WASHINGTON, D.C. — Motorcoach trade group the American Bus Association (ABA) has formed a new council for its members who have yellow buses in their fleets.

ABA’s School Bus Council (not to be confused with the American School Bus Council) launched earlier this year and held a conference call last month to discuss the National Transportation Safety Board’s special investigative report and safety recommendations to the pupil transportation industry.

Another topic covered in the ABA call was the Environmental Protection Agency's plan to roll back the greenhouse gas emission rule. Participants also discussed funding opportunities that are available to school bus contractors — namely, the Volkswagen settlement and the Diesel Emissions Reduction Act.

Peter Pantuso, president and CEO of ABA, told School Bus Fleet that while his association traditionally represents motorcoach operators, they recently realized that about 100 of their 800 members also operate school buses — collectively about 10,000 to 15,000 of the yellow vehicles. Also, he said, many of those companies are not members of any other national organization.

“Therefore, it made sense to us to create a council where school bus operators would have the opportunity to meet and work together, learn from one another, take advantage of ABA’s existing safety and maintenance programs, and collectively address issues that come before the industry,” Pantuso said.

The School Bus Council joins a variety of other ABA groups, including the Hispanic Motorcoach Council, the Entertainer Motorcoach Council, the Women in Buses Council, the Bus Industry Safety Council, and the Bus Maintenance and Repair Council.

Ronna Weber, former executive director of the National School Transportation Association, is serving as consultant for ABA’s School Bus Council.

Pantuso said that the School Bus Council is open to existing ABA members at no charge. Also, companies that only operate school buses can participate by paying the lowest ABA rate, $440 per year.

For more information about the council, contact ABA’s Brad Tucker at btucker@buses.org or (202) 218-7206.