Last September, we ran a Page One story about the disconnect between most motorcoach operators and federal administrators whose mission it is to assure transportation security and freedom of movement for people and commerce.

Our article reported the results of a "vulnerability study" of the coach industry conducted by the Volpe National Transportation Systems Center. The study found that in the wake of September 11 and the threat of terrorist attacks in the future, plans and programs were needed to improve coach passenger security.

However, motorcoach operators who were the focus of the study weren't at all convinced that additional industry security measures were warranted.

It's six months later, and opinions on both sides appear not to have changed very much.

U.S. Transportation Security Administration officials continue to urge operators to become more security conscience and proactive.

TSA has distributed more than 100,000 security pamphlets and tip cards to motorcoach operators, containing dozens of recommendations for preparing for or reacting to security incidents.

The agency has awarded nearly $20 million to over-the-road bus companies in 24 states to help pay for all sorts of security-related paraphernalia and training. More than $1.6 million of the total went to the United Motorcoach Association and the American Bus Association to offer free voluntary security training programs to more than 2,000 coach operators nationwide.

The associations are rolling out their programs. Bus & Motorcoach News has carried stories and announcements about the programs. (See the latest announcement on page 5 and story on page 3.)

But so far, the response from operators has been underwhelming. Several hundred operators have signed up, but coach companies have not inundated the associations with the forms used for signing up for the program. And that's regrettable, and here's why.

If the response continues to lag, the feds will more than likely mandate security training for the industry, and what is mandated may be far more onerous than the voluntary program that is available today. Any time the government requires something, it comes with strings, and forms, and reporting and posting requirements, and general bureaucratic overkill.

On the chance that all of that can be avoided by being proactive, consider signing up for the voluntary program today. If you already have, let us know what you think of it when the material arrives later this month, and you've shared it with your staff and completed the training.

Maybe others will be encouraged to sign up once they learn it's relatively painless. Unlike a federal mandate.