Hartford Business Journal

4 HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | JANUARY 17, 2022 Corner Office By Linda Keslar Hartford Business Journal Contributor T he COVID-19 pandemic has been devastating for the motor-coach industry. With more people working from home, school closures, declining tourism and infection risks posed by shared modes of transit, companies like New Britain-based DATTCO Inc., one of the largest private motor-coach carriers in the country, have been in a fight for survival. "There have been sleepless nights," said Don DeVivo, president of DATTCO, which employs about 1,850 people. DATTCO not only provides charter trips, scheduled commuter stops and other varieties of bus travel, but also services 29 school districts in Connecticut and Rhode Island, running 1,400 school buses to transport more than 110,000 students each school day, he said. Business ground to a halt for nearly six months after the state went into a pandemic-induced lockdown in March 2020. To stay afloat, DeVivo furloughed or laid off staff, including drivers, cut other costs and negotiated with banks to defer loan payments. "It was a balancing act," he said. "We tried to keep people employed as much as we could." Ever since, DATTCO has been in recovery mode, said DeVivo, the top executive since 1999 when his father Louis, an original founder, stepped aside. Annual revenues in 2020 were down 40% from the $200 million the company earned the year prior, he said. In 2021, DATTCO saw a rebound with schools back to in- person learning and an uptick in demand for motor-coach services from student and college sports groups, tour companies and other event sponsors. But the omicron variant has been a new threat. As more countries issued lockdown and travel restrictions, DATTCO has gotten cancellations in bookings from international tour operators. Help wanted The pandemic has also exacerbated the school business driver shortage, a long-standing national issue. Since the pandemic's start, DATTCO has lost dozens of drivers opting for early retirement or looking for more steady or higher-paying work. Other drivers left over COVID- risk fears, or because they refused to get a vaccine. The state requires school bus DeVivo steers DATTCO, U.S. motor-coach industry through pandemic's challenges DON DEVIVO President DATTCO Inc. Education: Law degree, University of Connecticut Age: 59 drivers hired after Sept. 26, 2021, to be vaccinated against COVID-19; drivers employed before that date must be vaccinated or tested weekly. "Staffing is the most important issue that our company and industry face right now," DeVivo said. DATTCO is scrambling to fill over 100 bus driver positions throughout the region and has advertised job openings on its Facebook page and website; starting pay is $19 per hour in most central Connecticut locations. It can take up to four months for new drivers to train and obtain a DATTCO President Don DeVivo said staffing shortages are one of the biggest challenges the motor-coach industry faces. HBJ PHOTO | GARY LEWIS

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