The report finds California and Hawaii drivers are dealing with the most potholes on urban highways. In both states, 25 percent of interstate roads are in poor condition. Meanwhile, 53 percent of bridges in Rhode Island are deficient, compared to just 10 percent in top-ranked Nevada. Nationwide, nearly 24 percent of bridges are functionally obsolete or structurally deficient. Motorists in California, Minnesota, Maryland, Michigan and Connecticut have the worst traffic.

Overall, North Dakota, Montana and Kansas are at the top of the list for most cost-effective state highway systems. At the bottom are Rhode Island, Alaska, California, Hawaii and New York. Founded in 1968, the Reason Foundation is a nonprofit organization advancing “free minds and free markets.” For more, visit www.reason.org.

By Michael C. Hinckley

The software should simply provide a different platform for employees to do what they have always done.

Having spent the last 12 years attending transportation trade shows, I have come to anticipate this familiar scene: The owner of a bus company and his operations manager who has been with the company for 2-1/2 years walk up to our booth. The operations manager tells me he has been pleading with the owner since day one to get the technology they need to bring the company into the 21st Century.

The business has done well but they see opportunities to expand by acquiring a neighboring bus company and bidding for potentially lucrative work with a nearby school district. Such a move would require a sweeping implementation of technology to maximize resources and allow the company to scale to larger horizons.

Proper systems take time
Before these gentlemen walk away I hear the same two questions: “How much does something like this cost?” and more interestingly, “How long would it take us to get up and running?”

My answer to the second question has changed dramatically over the last few years. I used to say a week or two at the most, responding as though it related entirely to the software and training. I have since learned that proper implementation takes much longer; more like three to six months to become fully functional. The raised eyebrows and startled expressions remind me to explain the new variable in this longer implementation strategy. Once the operator has learned how the software works it will take several more weeks to adjust the workflow processes and customize the reports to make the most of the new system.

In the landmark book, Good to Great, business guru Jim Collins devotes an entire chapter to the role of technology in great companies. The crux of the study is the good-to-great companies use technology as an accelerator, not a creator, of momentum. None of the good-to-great companies began their transformations with pioneering technology, yet they all became pioneers in its application once they grasped how it fit into the operation.

For too many companies implementing new technology typically means bringing the software to the workplace and attempting to shoehorn current practices into the new system, when in fact the software should simply provide a different platform for employees to do what they have always done.

Make the system fit
Our most successful installations are with companies that review all the workflow processes of each employee affected by the change. Such a comprehensive and meticulous review is probably more important to improving the efficiency of the company than the technology itself. Without it, the technology implementation will be seen as a magic bullet sure to disappoint, as it merely digitally enshrines the inefficient workflow processes that were previously limited to an older software platform — or pencil and paper.

It is extremely common to see excellent employees using inefficient systems. Separating the user from the evaluation of the system is vital.

Employees are more important
This review is challenging, yet very simple, evident in the single question repeated throughout the review: Why do we do what we do the way we do?  Regardless of the nature of its business, a company has developed many practices as the result of personal preferences of employees (some who may no longer work for the company),  the specialized needs of a certain client or the limitations of old software. In many cases the complex processes a veteran employee has developed would be nearly impossible for a new employee to grasp should the local expert become incapacitated or unavailable to do the job.

The challenge for most employees involved in this review is overcoming defensiveness. Having visited hundreds of transportation departments throughout North America, we find it is extremely common to see excellent employees using inefficient systems. Separating the user from the evaluation of the system is vital. The review asks what is the most efficient way for this company to operate position by position given the available resources. This may mean moving responsibilities from one employee to another, telling a special client to adjust to the revised method.

No technology is perfect
Against the pull to settle for inefficient systems, a good operations manager must also resist the opposite urge to create the perfect system. In our first few years in business we were determined to bend over backwards for a very high profile client, which meant completely customizing many features to every
desire — resulting in myriad settings and complicated steps. We trusted the software to handle any possible scenario.

I will never forget what the owner relayed in a conversation several years after the implementation.  He told me that in retrospect he wished we would have told him that he simply could not have his way.  He wished he had forced us to use the system as we had designed it, because in the end he felt the technology became a monster for the company.

No software or workflow system is effective enough to remove the need for good employees who can make decisions and remember important information. With the goal of a technological system a monkey could use comes the irony that such a system requires computer scientist to administer the desired result.

At EasyBus, because we have seen the best practices of hundreds of transportation companies first hand, we find ourselves serving an unexpected role through our ability to clarify the uniqueness of each company.  Our best chance for success is when both the sales process and the training process is not one side or the other.  Rather than telling a client this is what we do, or this is what our software does, we engage in a dialogue to determine how can we work together to implement a solution that makes the company as efficient as possible.  It takes a little more time and effort but the results speak for themselves.

