AUSTIN, TEXAS The bad feelings that flared between Texas state government and motorcoach operators -- who complained they were not paid on a timely basis for the evacuation of thousands of hurricane-threatened Texas residents last year -- appear to be on the mend.

Texas officials say they have set aside special funds to help pay for emergency transportation expenses during this years storm season and have taken other steps to avoid a repeat of billing issues and mistreatment of drivers.

The action was applauded by motorcoach industry executives who called it a "step in the right direction" and expressed hope such steps will spread to other states that use motorcoach operators to transport residents during emergencies.

Last year, dozens of operators from throughout the country complained they had to wait for months to be paid for the transportation work they did in Texas for hurricanes Ike and Gustav.

Additionally, many of their drivers returned home with alarming stories of how they were mistreated by the state, including being turned away from food lines, being refused medical treatment, being forced to sleep in their hot buses, and having to go without showers.

This year, things should be dramatically different, according to Ted Maddry of the Texas Office of Emergency Management.

He said the state moved to correct the problems for a variety of reasons, including meetings it had with a newly formed committee of operators and threats by some of them not to take part in future emergency evacuations unless improvements were made. (See May 15 Bus & Motorcoach News.)

Perhaps the action most welcomed by the operators came from the Texas legislature, which finally agreed near the end of its recently concluded session to allocate $62 million to the state Disaster Contingency Fund. The account, which had not been funded for the past several years -- despite pleas from Gov. Rick Perry, can be used to help pay for evacuation costs.

"Having the fund is going to help us prepare and protect Texans immediately without concern about where the money is going to come from," noted Katherine Cesinger, a spokeswoman for the governor.

State officials offered the operators a mix of excuses for the slow payments last year, including the depleted disaster fund, not having enough people to process the large numbers of vouchers they received and slow payments from the federal government, which was responsible for paying a portion of the bills.

In addition to possibly resolving the money issue, Maddry said the state also agreed to make more information on billing procedures available to the operators and to help them set up training on how to file the necessary paperwork to get paid. A number of operators complained last year that their vouchers were sent back to them several times because they were filled out incorrectly or were missing information.

"I can guarantee you if the operators fill out the forms properly, theyll get paid," he stressed.

Maddry said the state responded to the driver complaints by hiring a private contractor to manage staging areas where drivers and buses assemble for inspections and before being dispatched for evacuations. The contractor will be responsible for providing the drivers with food, shelter, shuttle service to stores and other services.

North Carolina Motorcoach Association President Jim Harris, who was instrumental in the establishment of the Southeastern Regional Emergency Evacuation Advisory Committee that met with Texas state officials, said the actions taken by the state appear promising.

"It certainly is a step in the right direction because that was the intent all along working together and having it work for everyone involved," he said. "I hope all of the other states will be cooperative and make it uniform because we all learn from one another."

The advisory committee was a product of the Southeastern Regional Motorcoach Operators meeting in Orlando last January, just prior to UMA Motorcoach Expo 2009, where many operators voiced their complaints and talked of not going back to Texas this year. Its goal was to work to improve relations with hurricane-prone states such as Texas, Mississippi, Louisiana, Florida and others.

Linda Morris, executive director of several state motorcoach associations and who helped facilitate the state meetings, agreed that Texas appears to have taken a positive turn in working with operators and drivers.

"Weve come a long way and I think the advisory committee has made a big difference by opening a dialog," she emphasized.

Meantime, Texas is in the process of adding additional motorcoach operators to the list of more than 200 holdovers it has from a year ago.

Maddry said contracted operators who take part in evacuations this year would be paid a daily flat rate of $2,232 ($93 per hour for a 24-hour period), plus another $3.15 per mile for deadhead movements and $4.15 per mile when passengers are onboard.

He said details of the contract and information on how to apply should be on the internet any day.

Operators can view the information by visiting www.cpa.state.tx.us, click on "State Purchasing" near the top of the page and then clicking on "Electronic State Business Daily," which is listed under "Most Popular" on the right side of the page. Then type in 961 next to "Class" and 82 next to "Item" and click on "Go."