ARLINGTON, Va. The two-year effort to rewrite the International Registration Plan has been completed and the states and Canadian provinces that make up the plan have OKd the revisions.

The rewrite includes two modifications that will impact motorcoach operators enrolled in the plan, which facilitates commercial vehicle registration and operation among states and Canadian jurisdictions.

"First, it contains a redefining of charter, allowing for pick-ups at multiple locations," said Victor Parra, president of the United Motorcoach Association and a member of the industry advisory committee of the IRP.

"Until now, certain states New Jersey being one of them -- were ticketing buses that didn't have apportioned tags if they picked up at more than one location, saying it was regular-route and not charter service.

"The second key change," said Parra, "is that it contains new language recognizing that some states for example, Pennsylvania -- may give out special tags, like mass transit tags, to carriers, allowing them to do regular-route service on an interstate basis.

"Once again, states like New Jersey and New York have occasionally ticketed Pennsylvania buses with mass transit tags, saying they don't recognize them. This change gives us something in writing that allows for special tags in-lieu of apportioned tags," Parra noted/

Most of the changes made to the plan are like those applying to the motorcoach industry, that is they are primarily intended to clarify rather than to change the program.

And, in some cases, the clarifications will require member jurisdictions to alter their practices. For that reason, the revised plan will not be fully effective until after July 1, 2008.

Robert Pitcher, vice chairman of the IRP industry advisory committee and a vice president of the American Trucking Associations, says that changes to the plan will not end with the rewrite.

In fact, Pitcher thinks there could be a slew of changes coming. "First, the jurisdictions were asked to observe a moratorium on amendments, not connected to the rewrite, while that process was under way, so there now may be a backlog.

"Second, there were a number of issues the rewrite found too controversial to handle without endangering the adoption of the entire proposal. Proposals to settle these issues are likely to abound for the next several years," Pitcher said.

States and provinces that are members of IRP collect registration fees from their "home-based" interstate bus and truck companies on behalf of each member jurisdiction in which the companies operate and must register.