Michael C. Hinkley is president of EasyBus, Inc., Ballston Lake, NY.

“The people in these areas have been through so much — Hurricanes Katrina, Ike, Rita and Gustav —and now the aftermath of the oil spill,” says NTA president Lisa Simon. “Our purpose is to help change the perception that the Gulf Coast is closed. Not to minimize the seriousness of the oil spill, but its impact on the beaches is not as widespread as it appears.

We want to make sure visitors and members of the travel trade receive complete and accurate information about all there is to do in the region. The Gulf Coast is open for business.”

The team from Edelman presented interactive workshops on crisis management, traditional media relations and digital media, helping attendees leave with ideas to sell their destinations.

“All along the Mississippi and Louisiana Gulf Coast, tourism professionals have stories to share about their culture and heritage, gaming and nature-based tourism, as well as some incredible culinary experiences,” says Cathleen Johnson, Edelman tourism executive vice president. “We were here to draw out these ideas and help attendees move through this crisis using media and social media to reach travelers everywhere.”

The seminar in Biloxi, MS was the first in the series with others planned for Houma, LA and Gulf Shores and Pensacola, FL.

Simon cited public perspective as the biggest  problem for the tourism and hospitality industries, and is asking tour operators from her association to bring groups down to the Coast to see the reality of the situation, and to generate business in the area.

Perception versus reality has become the biggest challenge, according to Johnson.

The NTA says making connections with travel agencies and trade associations, and varying marketing avenues through marketing, trade publications and social media are good ways to drum up business for the Coast.

Simon also encouraged people to contact their local elected officials and ask them to support the Travel Regional Investment Partnership Act, proposed legislation supporting domestic tourism. Edelman spoke about how people think in a crisis, how to use crisis-management best practices, how to interact with traditional media outlets and how to use new media.

According to attendees, a great number of businesses are folding and for business people to receive this type of guidance is time well spent, learning more creative ways to market the area not just to tourists but to residents as well.

The Micro Bird® by Girardin serves a wide range of transporters.

Manufactured for school, childcare, church, tour, and shuttle markets, the propane-powered Micro Bird® by Girardin marks the newest offering from the Blue Bird Corporation’s line-up of alternative-fuel vehicles. Blue Bird says the Micro Bird is an extension of its commitment to affordable green solutions.

With seating for up to 30 passengers the Micro-Bird features a Ford E-450 chassis and uses the 6.8L engine with a ROUSH liquid propane system.

According to Blue Bird vice president of sales, Bill Danner, the new Micro Bird went on sale exclusively through Blue Bird dealers throughout North America with production scheduled for later this year.

“We are excited to partner with an industry leader like Micro Bird,” said Todd Mouw, vice president of sales and marketing for ROUSH. “We have spent four years perfecting this liquid propane injection technology and this partnership will show that propane is the best alternative fuel for school districts and shuttle operators across North America.”

Motor sports legend Jack Roush, chairman of ROUSH Enterprises, says propane is a perfect alternative fuel option for school districts that must reduce their operational costs as well as lower their emissions. He notes that historically propane trends 30 to 40 percent less than diesel, which help school districts stretch fuel budgets. BR

By David Hubbard

The Spirit LP capitalizes on the exclusive features that ARBOC worked eight years to perfect.

ARBOC Mobility, Middlebury, IN, worked eight years to perfect its concept of the low-floor paratransit bus it calls the Spirit of Mobility, conceived to provide easy and equal access for all passengers. This year ARBOC Mobility is bringing the exclusive features of the Spirit of Mobility to operators in private markets with its introduction of the Spirit LP.

When the Spirit of Mobility debuted two years ago, ARBOC President Jim Bartel announced his new company not only complied, but also fully embraced the spirit and intent of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

With proprietary low-floor engineering tailored for private markets, the Spirit LP comes prepped for ADA-compliant components as needed by its final customers.

“Every type of bus passenger appreciates low-floor access,” says Don Roberts, ARBOC vice president, sales and marketing. “There is a major void in the small bus market for this type of vehicle at the retail level.”

ARBOC Mobility says it does not take the approach that one bus fits all, but works to tailor its products for specific markets.

The entrance door width increased to 41 inches on the Spirit LP for easier entrance and exit with luggage.

“The Spirit LP is a simpler product,” says Roberts. “But this vehicle also is less expensive than the Spirit of Mobility.”

ARBOC Mobility says it has been pleased by the number of North American transit authorities from Lubbock, TX to Calgary, AB, Canada that have purchased the Spirit of Mobility for actual transit applications as much as for paratransit.

