UMA is developing our 2020 educational content. Below is 2019’s solution session lineup to demonstrate what UMA offers at EXPO. If you have a session topic you would like to see at EXPO, please email Maggie Vander Eems at mvandereems@uma.org.

For 2019, EXPO’s Solution Sessions are focused on the most forward-thinking, innovative approaches to the defining critical issues that will drive The Future of the Motorcoach Industry. We’ve dispensed with tracks in favor of important topics that will inspire deep conversations and actionable outcomes.  

Fatigue – Part 1 – The Basics | Location: Grand CE
Monday, January 7
11:15 AM – 12:15 PM     

Presenters: Bob Crescenzo, Lancer Insurance, and Michael Laponte

There will be a push by Congress and regulators in the coming years to reduce fatigue-related crashes. What are the levels of fatigue, how does management evaluate their prevalence, and how is a plan implemented? This and more will be addressed in this session. Attendees will be able to walk away understanding fatigue issues and equipped with actionable steps to create a management plan for your company. This is a Part One of a two-part topic discussion. Part Two will debate the pros and cons of overnight trips and tap into the real experience from operators.

Driver Shortage – How to Attract—and Maybe Even More Importantly—How to Retain Good Employees | Location: Grand B
Monday, January 7
11:15 AM – 12:15 PM

Presenter: Norris Beren

Nearly half of new drivers hired will leave within their first six months of employment. Learn what new hires are looking for when they seek their next employer and what successful companies do to retain good people. The Driver Shortage Solution Session is sponsored by National Interstate Insurance.

How to Respond Appropriately to a Negative Review or Bad Social Media Posts | Location: Grand A
Monday, January 7
11:15 AM – 12:15 PM

Presenter: Chris Duffy, VP Communications, Goff Public

While we all strive to provide the best service possible, we may stumble from time to time. No one is perfect, and your customers know this. Therefore, how and when you respond to bad reviews can often resolve the issue and your responsiveness could actually win you loyalty or new customers who might see the public reviews. Hear a real story from one operator and learn some real-life tactics and strategies for this issue.

Experienced Driver Panel – Navigating Specific Cities/Conditions | Location: Grand D/F
Monday, January 7
11:15 AM – 12:15 PM

Panelists: Anthony Griffith, Elizabeth Luis

Moderator: Godfrey Lebron

Learn some tips and tricks from a few industry standouts. Expect to leave with numerous important takeaways for you and your team. The panel will tackle everything from parking in NYC to how they are handling new technology and more.                                 

SMALL FLEET OPERATOR: Session 1 | Location: Grand H
Monday, January 7 | 11:15 AM – 12:15 PM

This multi-subject session was created specifically for small fleet operators. 

Your Local Transit is Doing Charters – and it’s OK??!! Revised in 2008, the current charter service rule is not unilateral and requires some engagement on your part to be engaged through notification. And notification requires registration. Over 90% of all motorcoach operators are not registered. This session covers the “whys and hows” of the registration process and how to stay fully informed of what is going on in your backyard. Presenter: Ken Presley

What’s this charter notification? So, you just received a notice from your local public transit that they are providing transportation to a local event that you thought you were going to have a chance of getting the contract. What’s next and how do you navigate the regulations to capture the business? This session will tell you what you need to know to come out the winner every time. Presenter: Steve Klika

Wait just a minute, can they do that?! You look up one day and you see an advertisement that your local public transit is offering shuttle service to an upcoming event or you discover they provided charter service last weekend. What are the remedies and how do you go about pursuing a remedy. This session covers the process required by the adjudicatory process administered by the Federal Transit Administration and the steps required. Presenter: Ken Presley

Fatigue  – Part 2- Mitigating Your Exposure – Debating Overnight Trips | Location: Grand CE
Monday, January 7
2:00 PM -3:00 PM

Presenters: Joe Gillis, Northwest Navigator, and Dan Martin, Karst Stage

Keeping your customer happy and keeping your customer safe are two main goals of all operators. Overnight trip requests do not have a black and white answer.  Hear from two operators who manage overnight trip requests differently. One operator will present his/her position on why they don’t do overnight trips and how they are able to effectively communicate that to their customer. A second operator will present their position on why they do allow overnight trips and steps they take to keep their customer happy and safe.

Problem Solve the Driver Shortage – Together – Let’s Discuss Where Our Next Pool of Drivers will Come From – Deep Learning session | Location: Grand B 
Monday, January 7
2:00 PM -3:00 PM

Facilitator: Chris Goebel, President and Co-Founder, Crossroads Advisers

The driver shortage continues to be an issue for the bus and motorcoach industry. During this interactive session, presenter Chris Goebel will get you and other industry professionals rolling up your sleeves to discuss how WE tackle this issue. We may not leave the room with an exact answer, but this session will inspire and energize you with ideas that could takes bites out of your driver shortage issue.

Handling ELD Malfunctions and Operator Errors | Location: Grand D/F
Monday, January 7
2:00 PM -3:00 PM

Presenter: Mike McDonal

Technology can and will fail at times, so the best thing we can do is to plan for the inevitable and remain prepared. This session will provide a framework for a successful plan, from best practices for coping with ELD malfunctions to requirements to report these malfunctions so you remain compliant.     

