Transcript Cross-Border Issues for Motorcoaches and their Passengers November 2, 2011 Defining the Motorcoach Industry • Provides a variety of services – Tour, Charter, Schedules,

Cross-Border Issues for
Motorcoaches and their Passengers
November 2, 2011
Defining the Motorcoach Industry
• Provides a variety of services
– Tour, Charter, Schedules, Sightseeing
• Major cog in the US and Canadian
economic engine - $55 Billion Industry
• Flexible, Diverse, and Independent
– What can they do for your business and the
local economy?
– How can you “catch” them and their customers?
– How can you make them an ongoing partner?
What is a Motorcoach?
• Elevated Passenger Deck
• Baggage Compartment
• 30 – 45 Feet Long
• Carries 30-55+ Passengers
•Still evolving . . .
Small Business Characteristics
• A network of small businesses
3,200
private sector motorcoach companies
Family
Operating
Less
businesses
about 32,000 buses
than 50 companies have more than 100
buses
90%
have fewer than 25 buses
The
Every
average operator owns 7 – 10 buses
bus supports five jobs
An Overview of Private
Motorcoach Services
(by percentage of companies)
•
•
•
•
•
•
Contract Commuter – 7%
Scheduled Service – 19%
Airport Shuttle – 21%
Sightseeing – 29%
Tours – 59%
Charters – 96%
US Passengers Carried Annually
(In Millions 2010)
800
726
620
700
600
500
400
300
200
29
100
0
Motorcoaches
Planes (Domestic)
Amtrak
The Economic Impact of
Motorcoach Tourism
• One coach visiting overnight, is worth nearly
$12,000 to a destination. This includes meals,
lodging, entertainment and shopping. Add services
for the coach and the number can exceed $13,000.
• The motorcoach industry supports 200,000 direct
and 800,000 indirect U.S. jobs.
Motorcoach Industry Trends
• Historical Growth.
• Frequent Development of
New/Niche Services.
• Charter & Tour Oriented.
• City to City Opportunities,
Increase in Low-Cost Curbside.
• Flexibility in Trip Customization.
Moving away from Group-only to a la carte.
• Intermodal Capability and Connectivity.
• Safe!
Motorcoach Industry Trends
Following the cruise model
• Intermodal Capability and Connectivity adds to
success of the industry
• Capitalize on the point-to-point service
• Safe
http://www.buses.org/ABAFoundation/Research/Economic-Impact
Making Border Crossings Easier
A Few Border Stats
• NY is the #1 state for northern US bus border
crossings.
– In 2010: 39,000 out of 116,000 (33%) buses
– 1.2M out of 2.4M bus passengers (50%)
– MI was #2 (29% for buses &14% passengers)
Border Crossing Results at NY State Level (Yearly)
Year
Trucks
Trains
Buses
2006
1865296
4574
42550
2007
1796438
3816
49405
2008
1645515
4071
46452
2009
1398201
4042
40386
2010
1451605
3984
39148
Personal Vehicles
9134525
9094065
8738566
8244877
8573189
Source:
www.bts.gov/programs/international/transborder/TBDR_BC/TBDR_BCQ.html
NY Land Ports of Entry
6 Areas of Entry
14 Lanes Available for CMVs*
NY Airports
12 International Airports
Border Crossing Concerns
• Unpredictable delays can severely disrupt
group travel itineraries and planned events.
• Having passengers leave the bus for
processing not only creates delays, but it can
create a negative travel experience.
• Traveler wait times vary wildly across the
travel modes.
• Can you imagine a 3-4 hour wait for an air
passenger to go through customs?
Border Crossing Concerns
• Safety and logistical problems can arise from
a long delay at a border crossing.
– Driver’s hours of service compliance issues.
– Relief driver possibly needed, which may
increase the cost of the trip.
• Some drivers are being removed from trips at
border crossings due to rehabilitation issues
based on past US misdemeanor convictions.
– At times events occurred (15 – 20 years earlier
(beyond pre-employment background checks)
Border Crossing Recommendations
• Provide additional commercial vehicle traffic
lanes for processing.
• Create an advance manifesting system.
– Pilot program currently in use at Port Champlain.
• Limited usage thus far (30), but potential for
expansion.
• ABA hosted webinar in late August 2011 to increase
participation.
– Need to have online and offline access.
– Understand differences between scheduled
service vs. charter bus services.
Advance Passenger Information
System (APIS) Pilot Program
Border Crossing Recommendations
• Increase staffing at border locations to help
expedite motorcoach screening.
– Why use 1 officer for a group of 50 (or a random
sampling) when you could use 3 or 4?
• Allow for advance customs
declaration cards to be used.
• Consider a pre-screening location
in advance of the actual border.
• Introduce roadside signs displaying
current wait times.
