More Buses Needed For Relief Efforts In Houston

AMERICAN BUS ASSOCIATION MEMBER ALERT ISSUED AUG. 30:

Relief efforts are underway in Houston and the surrounding area throughout Texas. Mobilization efforts have also begun in Louisiana in response to dangerous winds and flooding from Hurricane Harvey. Evacuations are hampered because of a shortage of available transportation and managing overburdened drivers and equipment already down there.

Please contact Brandon Buchanan at [email protected], if you are able to contribute buses or drivers to the relief efforts. ABA will forward the information to the Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA) and its transportation coordinator, Transportation Management Services (TMS). If you are selected by FEMA/TMS to help provide transportation, you will be paid according to their contracting arrangement with you. We will also be forwarding company names and contact information to the Mayor's Office for People with Disabilities for the City of Houston. They are also coordinating evacuation efforts for special needs communities.

Buses in south Texas waiting to go, but more are needed. (photo courtesy of ABA)

In indicating your interest and availability to participate, please identify: a primary point of contact, the number of buses you have available and for how long (assume a 3-5 day deployment), the number of lift-equipped buses you have available, how many other evacuation entities you are currently contracted with (to help avoid double bookings) and your distance from Houston/San Antonio. Providing 24-hour phone and email contacts would be preferred.

Because of the nature of this crisis, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has declared a regional emergency and temporarily eased the hours of service regulations for those carriers helping with the relief efforts in Texas and Louisiana in accordance with 49 CFR § 390.23. To view a copy of FMCSA's notice regarding hours-of-service, click here . Please note that drivers for motor carriers that are operating under this declaration of emergency MUST have a copy of the declaration itself in their possession.

To request a copy of the Declaration of Regional Emergency, you can download it through the link above or by contacting your local FMCSA Division Office.

Eastern Service Center  
802 Cromwell Park Drive, Suite N
Glen Burnie, MD 21061
Phone: (443) 703-2240 FAX: (443) 703-2253
CT, DC, DE, MA, MD, ME, NJ, NH, NY, PA, PR, RI, VA, VT, WV

Midwestern Service Center  
4749 Lincoln Mall Drive, Suite 300A
Matteson, IL 60443
Phone: (708) 283-3577 FAX: (708) 283-3579  
IA, IL, IN, KS, MI, MO, MN, NE, OH, WI

Southern Service Center  
1800 Century Boulevard, N.E., Suite 1700
Atlanta, GA 30345-3220
Phone: (404) 327-7400 FAX: (404) 327-7349  
AL, AR, FL, GA,KY, LA, MS, NC, NM, OK, SC, TN,TX

Western Service Center  
Golden Hills Office Centre
12600 W. Colfax Avenue Suite B-300
Lakewood, CO 80215
Phone: (303) 407-2350 FAX: (303) 407-2339  

American Samoa, AK, AZ, CA, CO, Guam, HI, ID, Mariana Islands, MT, ND, NV, OR, SD, UT, WA, WY

It is recommended that all bus operators top off the fuel tanks in all your units as soon as possible before entering the evacuation zone.