The United Motorcoach Association and 20 partner organizations will be in the nation's capital on Wednesday, April 3, to advocate for maintaining the partial fuel tax exemption for motorcoaches and to educate members of Congress on the vital role private motorcoaches play in creating jobs, generating tourism dollars, and a providing safe, fuel efficient, and green solution to transportation and travel.

"With a new Congress in place, and new leadership in the House, the Bus & Motorcoach Industry Legislative Fly-In is an opportunity for bus and motorcoach operators to ensure that their priorities are known," said Stacy Tetschner, president/CEO of UMA. "Meeting face-to-face in group settings, operators can share important facts and statistics that show the industry's contribution to the economy and its status as the safest mode of transportation. And most important, they can tell their individual stories of local job creation and how regulations affect small businesses. Eighty-one percent of private bus and motorcoach operators nationwide own between one and nine coaches and each coach directly provides about 3.5 jobs. Motorcoach businesses are small businesses that contribute to local economies."

Meetings have been scheduled to allow operators to meet federal legislators and inform them about the role their businesses play in transportation in their district and state and educate them about national concerns and issues like the partial fuel tax exemption. When the exemption started out, Congress granted motorcoaches a full exemption from the fuel tax, but that has been eroded by subsequent Congresses and operators are concerned it could potentially go away if enough legislators do not realize its value.

The Bus & Motorcoach Industry Fly-In has support from 20 partner organizations who have joined UMA in this advocacy effort, including the Alabama Motorcoach Association, Asian American Motorcoach Association, Bus Association of New York, California Bus Association, Georgia Motorcoach Operators Association, Greater New Jersey Motorcoach Association, Hawaii Transportation Association, International Motorcoach Group, Maryland Motorcoach Association, Midwest Bus & Motorcoach Association, Minnesota Charter Bus Operators Association, Motorcoach Association of South Carolina, National Association of Motorcoach Operators, New England Bus Association, North Carolina Motorcoach Association, Northwest Motorcoach Association, Pennsylvania Bus Association, South Central Motorcoach Association, Trailways Charter Bus Network, and Virginia Motorcoach Association.