By Tania Anderson
WASHINGTON - A Republican congressman has accused the Federal Transit Administration of turning a blind eye to the problem of public transit agencies competing unfairly with private bus companies.
Rep. Doug Ose of California, who chairs the House Subcommittee on Energy Policy, Natural Resources and Regulatory Affairs, also told FTA Administrator Jennifer Dorn that her agency was doing a lousy job of enforcing its rules when maverick transit agencies break them.
"I'm not convinced you're taking this seriously," Ose told Ms. Dorn, who had an entourage of FTA officials with her at a Sept. 30 congressional hearing. "I have yet to see a meaningful step by FTA in holding non-compliant agencies liable."
The hearing, which was chaired by Ose, offered a glimpse into an agency that clearly struggles to define its own rules for preventing public agencies from providing charter bus service that competes with private-sector companies.
The hearing also revealed the committee's commitment to holding the FTA accountable when it comes to charter rule enforcement. It was second such hearing by the committee, the first coming in May (see June 1 issue of Bus & Motorcoach News).
Ms. Dorn struggled even to come up with a definition for charter service after Ose and other members of the committee asked her for an explanation. The definition is important because public agencies are prohibited by federal law from providing charter service.
At both the May and September hearings, the subcommittee listened to executives from private bus operators provide real-world examples of public agencies offering charter service in competition with the private companies.
"In some instances it's relatively subjective," said Ms. Dorn. "Each case is evaluated on its own merit."
The FTA administrator also was questioned on specific cases in which private companies have formally complained that a public agency was competing with them. Ose focused specifically on a case in Sacramento, Calif., where the public transit agency took over a 25-year competitively awarded contract from a private operator, Amador Stage Lines.
The congressman accused the agency of not enforcing its rules in that case and not following up with the agency after finding it was non-compliant. Ose told Ms. Dorn that the incident was a "screw-up" on the part of the FTA.
Ms. Dorn maintained that her agency was "supportive of enabling private-sector transportation because it allows more robust transportation."
At one point in the hearing, Ose asked Ms. Dorn if her agency had approved funding the Sacramento agency knowing it had violated FTA rules. Ms. Dorn replied she was unaware whether it had or not.
Ose then asked one of the FTA staff members attending the hearing to use his BlackBerry to e-mail the question to someone at the agency's headquarters who may know. The answer was not provided publicly before the end of the hearing. (BlackBerry devices are electronic communication tools that allow individuals to send and receive e-mail wherever they go.)
Motorcoach industry people attending the hearing said they were encouraged to hear how passionate Ose was in his commitment to continue fighting the issue even though he retires from Congress in January. Sources said several members of the committee and others have shown genuine concern for the coach industry's battle with the FTA and the transit agencies it fails to rein in.
For example, Rep. Patrick Tiberi, R-Ohio, who has been mentioned as the next in line to take Ose's seat as chairman of the subcommittee, was one of a handful of committee members present at the hearing. He also asked several questions of Administrator Dorn.
Rep. Ernest Istook, R-Okla., an industry supporter, also has been mentioned. He chairs the House Transportation and Treasury Appropriations subcommittee.
"Members of the subcommittee and other committees of the House have committed to continuing the examination of how the private sector is utilized in the federal transit program," said Steven Diaz, former chief counsel for the FTA and a private-practice attorney. Diaz also testified at the hearing.
The second part of the hearing focused on cases of private companies being hurt by public agencies stepping in to take over bus services or to compete with the private company already providing public transit to a community, including Washington, D.C., New York City and Williamsburg, Va.
Dan Tangherlini, director of the District of Columbia Department of Transportation, argued that the proposed D.C. Circulator, a bus service in Washington that would overlap similar services provided by Tourmobile Sightseeing and others, is necessary because of the growth experienced by the city during the past 10 years.
"The district has added a city the size of downtown Denver in the last decade, while we have eliminated 70 percent of all short-term surface parking, reduced available roadways through security closures and have not added a single bus route to help people move about downtown," he said.
Tommy Mack, chairman of Tourmobile, argued that the private sector is much better equipped to provide the proposed circulator service because it could more easily change routes based on ridership, while public agencies put taxpayer money at risk.
A representative from Oleta Coach Lines Inc., a Williamsburg-based company that provides a shuttle service through Williamsburg and surrounding areas, described his experience when the Williamsburg public transit agency launched a competitive service free of charge. The agency was able to use Department of Interior and Department of Transportation funds to launch the service and sustain it free charge to passengers. (See Oct. 1 issue of Bus & Motorcoach News.)
After Oleta filed a formal complaint with the regional office of the FTA, the agency ruled in favor of the local agency despite the fact it had violated several non-compete statutes, said David Smith of Oleta.
Jerome Cooper, chairman of the Transit Alliance and president of Jamaica Buses Inc., a New York-based operator in Queens, Brooklyn and Manhattan, explained how New York City had failed to apply for DOT funds to help the company replace its aging buses. Cooper said the city strategy was to show what a poor job the private company does in providing mass transit in an effort to take over the service.
Coach industry executives are hopeful the Ose hearings will result in more investigations by Congress and eventually inspire stronger oversight of FTA and make its regulations clearer to public agencies. They would also like to see improvements in how public agencies notify private companies about transit opportunities.
"Either the FTA will get the message that Congress expects them to enforce the law and not just give a wink and a nudge, or Congress needs to change the law to make it more effective," Littler said.