July 1, 2002
Churches urged to kick the tires on bus companies
___By Mark Wingfield
___Managing Editor
___When parents take their children to the church parking lot to board a bus for camp or a mission trip, they do so with the assumption that church leaders have chosen the safest carrier possible.
___In many cases, however, churches have chosen the cheapest carrier available and may not know anything about the carrier's safety record, driver selection process or maintenance policies.
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| THE BUS COMPANY used by Metro Church did not have proper insurance coverage, according to some media reports. |
_"Cheapest is not always best," said Mary Ann Hill, a Baptist laywoman who along with her husband operates a travel and tour business called Sports Travel Inc. "You get what you pay for with a bus."
___In the aftermath of the June 24 bus crash that killed four Texas Baptist youth near Terrell, Hill and others involved in the travel industry urged church leaders to make careful decisions when chartering buses.
___"What people need to understand is they've got to go with companies that are established, that have 24-hour emergency availability of some kind," Hill said. "The companies that provide the best service and have the maintenance are not the cheapest."
___Not all tour bus companies are created equally, Hill said. After 25 years in the travel business, she and her husband, Doug, now limit their contracts to four or five bus companies they know well.
___"With us, it's a track record," she said, noting that even the best of companies can encounter mechanical problems. What she looks for, however, is the way companies respond to mechanical problems, what type of preventive maintenance they conduct, how they screen drivers and what kind of experiences her clients have had previously.
___"Management is really important," Hill said. "Good management is usually a sign of good maintenance."
___One of the carriers Hill uses most often is Gotta Go Express, based in Fort Worth. The company operates a fleet of 25 buses.
___Gotta Go Express bid on the Metro Church trip but was not chosen because another smaller company offered a cheaper price.
___"We can't compete with people like that on prices," said Gotta Go's president, Don Dinger. "Their equipment is not comparable to ours. And we have the proper insurance."
___According to some media reports, the carrier involved in the Metro Church crash, Discovery Tours, did not have proper insurance coverage. Discovery Tours had been subcontracted on the job by Green's Transportation, which also was reported not to have adequate insurance. By law, commercial carriers are required to carry at least $5 million in liability insurance.
___It is always appropriate for tour organizers to ask bus companies for a copy of their insurance certificate, Dinger said.
___Failure to check on such things could create multiple problems for churches hiring buses, added Candy Thompson, a destination manager who operates a Dallas-based company called The Fun Planner.
___Not only is lack of insurance a warning sign that a bus company may not be reliable, it could create additional legal liability for the church if an accident occurs, she said.
___Reputable bus companies will be registered with both the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration and the state Department of Transportation, Dinger said.
___Those government agencies also maintain records on the carrier's insurance coverage, safety records and other vital statistics. This information may be obtained by calling the Texas Department of Transportation or by accessing the federal agency's website at www.safersys.org.
___Every registered motor coach should have a motor carrier number posted on the side of the bus, Dinger said. In addition, federal law requires the bus to display the name of the company that operates it and the city in which they are based.
___Commercial buses also must display a valid safety inspection sticker from the Department of Transportation. These stickers are placed on the left side of the front windshield.
___Travel planners also should observe how closely bus companies adhere to federal laws such as the amount of time a driver may work, both Dinger and Hill said. Commercial bus drivers may drive only 10 hours per day, including their time in transit from the garage to the pickup site.
___If a company does not strictly enforce this law, that's a sure sign of bad management, Hill warned.
___Another sign is how well drivers communicate with the home office while on the road, she added. Will anyone from the bus company be checking in with the driver along the road? Does the driver have any means of communicating with his supervisors?
___Hill's advice was echoed by Peg Wolschon, a certified meeting professional and certified tour professional who is a regional sales manager for Production Transport.
___Larger companies have safety managers to monitor drivers and ensure proper maintenance of buses, said Wolschon, who has worked in the bus business since 1976.
___Before hiring a bus company, church leaders should know something about that company's driver training program and insurance coverage, she said.
___If church leaders don't want to bear the responsibility of gathering this safety information, Thompson advises using the services of a professional tour director.
___In many cases, the cost of using such a service may be little more than booking a carrier directly, particularly when divided on a per head basis, she said. Paying an additional dollar or two per passenger could be less expensive than the problems that result from inadequate planning, she added.
___Destination managers work for groups of all sizes. "The advantage is we work with these companies, we know who they are," Thompson said. Destination managers also can help churches plan tours that keep an appropriate schedule and meet participants' expectations, she said.
How to check out a bus company:
___ Ask others who have used the company about their experiences.
___ Do not assume the cheapest price is the best deal.
___ Find out about the size of the company's fleet and what kind of backup service they offer.
___ Make sure the company will provide the service itself and not subcontract the work to another company you do not know.
___ Ask to see a copy of the company's liability insurance policy and make sure it is current.
___ Check the carrier's safety record at www.safersys.org.
___ Inquire about the company's driver selection and training process.
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