The Millennium - What's the industry's next step? By Carmen Daecher

It's 1999, 2000 and the next century are just around the corner. The motorcoach industry has much for which to be proud. One of the best safety records and one of the highest publicly accepted forms of passenger transport are among its most enviable characteristics. It took a lot of hard work to achieve this success.

But yesterday's efforts and successes offer no guarantees for the future. If the turn of the century brings anything into clear focus, it is that our hard work and our success is history.

What lies ahead? Will we be able to continue to boast about our safety record? Will our performance continue to merit unqualified confidence from the traveling public?

Current events would suggest that our hard-earned reputation is eroding. With a wider focus on inspections of motorcoaches and consistently high out-of-service rates, there should be genuine concern.

With the recent rash of serious motorcoach accidents throughout North America with strong indications of fatigue-related or mechanical-related causes, are we seeing the effects of a lack of qualified drivers and mechanics? Will seat belts be standard equipment on motorcoaches in the near future?

And what are our strategies for efficiently and safely providing consistent service to our physically challenged customers?

From where I'm sitting, we may have rested on our laurels too long. We continue to talk about past performance, but there are disturbing trends that can undermine our past achievements.

The motorcoach industry is comprised of operators, both large and small, offering diverse transportation services. But what can we do to help all of our operators improve their performance and success?

Frankly, we know very little about ourselves. We are always part of a larger base of bus or commercial vehicle data. And no government indicator uses motorcoach as we would define it for any statistical comparisons. So how do we know how large or small we are? Are we growing? How much? How are we doing from a safety point of view?

From where I'm sitting, the industry needs to assemble and disseminate relevant information concerning industry performance; study and recommend solutions to problems and issues; conduct research specific to motorcoach industry needs to answer questions raised by the government, public, and ourselves; and establish standards and levels of certification.

The opportunities to provide growing and expanded services and memorable experiences to passengers will exist in the next century. But with opportunities also come challenges.

More discriminating customers, growing regulatory pressures and demands, and ever-changing technologies make it important for the industry to take control of its own destiny.

By establishing high standards for safety managers and programs, driver training and vehicle maintenance; by providing models of operations that combine efficiency and safety; by developing training and other services to support quality improvements for every operator, the industry will help itself to improve and continue to be the most reliable, safest and most customer-pleasing means of transportation in the world.

From where I am sitting, taking that giant step will pave the way to growing success and accomplishments. Based upon the past, judging by the present, and looking to the future, this industry deserves that kind of success.

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