The National School Transportation Association representing private bus contractors is recognizing its 50th year in existence this week at the Mid-Winter Meeting in San Antonio, Texas. Meanwhile, members are getting up to speed on several issues affecting the industry.
Todd Monteferrario, NSTA’s president-elect and senior director of transformation managment at First Student, opened the annual meeting yesterday.
“We welcome you to San Antonio and to the beginning of NSTA’s 50th year as an Association,” he said. “We hope you will join us as we officially recognize our anniversary at a luncheon during our Annual Meeting and Convention in Charleston, South Carolina, on July 21. We thank you for your service to our association and to our industry, and are glad that you are part of our past and our future.”
During meetings, NSTA members discussed possible ramifications of several pending regulatory and legislative issues, one being a push by the American Trucking Association for legislation to require FMCSA and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to recognize hair samples in drug-testing procedures for pre-employment screening for commercial drivers. Other topics include: obstructive sleep apnea; fuel taxes; MAP-21 implementation and reauthorization; planned rulemaking by OSHA on injury reporting; and how bus driver shortages are affecting contractors.
Members also received a sneak peek at NSTA’s redesigned website, which is expected to be made public next month.
Upcoming NSTA meetings include the annual “Bus-In” meetings with congressional representatives and federal agency officials April 1-2 in Washington, D.C., and the annual meeting and convention in Kansas City July 19-23.
