The Federal Transit Administration’s (FTA) Charter Service Registration has removed hundreds of bus operators from its rolls as they have simply failed to file their biennial update. Currently, less than 10 percent of the motorcoach industry is on the Federal Transit Authority’s list.
“That small of a presence isn’t good for operators or the industry,” says Bill Allen, president of the Sacramento-based Amador Stage Lines, Inc. The Region I Director led a discussion about the issue during a UMA Town Hall in September.
Here are four reasons why you need to sign up if you aren’t on the list.
Be on the radar. When a public transit receives a request for a charter, and they intend or desire to do the trip, they are required to notify charter bus operators registered in their area as they have the “first right of refusal” via email.
More work. If a charter bus operator receives the notice and indicates an interest in providing the charter service, the public transit is foreclosed from providing the service—regardless of price. The charter bus operator need only “negotiate in good faith” with the chartering party (not the public transit).
Have a voice. If the transit company does private charter work in violation of the charter service rule, a charter bus operator cannot file a complaint with the FTA as they have no standing. If you are not on the list, you do not exist (at least to the FTA).
Precedence. If no operator responds to a notice, the public transit may provide the service. This can establish a precedence as time goes by and you may not be able to claim “lost charter business” years later.
Charter service regulations were hard fought and won to ensure that public transit agencies, subsidized with federal tax dollars, do not compete with privately owned bus companies. Under the charter service rules, local transit agencies are restricted from operating charter bus service (with a few limited exceptions). Making sure this federal regulation benefits and protects a company requires the company to take the time to complete the online registration and update it every two years.
