The
2024 Republican National Convention will be one of the largest events in Milwaukee’s history, and Dean Brown is ready.
Brown is the general manager of Milwaukee-based
Lamers Bus Lines, which will be one of several local companies responsible for ensuring that transportation of the RNC’s estimated 50,000 guests goes smoothly. Planning for the RNC’s complicated transportation logistics started more than a year ago, Brown said, and has included everything from getting the company’s 120 buses in tip-top shape to applying for security credentials for the company’s entire staff.
“I’ve been sitting at this desk for 39 years,” Brown said. “I’ve been here for a long time, and these are the things I live for. The big, high-profile events are my expertise.”
Organizers say that it will require roughly 400 buses, shuttles and golf carts to pull off the RNC, and about one-third of those will be supplied by local vendors, including Lamers, Oak Creek-based
Go Riteway Transportation Group and Oak Creek-based
KB Excursions.
Lamers estimates around 35 of its coaches will be in use for the RNC, while Go Riteway is setting aside 45 coaches.
In addition to coaches, Go Riteway is budgeting to use several of its vans, SUVs and sedans for smaller groups and one-off trips, according to Brad Wallace, Go Riteway’s director of sales and marketing. The company is even bringing in a few coaches from its subsidiaries in Indiana and Michigan.
While a bulk of Go Riteway’s RNC-related business is contracted directly by the RNC’s transportation broker, Maryland-based Transportation Management Services, the company has also set aside some of its vehicles for groups that need transportation outside of the convention’s afternoon and evening hours. For security purposes, most vehicles travelling into the highly secured RNC venue complex – which includes Fiserv Forum as the primary venue, along with the Baird Center and UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena – will be parked there during non-convention hours.
“There are some delegations that want to go to Lake Geneva or the Harley-Davidson Museum … and they’ve contacted us directly,” Wallace said. “That was really an outgrowth of the RNC vendor show last year where we established contact with some of these delegations.”
Although both Go Riteway and Lamers have dedicated a significant chunk of their commercial fleets to the RNC, both said they will still be working with other clients this July.
For instance, Lamers’ buses will be circulating throughout the region for the National Eucharistic Congress, which will draw an estimated 80,000 visitors to Indianapolis the same week as the RNC in Milwaukee. Lamers will also have several buses running between northern Illinois and northern Wisconsin for summer camps during those weeks.
“That’s the business that’s there year after year, so even when a group comes in that’s highly important and you want to do everything in the world to get them, you still have to keep your regular customers in mind,” Brown said.
“There’s definitely a lot more business this July than normal, the RNC is a one-time event, so we definitely wanted to make sure that we get our unfair share of what’s available,” Wallace said.
Between regular summer business and the additional business provided by the RNC, Lamers and Go Riteway are anticipating they will be at full capacity during the RNC, plus a few days on each end, with very few – if any – vehicles parked on lots.
As specific transportation assignments aren’t typically given until closer to the convention date for security reasons, both companies are getting everything they can done ahead of time.
“You don’t want to have breakdowns, you don’t want to have issues with any group, but when you have a high-profile group, you’re on the main stage and you want to have your best foot forward,” Brown said.
Further, as driver shortages plague the group transportation industry nationally, Lamers and Go Riteway are beefing up their part-time staff during July.
“Everybody’s been notified, no days off, things of that sort,” Brown said. “There’s a very serious driver shortage in this country, so it makes the larger events harder to handle than what they were even a few short years ago.”
In an industry that’s still recovering from the pandemic, Brown and Wallace agree the RNC is a welcome boost. While an initial slowdown in the travel industry held the group transportation industry back in the immediate aftermath of the pandemic, staffing-related challenges have made a full recovery difficult.
“The RNC is going to be a shot in the arm for the industry without a doubt,” Brown said.
However, being at capacity isn’t rare for many of southeastern Wisconsin’s bus companies. Wallace said Go Riteway has been at capacity already this year, but Brown said business for Lamers is slower than pre-pandemic, making the RNC an opportunity to woo new customers.
“Many of the people on our buses or in our SUVs have never been to Milwaukee before, so we’re focused on making sure all of our groups are greeted with our ‘Wisconsin nice’ and come back either for leisure or corporate travel,” Wallace said. “When Milwaukee looks attractive for future visitors, that’s going to benefit us in corporate travel, group travel, leisure trips, so we’re looking at this as a four-day commercial for Milwaukee.”
