MOTORCOACH BIZ TO CLOSE

Clarence Cox took over a 35-year-old motorcoach business from his father and uncle and had hopes of one day giving it to his daughters. But with a $5 million fleet parked for months during a pandemic, and no federal aid, his goal now is just to make it to the end of 2020, reports KCRA 3 News.

His business, Georgia Coach Lines, is one of thousands of small, family-owned bus companies across the U.S., urging Congress to approve immediate aid. Unlike the airlines or Amtrak, the motorcoach industry hasn't received any funding from the $2.2 trillion CARES Act passed by Congress in the spring.

Peter Pantuso, president and CEO of the American Bus Association, said, "I can't really identify for you why we have not been included."

The American Bus Association estimates private buses provide 600 million passenger trips a year, second only to commercial flights. Pantuso said 80,000 of the industry's 100,000 employees have been furloughed this year.

The American Bus Association said the industry usually sees $15 billion in revenue a year. In 2020, bus companies only brought in $4 billion. The motorcoach industry, along with the school bus industry and passenger water vessel companies are now collectively asking Congress to approve $10 billion in loans and grants.

"Every small business I think across America is hurting at some level," Pantuso said. "But there are very few other industries that are almost completely shut down with no hope of coming back for at least six months, next year, and then it'll be a slow recovery."