Longtime Bus Industry Journalist Bruce Sankey Dies

By The United Motorcoach Association (UMA) staff

Bruce Sankey, founding editor of the original Bus & Motorcoach News, has passed away. He was 82. Born in Akron, OH, Sankey spent his formative years in Kingman and Phoenix, AZ. He joined the U.S. Army in 1962 and served for nearly three years.

Sankey graduated from Wichita State University and was introduced to journalism as a writer at the student newspaper; leading to a long career in newspaper journalism. Starting as a business editor at The Wichita Eagle newspaper, he later moved to Memphis, TN, and was a business writer at The Memphis Commercial Appeal. This was then followed by a stint as business and city editor at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. He returned to Phoenix working for The Arizona Republic and was Deputy Assistant Director for the Arizona Department of Commerce.

Before joining The United Motorcoach Association (UMA) as editor of the Bus & Motorcoach News, Sankey was editor and publisher of BUSRide magazine.

“For those of us who worked closely with Bruce, we recognize his era was truly unique and exceptional,” commented UMA’s Ken Presley. “Looking back, it was a privilege and his influence endures.”

Longtime Bus & Motorcoach News columnist Dave Millhouser noted, “I loved Bruce because he came from outside our industry… learned it thoroughly, and brought a fresh, trained journalist’s perspective to Bus and Motorcoach News. He saw things that many of us would have missed, and was willing to say them, even if edgy. I learned a ton from him about buses and writing.”