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“Rolling For Awareness Rally” Follow-Up
On May 13, JGM Coach and Benedicts Bus Service participated in the “Rolling For Awareness Rally” in Washington, DC. This event included motor coach companies from across the United States as they traveled to our nation’s capitol, circling around it, hoping to bring awareness to their cause.
“The motor coach industry, we figure, is about 3,000 companies and over 100,000 employees. If you watch the news, you always hear our government officials talking about the airlines and the cruise industry,” said Jamie Morral, owner of JGM Coach. “You never hear them talk about the bus industry. If you look at the numbers, the bussing industry is very close in comparison to transporting as many people as the airline industry. Out of these 3,000 companies, most of them are mom-and-pop companies, and it’s going to be hard for them to survive this.”
Morral is optimistic about rally’s outcome.
“I think it was great. I think if it didn’t make an impact, something was wrong because we had a lot buses there,” said Morral. “I think they said well over a thousand, they counted. It was a great experience and I was glad to be part of it.”
Motor coach buses and drivers weren’t the only participants in the rally. Many families and individuals lined the streets with signs in support of the cause.
“For me, it was very emotional,” said Maria Frank of Benedicts Bus Service. “It was so moving for us to see the whole industry come together as one, united.”
“On of my favorite pictures and people that I saw out there was a family,” said Tammy Mengee of Benedicts Bus Service. “They had signs held up that their business also needs buses. That was really cool to see.”
Many other transportation industries have been provided grant money to help support them during the pandemic, however, the motor coach industry has not yet received any assistance – despite having similar statistical data to the airline industry in regards to yearly passenger numbers. Many public transportation companies have remained in operation. This is not the case for the motor coach industry, and they are hoping this rally will help them gain the support they need.
Credits:
Videography: Andrew Moore
Video Editing: Andrew Moore
Writing: Andrew Moore
Anchor: Rhonda Pearson
Produced by Vogt Media
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