ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — The coronavirus pandemic has impacted virtually every industry, including the bus industry.
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With tens of thousands of Floridians and Americans are now out of work because people are not traveling.
Charter Communications has temporarily opened its live stream free to the public. You can watch Spectrum News via our live stream on your desktop or laptop without a subscription by visiting our website and clicking “Watch Live” in the upper right. Charter also is temporarily offering free broadband and wifi access for 60 days to teachers and families with K-12 or college students. To enroll, call 1-844-488-8395. The company also will open more than half a million wifi hotspots across the country.
But that is why busing companies want to have their voices heard. About 20 buses from ABC Companies in Winter Garden left Tuesday morning for the nation’s capital. They will be joining 500 companies from around the country, pleading for help.
Some 20 charter buses based in Central Florida are en route to DC for a “rolling rally” tomorrow. Industry leaders are pleading for $15 billion in grants/loans to make it through the pandemic. @MyNews13 #n13covid19 pic.twitter.com/LDTEl5YjTg
— Rebecca Turco (@RebeccaTurcoTV) May 12, 2020
Florida is a top-three market for the bus industry and the Sunshine State’s tourism is a big factor in that.
Most of the bus companies in the state are small businesses and many of them are multi-generational mom and pops.
They are hurting right now.
“What’s happened is the airline industry, city transit, Amtrak have all received directed aid. Unfortunately these (bus) folks have not received that, they’ve been able to take advantage of some of the small business loans, but they’ve been quite literally shutdown,” said Thom Peebles, vice president of marketing of ABC Companies.
Industry leaders are asking for $15 billion in grants and loans to keep from going under.
So now those buses are on the way, driving in shifts and getting ready to circle the capital on Wednesday.
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