FMCSA sides with operator

WASHINGTON - States do not have the right to regulate some motorcoach line runs that serve interstate passengers even though the buses never leave the state, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has ruled.

Acting on a petition filed by Fullington Trailways of Clearfield, Pa., the agency said federal regulations trump state authority when a significant number of passengers who ride the buses are headed for other states.

The decision will affect the handful of states - most notably Colorado and Nevada - that continue to maintain schedule- and rate-setting authority over such scheduled services, according to Richard P. Schweitzer, a transportation attorney who handled the case for Fullington.

"It will have a definite impact on those states that still try to regulate the fares and routes of those types of scheduled services," he said.

Milt Weisman of Fullington said he was pleased with the decision that favored his company, especially after having to wait years for a decision.

"Its a big win, not just for Fullington, but for the entire bus industry," he said.

The case dates back to 2007, when Fullington dropped a line run between State College and Harrisburg, Pa. Some regular riders complained about it to the Pennsylvania Public Utilities Commission, which regulates passenger transportation in the state.

The commission promptly issued an emergency order requiring the company to continue operating the College Station route. However, it said it was not clear if it had the authority to rule on the complaint from the riders and, instead, directed Fullington to take the case to the FMCSA.

Fullington responded by adding College Station to a second line run that it operates between Lewiston and Harrisburg and then petitioned the FMCSA for a definitive decision.

Schweitzer argued before the agency that the route should be considered an interstate route and be under federal jurisdiction because at least 40 percent of the passengers travel to the Harrisburg Transportation Center where they transfer to trains or other buses that take them out of Pennsylvania.

"Although Fullingtons State College-Lewiston-Harrisburg route does not cross state lines, federal law provides that passengers along this route may be engaged in interstate transportation if their origin or destination is out of state," the FMCSA said. "We conclude that Fullington has provided ample evidence of through-ticketing and actual interstate movements to conclude that it conducts interstate transportation on this route."

The FMCSA also rejected claims by some of the regular passengers that the three-city route actually is a special operation or a commuter operation, either of which would place them under the authority of the state rather than the federal government.

"Their definitions were kind of grey areas," noted Schweitzer.

The United Motorcoach Association was among those that filed comments with the FMCSA in support of Fullingtons position.