“Transit agencies are especially interested in the low-floor accessibility for regular service,” says Roberts. “The features are ideal and the price certainly meets its shorter life cycle.”
ARBOC says to date public transit agencies across North America have purchased nearly 98 percent of the Spirit of Mobility vehicles it has assembled over the last 30 months. Roberts says the 400th ARBOC bus is on the line and Number 500 is in queue.

“We successfully met our own challenge to develop a rear-wheel drive, low-floor cutaway bus with an entry ramp and no steps anywhere in the passenger area,” says Bartel. “We did it without relying on a drop-box transfer case.”

However, the private market does not require all of the features present in the current Spirit of Mobility product. The Spirit LP specifically addresses these differences.

Random access makes room for three, four, or five wheelchairs to maneuver easily inside depending on the model length.

Many of the same standard features appear on the new ARBOC product, which include an integrated steel structure body-on-chassis construction with full E-Coat corrosion protection, as well as the proprietary Bolt-n-Bond assembly process, which greatly reduces interior noise. The construction of the Spirit LP has been simplified.

“The typical small bus market has not seen a vehicle anywhere close to the Spirit LP,” says Roberts. “The Spirit LP is a simpler vehicle in design using the OEM chassis suspension rather than air ride, helping reduce the manufacturing costs.”

Other important differences separate the Spirit LP from its sibling. Built on a Chevrolet chassis the new model is available in 24-foot and 27-foot models. The 24-foot features a 165-inch wheelbase over the 159-inch configuration of the Spirit of Mobility. Three-leaf steel parabolic springs in the rear replace the air suspension of the original model. Where air suspension maintains an even height, the step-in height with the conventional suspension is 12 inches or less, depending on the overall weight of the loaded bus.

The Spirit LP does not kneel but still provides an entrance ramp slope better than the 1:4 ADA entrance/egress standard. Bartel states that the entry slope on the Spirit LP is 1:5 using a 62-inch ramp. All entrance ramps for ARBOC products are the best in the industry at 34-inch width and 800-pound capacity. All wheelchair positions in the Spirit LP are enlarged to a 54-inch length. The entrance door width was also increased to 41 inches to allow people with luggage easier entrance and exit.

The Spirit LP offers configured perimeter floor plans that are popular with parking and hotel shuttle operations.

“For this new vehicle we are providing up to five wheelchair positions,” says Bartel. “These can be configured for random access just like the original Spirit of Mobility product. As the guiding principle behind the engineering, random access makes room for three, four, or five wheelchairs to maneuver easily inside depending on the model length.

“It is no longer about squeezing wheelchair passengers into a bus,” says Bartel. “Now it is how to best configure the usable space for the totally free flow of people moving on and off the bus.”

The Spirit LP also offers configured perimeter floor plans with up to three wheelchair positions. Perimeter seating is popular with parking and hotel shuttle operations.

The Spirit LP is only available with gasoline powertrains and features a reduced version of the Cooper-Bussman solid state electrical system typically used in class-A trucks. Roberts says the Spirit LP also comes with fewer options available on the Spirit of Mobility, because this bus will go to entirely different markets such as parking, assisted living, car rental agencies and hotels.

In July ARBOC Mobility held its dealer and vendor seminar in Auburn Hills, MI to introduce the new Spirit LP and to relate the improvements to the Spirit of Mobility bus. “The dealers thought the new Spirit LP was a tremendously important addition to the line-up and are anxious to start selling it,” says Roberts. “They liked the fact that ARBOC Mobility will only build low-floor buses”

Bartel points out that in less than three years ARBOC Mobility has become North America’s largest producer of mid-size buses under 30 feet.

“This goes to show that the industry is ready for a less expensive low-floor bus,” he says. “Until now a vehicle of this type has not been available.” BR

Tours.com is one of the oldest and most respected travel and tourism websites, garnering hundreds of thousands of unique visitors each month. The website continues to expand its reach to include tens of thousands of travel providers and travel resources in its impressive searchable directory listing.

A special webpage recently created on Tours.com helps consumers find reliable motorcoach operators in the US and Canada, with ABA the featured provider of that content. Tours.com also expects to introduce a consumer tour booking tool later in the year to allow consumers to create their dream trips online.

“With more and more consumers and travel professionals looking to generate leads and book travel online, partnering with a well-recognized consumer-facing web resource such as Tours.com — and by extension its impressive TV and viral media partners — makes perfect sense for marketing ABA and its members,” says ABA President & CEO Peter Pantuso.

“ABA is pleased to offer this new benefit to members, and will explore opportunities to further enhance this exposure for operators by featuring the operations of ABA member and travel offerings.”

“We are excited to be forging this partnership with ABA to help operators reach more consumers online,” said Tours.com’s Maria Polk. “This will benefit both consumers and the operators who provide group travel and tourism services to them.”

For more information visit www.Tours.com or the motorcoach-specific page www.Tours.com/buses.htm.