WASHINGTON - A decision by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to award bus security grants only to fixed-route operators has been blasted by the United Motorcoach Association and the American Bus Association.

For the past two years, any U.S. motorcoach company could apply for the grants, which are to be used to upgrade operational security.

For fiscal 2005, however, the department decided to strictly interpret language in a congressional report and limit the list to those companies that can apply to fixed-route operators. That means that more than 95 percent of over-the-road bus operators are excluded from the program.

ABA and UMA contend it makes no sense to leave so much of the industry high and dry.

One senior federal transportation security official told a committee meeting at the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance annual conference last month in Albuquerque, N.M., that the pool of companies that can apply "will be limited to line-haul operators that serve urban areas that have been determined to be security threats."

However, in announcing which companies would be eligible for funding, the department released a list of operators that appears to have been cobbled together from a 1998 edition of the Bus Industry Directory that was missing a few pages. The list not only contains the names of many companies that are no longer in business but names many others that are based in such security hotspots as central Oregon, northeast Wyoming and northern Wisconsin.

The department said these companies will be permitted to apply for a total of nearly $10 million in bus security grants.

Also in its announcement, the department said it designed this year's program in coordination with a trio of "federal partner agencies," as well as industry representatives, such as the American Bus Association and the United Motorcoach Association. It's pretty clear from the language used by UMA and ABA that isn't exactly true.

"While ABA and UMA support both congressional and administration efforts to promote motorcoach security through the availability of federal security grants for our industry, we strongly oppose limiting those funds to only designated operators," ABA President and CEO Peter J. Pantuso and UMA President and CEO Victor Parra said in a statement.

"Though fixed-route operators are and should be a high priority for security grant funding because of the volume of passengers they operate, it has been ABA and UMA's position that all operators should have access to the competitive process of applying for those funds based on the merits of their application and the intended use of the requested funds," added Parra and Pantuso.

The associations are urging their line-haul operator members to apply for grants even if they are not on the list.

Representatives of the associations have met with DHS officials and congressional staffers in recent weeks in an effort to drive home the point that by limiting eligibility to line-haul operators the rest of the industry is put at greater risk. The associations also continue to insist that additional funds -- with a wider distribution -- must be allocated for bus security grants in the future.

"We are hopeful that those efforts will be successful and we will work with our membership to press that point with government officials," Pantuso and Parra said.

In fiscal 2003 and again last year, bus security grants were awarded to virtually all segments of the industry and were used to purchase cell phones for drivers, GPS equipment, security barriers for drivers, fencing around bus lots, and training. UMA and ABA created "Operation Secure Transport," which distributed security training materials to more than 700 companies.

Additionally, 300 bus professionals received training during a series of 10 "Train the Trainer" security workshops.