As Congress set the stage for airlines, Amtrak and U.S.-based cruise lines to receive millions of federal dollars via the coronavirus stimulus bill it passed late last month, James Kelton was left to wonder why the charter bus industry was left out.

As the owner of Kelton Tours Unlimited in Gadsden, Kelton oversees a small family business that offers eight large motor coaches for charter. But those buses have sat unused in a gravel lot off Forrest Avenue for over a month.

Every booking through May has been canceled in recent weeks, and people continue to call to cancel summer plans. The outlook is no better for most other small and mid-sized charter bus companies across the country, some of which have already shuttered for good.

"Everyone's in the same boat I'm in," Kelton said. "On March 12, we started getting calls and emails from people canceling trips. And we shut down completely the next day because we were just getting completely flooded with cancelations."

Help wanted

The charter bus industry may be a little-discussed part of the transportation and transit ecosystem, but it occupies an important role in the movement of people. Sports teams regularly charter buses to take them between games; performers use them to tour; and they are often utilized for shorter distances at weddings and other events.

But they also perform tasks that Kelton's son, Jayme, described as essential in a way that the cruise ship industry is not. (Note: while most major "American" cruise lines are actually incorporated in tax havens like Bermuda and Panama and thus received no federal funding from the CARES Act stimulus package, some cruise operators incorporated in the U.S. did get funds.)

Charter buses take people to and from airports and cruise terminals, and between train stations when tracks are out of service. And the federal government relies on charter buses to move military personnel and help people evacuate from natural disasters.

"Why do they give it to the airlines, the trains and the cruise ships? We're the ones that get them there en masse," Jayme Kelton asked. "Every time a hurricane hits or is going to hit, who do you think they call? We head down there and put our equipment on the line and everything."

The Keltons say they support the efforts of the American Bus Association, United Motorcoach Association and other groups and individuals to lobby federal lawmakers to provide aid for the charter bus industry. They are calling on Congress to provide the industry with $10 billion in stimulus money and $5 billion worth of interest-free loans.

Members of four generations of the Kelton family have worked for Kelton Tours, including (right to left) James and his son Jayme and grandson Jake. (Connor Sheets | csheets@al.com)

"People are going to be scared"

Without assistance, James Kelton says there will likely be few charter bus companies left to speak of, as they operate with razor-thin margins – often about 3 percent – even when business is good.

"We're not going to be able to weather this unless we get some help from the federal government," he said. "If something's not done about businesses like mine, we're not going to come back."

And while the fleet of buses – which would each cost at least $600,000 new – sit unused, the bills continue to pile up. The company is over $1.2 million in debt and typically grosses between $1.4 million and $1.5 million annually. It has been able to temporarily halt some insurance payments and debt service, but James Kelton worries that even once businesses reopen, people will not be quick to resume riding and chartering buses.

"Where it’s going to hurt our industry is people aren’t going to come back immediately," he said. "Because people are going to be scared to move and travel outside their safety zone."

Trouble ahead

James Kelton and his father started Kelton Tours in 1980, 24 years after James Kelton Sr. started the family's other business, Kelton Wrecker Service, also in Gadsden. That company has lost about 80 percent of its business since people started driving less amid the pandemic, the Keltons say.

But Jayme Kelton, who runs the wrecking service, said he is confident that the wrecking business will pick back up once society is back up and running.

In the meantime, about 15 of Kelton Tours Unlimited's employees – drivers, mechanics, cleaning staff – have been furloughed and are sitting at home, waiting for stimulus checks and unemployment benefits.

If nothing is done soon to prop up charter bus companies, Jayme Kelton says there may be none left to save when society begins to reopen.

“Most everybody’s in debt,” he said. “If we don’t get help, I see the whole motorcoach industry falling.”