hosted a teleconference between officials from the federal Transportation Security Administration and Department of Homeland Security and bus company owners about this year�s grants for intercity bus security. ABA members have used
the federal dollars to bolster motorcoach safety in a variety of ways.
Those include building fencing perimeters, adding security cameras, buying
explosive detection screening equipment, installing driver shields, enabling
global positioning satellite tracking (GPS), and taking advantage of training
exercises to coordinate response efforts with law enforcement and other
first responders.
 ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| The American Bus Association is the trade organization of the intercity bus industry with more than 1,000 motorcoach owner and tour company members in the United States and Canada. Its members operate charter, tour, regular route, airport express, special operations and contract services. Another 2,500 members are travel and tourism organizations and suppliers of bus products and services who work in partnership with the North American motorcoach industry. | Lori Harrison American Bus Association 610-400-1823 | 
700 13th Street, NW, Suite 575 � Washington, DC 20005-5923 (202) 842-1645, (800) 283-2877, Fax (202) 842-0850 | The American Bus Marketplace January 27 � February 1, 2007 / Grapevine, TX February 1�6, 2008 / Virginia Beach, VA January 7�12, 2009 / Charlotte, NC |
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