HARWICH – Cape Destinations recently joined several other motorcoach companies across the country in Washington D.C. to raise awareness about how the industry has been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Cape Destinations President Peggy Garrahan said that the event was a success, with 1,008 buses from different motorcoach companies in attendance.
“It was probably about two hours for the whole process to go one lap through, then we did a few more laps around the city after that. Everywhere you looked there were buses. So I think we made a really big statement there,” she said.
Garrahan said that the motorcoach company believes they were heard by politicians after the event, with conversations opening with both U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren and Congressman Bill Keating.
It was also an opportunity for the motorcoach companies to discuss among one another the issues that they are having in the industry.
“I think everyone’s just anxious to get things started again and wanting to know what it’s really going to mean for us. We’re hoping that it gets recognized that private passenger transportation shouldn’t necessarily have the same guidelines as public transportation,” said Garrahan.
“For our type of work, it’s groups that are already some cohesive group together, whether it’s business or family. That’s a lot different than people getting on something like the T. There should be different restrictions for what we have.”
Garrahan said that the event in D.C. was also a good opportunity for the different motorcoach companies to share best practices on doing businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“How it’s going to look going forward. What we’re expecting cleaning wise and what we’ll need from our passengers,” said Garrahan.
Garrahan also said that she thinks the transportation industry will likely take a longer time to revitalize, as it hinges on the ability of people to group in large numbers in places for events.
“We rely on people being able to gather. It’s going to start slowly, starting with how we get restaurants open and stores open. Building to that, can we have 25 people, 50 people, or 150 people together. So we’re going to be towards the end of all of this, which is difficult.”
Garrahan said that their industry being restricted is also impacting other closely-linked industries that the motorcoach industry would usually bring passengers to, such as whale-watching or restaurants.
“The Cape is going to need everybody working together in getting to the point where we can open back up again, and we look forward to that happening,” said Garrahan.
About Grady Culhane
