TORRANCE, Calif. — Bobit Business Media, the parent company of School Bus Fleet, has announced a new transportation industry event: America’s Bus and Coach Expo.

Two of Bobit’s premier trade shows, BusCon and LCT East, will join forces in 2020 to create the event, which will take place Nov. 15 to 17, at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia.

BusCon, which launched in 1995 and is hosted by SBF’s sister publication METRO magazine, is one of the largest bus and bus equipment shows in the U.S., with more than 1,050 attendees this year. BusCon covers a diverse range of business operations, from public transit, shuttle services, and tours and charters. Additionally, LCT East, hosted by LCT Magazine, SBF’s other sister publication, has offered education and networking opportunities to those in the luxury transportation and coach industries since 2013.

“Bringing these two powerhouses together makes sense not only for our vendors, but for the attendees of both shows,” said Richard Rivera, CEO of Bobit Business Media. “Here at Bobit, we are all about adapting to our changing markets, and this is a reflection of the changes happening in the luxury transportation and motorcoach industries. We are committed to keeping the same education and networking opportunities available to attendees — you’ll be able to go as niche or as broad as you’d like depending on your business’s needs.”

METRO Magazine’s Publisher James Blue is confident past attendees of both shows will benefit from the merging.

“Combining these two events opens the doors for endless possibilities,” Blue said. “As our industries change, it’s imperative we do not try to tackle those changes in a silo, but rather open ourselves up to learn from and partner with those in adjacent markets. For us, it just so happened that we already have that partnership in place with LCT Magazine and we will work together to ensure this new event is bigger and better than anything Bobit has ever done before.”

The merging of the two established trade shows for next year sparks a new era of learning and connecting, which closely ties into the newly formed Global Ground Transportation Institute (GGTI) and its mission to connect and unite all segments of ground transportation through education and networking. Because of this alignment with the GGTI mission, GGTI will be assisting the new mega-show’s educational tracks.