SMALL FLEET OPERATOR: Session 2 | Location: Grand H
Monday, January 7
2:00 PM – 3:00 PM

This session was created specifically for small fleet operators. In this 2nd session the following subjects will be discussed:

Life Expectancy v. Broken – most components in or on a motorcoach are expensive. Those components also eventually cease to work at some point – usually at the most inconvenient moment. Small fleet operations are particularly vulnerable as customer dissatisfaction associated with breakdowns can have a big impact. This session reviews the logic and math of taking preemptive action before the eventual breakdown. Presenter: Mitch Guralnick

How to get out of the National Indemnity quicksand! An accident or a poor compliance review can lead to an insurance non-renewal and your broker shows up at the last minute with rates that are double – even triple what you paid last year. You are now working for Warren Buffet as you watch all your profits slowly go down the drain. You try to return to standard insurers, but nobody is interested. This session covers the steps you must take to make yourself attractive once again to standard insurers. Presenter: Tim O’Bryan

Making money the old-fashioned way — one at a time! –– You see the event advertise and wonder if someone will contact you to provide shuttles to the event, but the phone never rings. Another bus service steps in, maybe even a local transit, to provide the service. All too often, charter companies miss this huge opportunity to provide special event service as it often requires the operator to charge for each passenger. This is truly risk-reward, but the rewards far outweigh the risk. This session covers the steps you can take to capture this lucrative business…and make money!  Presenter: Chris Riddell

Most Common FMCSA Violations | Location: Grand CE
Monday, January 7
3:15 PM -4:15 PM

Learn the most common FMCSA violations, what to be aware of and what they could cost your company. Take away information to avoid making common mistakes

Secret Tech Weapon for UMA Professionals | Location: Grand B
Monday, January 7
3:15 PM -4:15 PM

Presenter: Beth Ziesenis, Your Nerdy Best Friend

What if you could schedule a meeting without having to send three dozen emails to find a time everyone could meet? Or automate the little tasks that keep you from your real work? Or pass off annoying projects to someone else – without breaking the bank? And what if you could pull all of this off straight from your mobile device – without an IT degree? Join Your Nerdy Best Friend, aka Author Beth Ziesenis, to discover how to use free and bargain technology tools you never knew existed to work more efficiently with your teams, create professional-level graphics and wow your colleagues. This high-energy session will give you 30+ tools that will leave people asking, “How DO they do that?”

• Discover low-cost, high-value apps and tech tools that you can start using right away
• Learn great tech tips and app ideas from your colleagues
• Get new ideas to increase efficiency, improve relationships and get things done!

Creating a Crisis Action Plan | Location: Grand A
Monday, January 7
3:15 PM -4:15 PM

Presenter: Jason Ramsey

How you handle the first 24 hours after an emergency is crucial. Having a plan in place will enable you and your team to act fast and appropriately. This session will address how your company should respond internally and then how to manage the PR after a crisis. Attendees will walk away with actionable steps on how to get your crisis plan from concept to reality.

Preventing Year-End Panic – Know how accounting and tax impacts your business | Location: Grand D/F
Monday, January 7
3:15 PM -4:15 PM

Presenters: Peter Shelbo and Tracy Ficket

This session will cover how to review your company’s performance and make better purchasing decisions with the use of your financial reports. You’ll learn how to plan for equipment replacement and/or expansion, the impact of Book versus Tax, and understand how to ensure the payments’ cash flow. The old and new tax laws will also be reviewed.

SMALL FLEET OPERATOR: Session 3 | Room Grand H 
Monday, January 7
3:15 PM – 4:15 PM

This session was created specifically for small fleet operators. 

An offer you cannot refuse…maybe! A company that does not have any coaches offers you an opportunity to operate your coach on a scheduled route, seven days a week, 12-18 hours a day. It’s sounds like a lot of money and it is tempting. This session discusses the pros and cons of contracting with a scheduled service broker and the challenges you will likely face. Presenter: Steve Klika

DataQ’s – Survival of the fittest.  When the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) introduced the CSA (Compliance, Safety, and Accountability) program, they added a feature for appealing vehicle and driver inspections that “the inspector got wrong”. Since introducing CSA, FMCSA now reviews certain crashes that meet the standard of non preventable – all submitted through DataQ’s. Unfortunately, many small fleet operators do not take advantage of this tool to remove poor inspections, incurring publicly viewed poor scores and triggering regulatory intervention. This session demonstrates the easy steps to access and submit appeals through the DataQ system.  Presenter: Godfrey Lebron

ADA – small vehicles?  For over-the-road bus companies, compliance with the Federal ADA regulations and serving the whole community is a must. But the American’s with Disabilities Act is multi-dimensional and imposes varying regulatory requirements for other types of vehicles such as minibuses and vans. This session will review your regulatory obligations, so you can assure you are always in compliance. Presenter: Godfrey Lebron

Drug & Alcohol Testing Essentials | Location: Grand CE
Tuesday, January 8
8:00 – 10:00 AM 

Sponsored by Amerisearch Background Alliance 

MRO (Medical Review Officers), TPA (Third-party Administrator), SAP (Substance Abuse Professional) –Alphabet soup overload. After this session, you’ll be able to get your arms around the DOT regulations for drug and alcohol testing. Legalized “recreational” marijuana usage will also be addressed in this session.

Creating a Vibrant Safety Culture | Location: Grand A
Tuesday, January 8
8:45-9:45 AM

Presenter: Eric Schmitz, Senior Vice President, Products, KPA

A strong safety culture starts at the top with the owner. Safety leaders can influence their employees to embrace their company’s safety values. This session will instruct you on how to get started in establishing a vibrant safety culture.

Learn How to Get Your Data to Work for You | Location: Grand D/F
Tuesday, January 8
8:45-9:45 AM

Presenter: Eugene Thomas

This session will address how to manage telematics data received from coaches and convert it into productive tools to improve driver performance and safer passenger transportation.

Terrorism and Cyberterrorism Discussion | Location: Grand H
Tuesday, January 8
8:45-9:45 AM

Presenters: Tom DeMatteo, ABC Companies; Karen Painter Randall, attorney; David Cooper, TSA

How to protect and prep your company from terrorism and cyberterrorism.