When Roy Alonso’s parents fled Cuba in 1963, they left behind everything they had built – businesses, a home, and a legacy of hard work.
His father had been a successful entrepreneur, owning a Roto-Rooter franchise, a pest control company, a laundromat, and a distillery that produced rum and wine. But after communist leader Fidel Castro’s rise to power, everything was seized by the government.
“They lost it all,” Alonso said. “My father was the last of his siblings to leave because nobody thought it would last.”
Despite having to start over in a new country with nothing, Alonso’s parents instilled in him the values of perseverance, entrepreneurship, and, above all, the importance of treating employees like family.
“When he was living in Florida years later, former employees from Cuba who had also escaped would come to visit him,” Alonso said. “My dad always treated his employees like family, which is something I still do today. It’s important for me to know how my employees are doing, not just at work but at home, especially in this business. Overall, respect goes a long way with your employees.”
Alonso carried those values as he rose in the motorcoach industry. In recognition of his contributions, Alonso, co-founder of Cardinal Transportation of Columbus, Ohio, was honored with the 2025 United Motorcoach Association (UMA) Vision Award for large fleet operators at the 2025 UMA Motorcoach EXPO on Feb. 22.
Cardinal Transportation operates 80 vehicles, including 40 motorcoaches, along with mini-coaches and black cars. It serves college athletics, corporate travel, student tours, and private charters.
Honoring excellence
Bethany Bertram, UMA Director and President of Trobec’s Bus Service, who presented the award, noted its exemplifies the highest standards of excellence, innovation, and leadership in the motorcoach industry.
“(Cardinal’s) leadership extends beyond their own organization, and as they have been instrumental in advocating for industry improvements on a national level while they’re working with regulatory agencies or collaborating with other operators to establish best practices, this company continues to be a driving force in the industry through professional consulting for executive management, peer group meetings, educational seminars and ongoing driver education, this company continues to invest in their people, recognizing that excellence starts from within,” Bertram said.
The industry accolade surprised Alonso.
“It was quite the honor,” said Alonso. “To be first nominated and then selected by my peers, it was just great. I’m very humbled and honored to have received it, and very grateful to have that recognition.”
Alonso, who is bilingual, was born in the small Central Florida town of Pahokee, next to Lake Okeechobee.
His journey into transportation wasn’t planned. When he moved to Ohio to attend Ohio State University, he planned to earn a degree in business. To help with expenses, he took a job washing buses for the university’s transit system.
That job kept him so busy that he dropped out of college by his sophomore year. He worked his way up, first as a driver, then as an operations supervisor, and eventually as the operations manager overseeing the entire campus bus service.
Following entrepreneurial dreams
While managing Ohio State’s transportation system, Alonso and his business partner, Trevor Ocock, started discussing the idea of launching their own bus company.
In 2000, they purchased Andre’s limousine company in Columbus. The business had a strong reputation and had won the Consumer Choice Award for several years.
“The owners were a really solid company, good people, and they stayed on for about a year, helping us and wanting us to succeed,” said Alonso. “It was just the best transition you could ask for.
“We had three cars when we first started. We initially wanted to do a bus company, but it’s just what we could afford. We changed the name to the Cardinal, the state bird, because our goal was to have a more diverse fleet.”
His parents loaned him the money to get started, though, in the end, they never asked for it back.
“My mom and dad actually gave me part of my first loan when I started in 2000,” he said. “But they wouldn’t take any money back, so I ended up putting some money into their house, remodeling their kitchen, because they wouldn’t take extra cash.”
The business was growing steadily until 9/11 changed everything.
“We pretty much lost everything,” Alonso said.
A shock, but survival
Like many in the transportation industry, Cardinal relied heavily on airport service — which came to a near standstill after the attacks.
“Luckily, we were small, but we were mainly doing airport service, which wasn’t happening at the time,” Alonso said. “Some companies larger than us didn’t survive.”
His partner, Ocock, decided to return to transit work, and Alonso bought him out. They remain close friends, and Ocock eventually became second-in-command at Disney’s transportation system in Orlando, overseeing more than 2,000 drivers.
Alonso’s philosophy in business is simple: treat people right. That includes both clients and employees.
“I don’t like confrontation, and I like to talk to people,” he said. “The networking and connections you make at these meetings, the face-to-face connections, really build relationships.”
One of Cardinal’s longest-running contracts was with Limited Brands, the parent company of Victoria’s Secret and Bath & Body Works. For over 20 years, Cardinal provided transportation for executives traveling on the company’s private planes.
“They had their own fleet of planes, five or six of them, and once they got to Columbus, we’d have a couple of shuttles there that would pick up at the airport, on the tarmac, and take them to the Limited Brands campus,” Alonso said. “Sadly, that just ended a few months ago. It was my oldest contract. They were almost like family.”
Alonso is an active member of the UMA, Midwest Bus & Motorcoach Association and the International Motorcoach Group, valuing the networking opportunities and industry insights.
“You’re always learning,” he said. “I sat in a session where someone presented spreadsheets that help determine if an acquisition or purchase is a good decision. That kind of knowledge is invaluable.”
