BCTA’s motor coach member survey results regarding the impact of COVID-19 show an extremely negative impact on revenue and staff in March, which is expected to continue or worsen for April 2020.

BCTA’s first COVID-19 survey regarding the impact on the road transportation industry was issued to BCTA members in early April. BCTA compiled the results for motor coach members only to determine to impact of COVID-19 on this industry.

The survey was open between April 1 and April 13, and received a very strong response rate, at 62 percent of motor coach members.

Highlights of the results included:

• On average, motor coach companies saw their revenue drop by 92.1 percent over the past month, and 100 percent of respondents expected their revenue to fall significantly over the next month, since most companies have the majority if not all of their fleets parked.
• The top five COVID-19 impacts expected over next month are decreased revenue (92 percent), closing temporarily (85 percent), reduced staff/layoffs (77 percent), reduced staff hours (62 percent) and cancellation of contracts or tenders (62 percent).
• The impact on staff has also been severe. Prior to the COVID-19 crisis, motor coach companies had an average of 58 employees, and a median of 30. However, one month into the crisis, 100 percent of respondents had temporary driver layoffs, at an average of 36 drivers per company, and 77 percent of respondents had temporary layoffs among all employees, at an average of 24 employees per company.

There was strong support among motor coach companies for current government measures to “flatten the curve” of COVID-19 cases; however, three-quarters of respondents believed an economic rebound in their sector would be somewhat slow (1-2 years) or very slow (over 2 years).

Given the seasonality of motor coach transportation and the tourism sector which it supports and the impact COVID-19 will have on the 2020 season, BCTA is using these survey results to advocate for government support for motor coach operators beyond three months to avoid permanent closures.

For the complete summary of motor coach survey results, click here.

Thank you to all members who participated – this type of data is essential to gaining an understanding of the actual impact of this crisis and to support our continued advocacy with government on the type of supports needed now and in the future. We also encourage members to participate in the second version of BCTA’s COVID-19 survey so that BCTA can continue to track COVID-19’s economic impact; see this Bulletin article for details and a link to the survey.

We included a summary of survey results for all members in our April 20, 2020 Bulletin article, “BCTA COVID-19 Survey Results.”