Border Crossing Experiences
• DHS and CBSA have an important role to protect both countries
from inadmissible persons, to intercept contraband and collect
applicable taxes. Our industry wants to cooperate and support
those efforts
Border Crossing Experiences
• In April 2010, a Quebec coach operator had two coaches wait in
line for over 6 hours to cross from Quebec to Vermont. The
hockey teams they were transporting to a tournament in Vermont
had to forfeit their games
• Charter and tour coach passengers were seen by CBSA and
DHS as relatively low-risk and therefore processed in a different
manner than scheduled line-run buses. Now charter coaches are
often treated the same: passengers disembark; baggage is
removed/inspected; passengers processed individually;
documents are scanned.
• 45 percent of coach passengers are students and 35 percent are
seniors, with both categories low security risks.
Operator Experiences
• When specifically asked about border crossing
experiences, operators said:
– Good flow at Port Huron, Sarnia, Detroit. Windsor
– Lake Champlain can be problematic with no wait time
to hours or wait time
– The Niagara crossings are the biggest problem spots
– Need automated equipment so CBP/CBSA can swipe
passports and documents
– Montreal to NYC bus at Christmas was 12 hours
delayed and 6 hours at Easter
INCONSISTENCY is the biggest problem – Can’t Plan!
Border Crossing Experiences
• It’s not just the actual passenger processing time that creates the
long delays, rather the time buses have to spend in the queue
with other traffic waiting to reach primary inspection
• Unpredictable delays at the border can severely disrupt
itineraries, missing scheduled events such as sporting events,
concerts, meal reservations, boat cruises and flight connections
(a TX to Winnipeg carrier just discontinued service because
connections with other carriers could not be guaranteed)
• Long delays create safety and logistics issues for companies
regarding driver hours of service regulations. Bus companies now
have to factor in additional costs associated with sending relief
drivers to the border to meet a delayed coach or begin trips with
an additional driver to conserve hours for the border segment
Border Crossing Experiences
• Air passengers would never tolerate 2,4 or 6 hour delays to be
cleared. It would be front page news and would be rectified
quickly.
• Motorcoach passengers are discriminated against in relation to
travelers arriving at a port of entry by other modes. All
passengers regardless of their choice of transportation mode
should be entitled to the same level of service from CBSA and
DHS
Border Crossing Experiences
• Seniors have told tour directors they were made to feel so
unwelcome, the experience, stressful and intimidating and they
won’t take another cross-border tour/charter
• Tour operators tell us they feel some border crossing officers
appear to have a disdain for bus passengers and are lacking in
customer service skills
• CBSA and DHS have shown sincere concern about any
allegations of unprofessional conduct and poor customer service
and encouraged persons to request a supervisor and report
incidents, but most are reluctant to do so
Border Crossing Experiences
• Existing CBSA and DHS facilities and staffing levels at some of
the busiest ports of entry are inadequate to comfortably and
efficiently process all bus passengers so procedures should be
modified
• Consider implementing a mandatory advance passenger
information (manifest) system for charter and tour buses at all
ports to expedite clearance procedures
• Consider implementing an “ETA” system, in conjunction with
advance passenger information, to address the unpredictability of
bus volumes, so staff can be scheduled and deployed accordingly
Border Crossing Experiences
• Imagine your driver is bringing a group home at the tail-end of a
long holiday weekend at a busy U.S./Canadian border; the
inspection line is long; a couple of the coaches ahead of him are
double-decker line-haul vehicles; on top of it all, he has already
been at the wheel for close to his allotted service hours.
• It may sound like perfect-storm conditions for a difficult border
crossing, but for many operators it's an all-too-common scenario.
Border crossings, especially at high-traffic spots like Windsor and
Niagara Falls in Ontario and Douglas/Peace Arch at Surrey,
British Columbia, can try drivers' patience.
Border Crossing Experiences
• When a Canadian tour and coach company was invited to
participate in a pilot program, management was eager since
with pre-manifesting they can usually get through by going to the
front of the line and can then be processed in about five minutes
as opposed to the previous 40 to 45 minutes. Passengers in
these situations require all charter/tour passengers to provide
information to help with pre-screening.
• This process should be standard (with few exceptions for
scheduled carriers) for all operators. For a charter/tour the
passengers are the same crossing in both directions. Scheduled
carriers already collect passenger names and information
A Focus on Safety
• Motorcoaches are the safest form of surface
transportation
• There have been 67 motorcoach accidents with
onboard fatalities between 1999 and 2009 that
have resulted in nearly 250 passenger fatalities.
– Of the formally investigated motorcoach accidents, 54 percent
of bus passenger and bus driver fatalities over the past
decade were caused by bus companies that were either
operating illegally or with significant safety problems
Priority #1 – Get the illegal, unethical companies off the road
……. NOW!
Let’s Stay in Touch!
Peter Pantuso, CTIS
President & CEO
111 K Street, NE, 9th Floor
Washington, DC 20002
Phone: (202) 218-7229
Email: [email protected]
Web Site: www.buses.org
Reach us toll-free, 24/7 at (800) 283-2877