WASHINGTON The revised charter service rule that has been in place for just under a year is distinctly different from the old rule in many ways but perhaps none more important than the Federal Transit Administrations commitment to assuring the rule is interpreted and applied consistently.

The FTA is now using decisions it has made during the past year to help settle disputes between private motorcoach companies and public transit agencies, making it easier for the two sometimes competing industry sectors to better understand the rules of the game.

In the past, when rulings on disputed issues initially came from the FTAs regional offices, they often were in conflict with decisions made in other regions of the country, leaving the FTA with having to sort them out later at the headquarters level.

Under the revised rule, the regional offices no longer are the starting point for complaints. Instead, private carriers and transit agencies can now seek advisory opinions and cease and desist orders directly from the FTA general counsel without having to file formal complaints.

"Right now it is a good sign they are using previous cases to speak to the decisions," noted Ken Presley, vice president of the United Motorcoach Association. "This assures consistency, something we never got when we were going through the regional offices."

Two disputes decided

The swing toward consistency was illustrated in February when the FTAs acting chief counsel, Scott A. Biehl, cited past decisions to decide two disputes between Valley Bus Co. of Fargo, N.D. and Metro Area Transit, the public transit agency operated by the city of Fargo.

Valley Bus sought advisory opinions and cease and desist orders on Metros establishment of a bus route that included the campus of North Dakota State University, and a contract the transit agency had with the college to provide shuttle service between remote parking lots and event venues.

Biehl sided with Metro on the first issue, saying the route developed by the transit agency did not meet the definition of a charter because it connected to existing bus routes, making it an extension of its regular-route system and legal for Metro to operate.

However, he agreed with Valley Bus on the second issue, noting that the contract between Metro and the university fit the definition of charter service because the transportation would be at the request of a third party and involved the exclusive use of a bus or van for a negotiated price. He suggested the transit agency take steps to do away with the contract.

Precedents set

In both rulings, Biehl cited decisions issued by the FTA late last year in similar complaints involving Miller Transportation Inc. of Louisville, Ky., and Jeans Bus Service of Greenville, S.C.

In the Miller case, the FTA declined to issue a cease-and-desist order because a new route started by Transit Authority of River City in Louisville on the campus of the University of Louisville was not exclusive to the university students and faculty and it connected to the transit agencys regular routes.

However, a second issue in which Miller contested TARC operating a parking lot shuttle service for the colleges football games was decided against the transit agency. The FTA said the service appeared to match the definition of a charter under the revised rule and suggested TARC not operate the service next football season.

"FTA has consistently held that football shuttle services usually constitute charter because it is the exclusive use of a bus or van to transport football fans to and from park-and-ride lots for a negotiated price," then Chief Counsel Severn E. S. Miller wrote in the ruling.

The Jeans case also involved a shuttle service and had the same result as Millers issue. The FTA said a shuttle service between a remote parking lot and the Clemson University football stadium operated by Clemson Area Transit in Clemson, S.C., was a charter and the transit agency was not allowed to operate it.

Rulings helpful

Presley said UMA receives a large number of inquires from motorcoach operators wondering about transportation services on university campuses and the consistency the FTA appears to be displaying should be a major help to them.

"I just hope FTA remains consistent on the position they have expressed," added Victor Parra, president and chief executive of UMA.

Meantime, Valley Bus said it was pleased with the FTA decision regarding the shuttle contract between Metro and North Dakota State and it likely would bid on any shuttle work the university might request, according to Cordell Sinding, assistant general manager.

"I dont think they knew the rule" he said of Metro.

At the same time, Julie Bummelman, Metro transit administrator, said her agency has already dropped the contract it had with the university. "We decided it probably was something we should not be doing," she said.