Below are some frequently asked questions about the motor coach industry, the group travel industry, and OMCA related to the current pandemic. If you are looking for an answer not found here, please contact info@omca.com.
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The short answer is YES.
Although restrictions on leisure travel remain across many international borders and even some provincial borders, local travel is allowed if not encouraged. With the incredible impact that COVID-19 restrictions have had on both our economy and our mental health, travelling locally is an awesome way to clear our heads while supporting Canadian businesses.
This third-party website provides details on where Canadians are able to travel, based on their starting point: https://time-to-travel.ca/where-canadians-can-travel-now
Yes.
The transportation of people has always been considered an essential service. Now that all of Ontario is in Stage 3 of reopening, most businesses are able to resume operations with the proper precautions in place, which naturally increases the public's need to travel.
Motor coach operators are expected to have reasonable measures in place to do their part in preventing the spread of COVID-19 for the foreseeable future.
Yes.
With Ontario in Stage 3 of reopening, tour services and tourism are permitted to return to operations with reasonable measures in place to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
For details on Stage 3, visit https://www.ontario.ca/page/framework-reopening-our-province-stage-3
There is no magic number as to the number of passengers permitted on a motor coach. Although it is understood that in Stage 3 indoor gatherings are limited to 50 people, motor coaches will be more limited by the public health safety measures that are in place to prevent the spread of COVID-19 than they are by the gathering limitations.
Neither the government, OMCA or its members have set a number to limit the capacity of all buses, mainly because there are factors that allow capacity limitations to vary. For example, accommodating physical distancing between 20 individual passengers will require more empty seats than accommodating physical distancing between 2 groups of 10-person social circles (because those in a social circle are not required to physically distance amongst themselves). Read more about social circles here. Some travel and tour operators are even encouraging customers to travel with their social circle (eg. the G-Adventures "Book Your Bubble" campaign).
In the end, the answer to this question will be established on a case-by-case basis taking into consideration the group that will be travelling and the safety protocols that will be in place.
OMCA Motor Coach Operators have carefully considered this question and put together two documents that outline the safety protocols that should be taken by all bus operators. As always, operators continue to find ways to make their buses safe to travel in and many operators will have found ways to go beyond the procedures outlined in the documents.
To see the outline of the protocols and the cleaning checklist created by OMCA and its members, please visit https://www.omca.com/covid-19/covid-19-motor-coach-measures/.
As with the question of capacity limitations, it is strongly recommended to contact the motor coach company directly to ask specifically what measures they have in place, as they may vary slightly.
OMCA Tour Operators have thought long and hard about how to provide the safest way for their groups to travel in a COVID world. Tour Operators have acknowledged that their quality of operation comes down to the safety measures of each and every tourism partner that they work with on each trip.
With that, OMCA Tour Operator members have agreed that they will only work with Covid-19 Safety Protocol vendors. This applies to:
Each Tour Operator will provide documentation to passengers at the time of booking of what to expect on their trip and what protocols the Tour Company is following.
It is the responsibility of the passengers or group leader booking the tour to ask what protocols are in place to ensure the safety of all passengers and ensure a level of comfort in group travel.
There has been no federal or provincial directive to make face masks mandatory, however, most regions in Ontario have taken the initiative to require face masks in all indoor public spaces. While some areas exempt private transportation, such as taxis or buses, from their directives, others do not.
For a comprehensive list of what the requirements are in Ontario by region, go to https://www.omca.com/covid-19/mandatory-face-masks-in-ontario/.
Be sure to check with a motor coach company and/or tour operator providing the tour directly as they are likely to have their own protocols on the requirements and exemptions of face masks.
No. OMCA is a non-profit industry association developed in 1929 as a way to bring the industry together. OMCA is not funded by the government in any way and uses the dues from its members to continue to service and represent the industry.
With that, OMCA does not have the authority to implement industry regulations, rather it acts as a liaison between the government and the industry.
Yes. Very early in the pandemic OMCA (through Motor Coach Canada) wrote a letter to the tourism minister demanding that the motor coach industry not be forgotten when administering industry bailouts (such as the airline industry).
The response from the government was that they have no intention of bailing out specific industries during this global crisis. Instead they chose to administer programs that could be useful across all industries such as CEWS, CECRA, RRRF, LEEFF, CEBA, extended tax payments, extended layoff periods, etc.
Contrary to popular belief, the Canadian airline industry has not, and will not, receive any direct funding or bailout from the Canadian government.
Yes! In June, OMCA wrote a letter to the Tourism Minister asking that:
With this letter, OMCA launched a letter-writing campaign encouraging OMCA members to write their MPPs and the minster as well. To find out more and get involved, go to https://www.omca.com/covid-19/premier-letter-writing-campaign/.
OMCA has not received a response from Minister McLeod and does not expect to until the fall. Please continue to send supporting letters while the provincial government carefully considers our ask.
COVID-19 launched the world into a period of great uncertainty which sparked a fire in OMCA staff to provide as much clarity, support and information to its members that it possibly could.
To obtain answers to the many questions that came about, OMCA has:
OMCA have worked tirelessly to reach every single member and provide support in every way possible. Understanding that our members are in a state of severe financial stress, OMCA has worked to relieve any additional financial strain by:
Beyond the aforementioned efforts, government asks, and industry standards documents OMCA continues its communication efforts with regular COVID bulletins, member webinars to provide pertinent information for each area of membership and as many one-on-one phone calls with members as possible.
OMCA is constantly listening and responding to the needs of its membership. We continue to encourage all members to reach out with any questions or concerns that they need guidance or assistance with.
So far, the Government of Canada has shown its support in the following ways (click each one for more information):
Full an extended list of government support initiatives, go to www.canada.ca/en/department-finance/economic-response-plan.html