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The objective of this synthesis was to describe the operational differences and sim- ilarities among the motorcoach, school bus contractor, and trucking industries. Although the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has a well- documented understanding of the interstate for-hire trucking industry, data on the motorcoach and school bus industries have not been as readily available or systemati- cally compiled in order to enable comparison of differences and similarities among the three types of commercial vehicle industries. Such a comparison would allow the fed- eral government, as well as industry associations and state and local governments, to access a single resource when seeking information on industry profiles, safety statis- tics, and general business operations. Many sources were used to compile data for this synthesis, including FMCSA data- bases, industry association publications, industry trade magazines, Internet searches, and documents from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Census Bureau. The liter- ature review was supplemented by interviews with staff at several organizations, who were able to provide additional data not readily available to the public. Chapters 2, 3, and 4 of this synthesis provide a comprehensive description of each of the following topics for the motorcoach, school bus contractor, and trucking industries: ⢠Industry Size and Extentâincluding a description of the number of carriers and vehicles in the industry by fleet size, geographic area, and industry subsegments. ⢠Safetyâincluding historical fatality, injury, and crash statistics for the industry. ⢠Economy and Financesâincluding industry business statistics, including sources of revenues, driver compensation, driver regulations, operating costs, vehicle sales, etc. Chapter 5 presents a comparison of the three industries for each of the topics above. Chapter 6 summarizes data gaps as found throughout this synthesis and highlights potential areas for further study. SUMMARY OPERATIONAL DIFFERENCES AND SIMILARITIES AMONG THE MOTORCOACH, SCHOOL BUS, AND TRUCKING INDUSTRIES