Magazine serving the bus and rail transit & motorcoach operations since 1904
Issue link: https://metromag.epubxp.com/i/102390
the safety efforts would pay off once again said that enforcement is the real issue, with rogue operators not being targeted enough and upstanding operators being unfairly penalized. Additionally, providers noted that more focus needs to be placed on the driver and not the vehicle and equipment such as seat belts. As one operator put it, "I've been on plenty of buses with seat belts. No one wears them, so how can it improve safety?" Easton Coach Co., based in Easton Pa., saw a 10% bump in business in 2012. BUSINESS WAS UP Stayed the same Down SEAT BELTS This year, we asked about the portion of vehicles with factory-installed seat belts in operators' current fleets. Only 6% of the Top 50 operators said their entire fleet, or nearly their entire fleet, had the belts installed. Thirty-two percent responded that 1% to 10% of their vehicles were equipped with seat belts, onefifth said that 11% to 20% of their vehicles had seat belts, and about one-fifth have no factory-installed seat belts in their fleets. Eighty percent of carriers 3% 18% How was business in 2012 compared with 2011? 79% Up Business was up for more than threequarters of the Top 50 motorcoach operators and for 64% of all respondents. On average, for the Top 50, the increase was 12%. said they plan to add motorcoaches with factory-installed seat belts to their fleets in 2013. About two-thirds of operators claimed to only be interested in buying buses with factory-installed belts. REFURBISHMENT We also included new questions about refurbished coaches. Three-quarters of operators responded that they have refurbished coaches in their fleets. The average number of refurbished vehicles among those surveyed and in the Top 50 is seven. Operators that are considering buying refurbished coaches in the next year totaled to about threequarters. Carriers who said they are not looking into buying refurbished coaches in 2013 responded that they refurbish in-house (33%), only buy new, mostly due to contract requirements (33%), don't have money in the budget this year to buy any vehicles (22%) or think it's too expensive (3%) (see refurbishment story on pg. 43). JANUARY 2013 mETRO mAGAZINE > 19