Members of the American Bus Association and the United Motorcoach Association will be asked during the next two weeks to decide whether the rival groups should be combined into a new association.

Both organizations are sending their members a sheaf of documents that explain the proposed consolidation and a ballot to vote on the issue.

The boards of both associations have approved resolutions calling for the consolidation, but neither board is actually recommending that their members okay the deal.

That has not stopped the four top officers of the two associations, however, from going on record as being strongly in favor of the idea. (See the March 15 issue of Bus & Motorcoach News for comprehensive details about the plan, plus an interview with the associations' top elected officials.)

During the third week of March, ABA's executive committee approved the final consolidation documents, and the full ABA board formally approved the plan in a conference call vote March 29.

ABA anticipated mailing its ballot and documents explaining the proposal to members on March 30, meeting the self-imposed deadline the two associations agreed to in December.

The timetable for the vote by UMA members hit a slight snag when its counsel decided last month that the broad resolution adopted by the UMA board in December was inadequate to allow the association to move forward with a membership vote.

However, a new board vote was arranged so directors could give their stamp of approval to exactly the same proposal that is being submitted to UMA members -- even though the final agreement is consistent with the framework that was approved in December. As expected, the board gave its okay to the final proposal.

UMA By-Laws inhibited the board from acting as quickly as leaders would have liked. Signed waivers had to be rounded up from all board members so the vote could be taken during the last week in March. Following the vote, the ballots and documents were being mailed to members, also meeting the March 31 deadline.

For the ABA-UMA consolidation to materialize, two-thirds of the members of both organizations must approve the plan. If the proposal gets the required vote, a transition committee composed of four board members from each association will oversee the unification during the next eight months.

Handicapping the vote has been a favorite topic of conversation throughout the industry in recent weeks.