GADSDEN, Ala. Motorcoach operators from southeastern states have formed an advisory committee to serve as a liaison between the industry and the emergency management divisions of Gulf Coast states.

The committee is a direct outgrowth of the horrible experiences coach operators and their drivers endured late last summer when they responded to hurricane evacuation requests issued by Texas.

During the evacuations organized in the wake of Hurricanes Ike and Gustaf, drivers were treated like second-class citizens and Texas dragged its bureaucratic feet for months before paying for the coaches it requested. (See Oct. 1 and 15, Dec. 1 and Jan. 1 issues of Bus & Motorcoach News.)

Operators attending the late-January Southeastern Regional Motorcoach Operators Meeting in Orlando requested that an advisory committee be created.

Since then, motorcoach associations from all southeastern states and individual operators from those states have been recruited to participate in the committee.

The organizing effort was led by Jim Harris, president of the North Carolina Motorcoach Association and owner of Cardinal Coach in Warsaw, N.C.

The North Carolina association administers the Southeastern Regional Motorcoach Operators Meeting, which this year was held in conjunction with UMA Motorcoach Expo.

Now that the committee has been created it has been charged with addressing issues of driver treatment, hours of service, staging and payment. The committee is called the Southeastern Regional Emergency Evacuation Advisory Committee and it met for the first time by conference call late last month.

Jimmy Kelton of Kelton Tours in Gadsden, was appointed chairman, and Bill Tilton of Southern Transportation in Jacksons Gap, Ala., and Ray Land of Fabulous Coach Lines in Branford, Fla., were appointed vice chairmen.

Committee members identified four areas of concentration and assigned members to subcommittees to formulate a plan to address each issue. The four areas are: Driver treatment, communications, contracts and representation.

Follow-up subcommittee conference calls and meetings are planned.

A meeting is scheduled for June 8 in Raleigh, N.C., for the committee to complete plans to meet with appropriate individuals in each of the Gulf States and at the federal level to demonstrate that motorcoach operators should be part of the hurricane (or other emergency) evacuation planning process.

In creating the advisory committee, operators hope to show they can make a positive difference in the process and help to improve conditions, expectations and communications.

Here are the members of the Southeastern Regional Emergency Evacuation Advisory Committee:

Alabama: Kelton and Tilton

Florida: Land

Georgia: Jimmy Cantrell of Daniels Charters & Tours in Gainesville

North Carolina: Stretch Carpenter of Carolina Charters of Vale (N.C.); Lee Helms of Trolleys Inc. in Charlotte

South Carolina: Bobby Clemmer of Lancaster Trailways of the Carolinas in Lancaster; Pinckney Spencer of Atchison Transportation Services in Spartanburg

South Central states (Miss., La., Texas and Ark.): Raja Chaudhry of Executive Coach Inc. in Irving, Texas; Greg Page of Corinth Charters and Tours in Corinth, Miss.; Jim Pitstick of Tri-City Charter of Bossier City, La.

Tennessee: Cecil Morgan of C & A Charters in Cleveland

Virginia: Morgan Brown of Magic Carpet Tours Bus Service in Richmond; Warren Newton of Newton Bus Service in Gloucester; Harris is an ex-officio member.

To communicate with the committee, call a member or Linda Morris at (800) 376-1660, or e-mail info@ncmotorcoach.org.