The first edition of the Busworld North America exhibition will be held from January 28-30, 2021 at the Baltimore Convention Center in Baltimore (Maryland), United States. This first exhibition will follow exactly 1 year after the inaugural seminar Busworld Academy North America at the ABA Marketplace coming January 13-14, 2020 in Omaha, Nebraska. Here, the future of the North American bus & (motor)coach market, as well as the challenges and trends in the region lying ahead will be discussed.
North America has been an untapped market for Busworld so far, but as many things are moving in the industry globally, Busworld is convinced that Busworld North America will be the perfect platform to help bringing both local and international industry professionals together to increase business opportunities and exchange knowledge and experience, that eventually will benefit the North American passenger.
Today the coach industry alone in North America counts more than 3,200 companies that represent over 37,000 coaches, which assure over 575 million passenger trips each year. The sales of coaches has shown a steady growth in the past decade. The bus market on the other hand is forecasted to grow at a CAGR of 7.59%, to reach 7.76 billion USD by 2022. Huge investments in research and increasing production in the region by various manufacturing companies are the thriving engine behind the growth, and of course the shift towards alternative powertrain driven vehicles, such as electric buses.
California and New York city have taken the lead in the transition to clean transportation by setting the target at 100% zero-emission (transit) bus fleets by 2040. Following this statement nearly every state in the U.S. now has a program to replace its diesel buses for electric versions. Today there are only about 650 e-buses on U.S. roads, but under the current pledges by states, cities and urban transit agencies, at least a third of the nearly 70,000 buses in the country will be electrified by 2045. Other regions and cities in North America such as British Columbia, Montreal, Toronto and Mexico City have recently also jumped on the zero-emission bus story.
Busworld North America 2021 will be organized together with ABA, the American Bus Association, alongside their renowned yearly ABA Marketplace as a separate event. ABA, founded in 1926, profiles itself as the association for coach, travel and tour companies in North America. With its 1,000 coach and tour companies in the U.S. and Canada, and another 2,800 member organizations representing the travel and tourism industry and suppliers of bus and products and services, it is the oldest, largest and most respected voice in the industry in the North American region.
Their annual industry event, ABA Marketplace, started off in 1979 as a business and networking event with a focus on the travel and tourism community that goes hand in hand with the coach industry, similar to Busworld Europe in its beginning years. The event brings together more than 3,500 operators, suppliers and exhibitors where real business gets done during the numerous networking and social events, education seminars and of course on the exhibition floor.