TBN Surpasses $1 Billion in Charter Bookings, Marking Historic Milestone in Meteoric Growth
September 9, 2025
Change Sucks. Do It Anyway.
September 23, 2025The motorcoach industry too often ends up at the back of the line—swept into one-size-fits-all regulations or tangled in well-intentioned rules with painful side effects.
In this episode, Jeff Rogers and Chris Riddell bring in two powerhouse next-gen leaders, Michelle Petelicki and Phil Streif, to tackle this issue head-on. They’ve each been fighting this battle in their own corners—and now they’re joining forces to share how we got here, what’s at stake, and what we can do to finally claim our seat at the table.
If you care about the future of this industry, this is the conversation you can’t afford to miss.
Meet the Panel
Chris Riddell
CEO, TBN
“Kudos for not rolling over. Both of you embody something our industry needs more of. Early COVID showed how slow we were to act until grassroots efforts kicked in. Lobbyists are important, but we don’t have the budgets other industries do. The real power is operators talking to leaders as real employers and voters. What actually moves the needle—volume, consistency, rallying others.”
Jeff Rogers
CEO, TCon Team
“There are unintended consequences to regulations—from government and from insurance. Policies that sound good can create liability. For example, a medical examiner can issue a 30-day medical card; a plaintiff attorney later learns that and it becomes a liability issue. Age/experience requirements affect who we can recruit. These are big rocks. Relationships help us articulate the real-world impacts.”
Michelle Petelicki
President, Panorama Tours
“Associations are great, but they’re powered by their boards and committees—which is every one of us. If you want change, get involved. I chair the legislative committee at GENOA [regional]; I make sure we have representation from every state and sector—limo, school bus, line run, charter—because all voices matter. It doesn’t take a ton of time, and time is money, but our strength as an industry and in our associations is each of us showing up.”
Phil Streif
VP, Vandalia Bus Lines Inc
“Our strength is in our numbers. IMG, UMA, and ABA were huge backers; they rallied other companies. The fly-in is important, but we need far more people, and we have to keep building relationships after the fly-in—put politics aside and work as a team. Be consistent; find ways to build genuine relationships so people empathize with what we face.”
