ROCHESTER, N.Y. The troubles keep piling up for the Rochester-Genesee Regional Transportation Authority.

Still reeling from an unfavorable ruling by the Federal Transit Administration over its illegal school bus operation (see story above), the public transit authority now faces a new complaint of violating federal charter service regulations.

In a complaint filed with the FTA regional office in New York, the American Bus Association has accused RGRTA of taking business away from private bus companies by operating shuttle service to a professional golf tournament and a National Football League training camp.

Additionally, it charged that RGRTA has understated the size of its fleet and has more than 100 extra federally funded buses that allow it to operate charter and shuttle services without disturbing its regular public transit service.

The off-the-books and frequently idle buses represent upwards of $30 million in taxpayer money.

The shuttle service complaint is similar to one the ABA filed against RGRTA last year, but which was rejected by the FTA. The FTA ruled in that complaint that the shuttle service was open to the public and did not violate federal charter service rules.

The new complaint, however, contends that new evidence obtained at this year's golf tourney and football training camp shows the shuttle service was closed door and under the control of the event sponsors, both charter violations.

Included with the complaint were photographs showing the buses passing by people waiting at regular bus stops; schedules showing the buses operated only during the events, and route maps showing the buses ran only from various parking lots directly to the site of the events.

"There can be no clearer proof that the service was closed door and not designed to benefit the public at large," the ABA said in its complaint.

The ABA noted, too, that the latest report from the National Transit Database listed RGRTA with 264 transit buses in its fleet, while RGRTA reported in its latest annual comprehensive plan that it actually has 368.

"Without these extra FTA-funded buses it is very possible RGRTA would not have been able to function as a government-funded predator, undercutting local private bus companies and causing privately funded buses to sit idle while RGRTA performs taxpayer-subsidized services for a fraction of market practices," the ABA asserted.

Additionally, it said the discrepancy in the number of buses is even more troubling because RGRTA has experienced both declining fare revenue and unlinked trips from 1998 to 2006. "RGRTA was able to aggressively expand the bus fleet when actual output was declining," the ABA emphasized.

The complaint called on the FTA to require RGRTA to forfeit all revenues earned over the past two years for its questionable charter operations and to dispose of all excess buses to reduce RGRTAs fleet to meet only public transportation needs.

In addition, ABA requested the FTA undertake a thorough and separate investigation to determine whether RGRTA misrepresented or misled FTA for the past several years in applications for federal assistance for replacement buses.

"If any discrepancy exists, RGRTA should downsize or, in the interim, not be allowed to use any surplus bus(es) for seasonal or any other nonpublic transportation service," the ABA recommended in its complaint. "RGRTA should be required to pay back to FTA all monies spent on surplus buses acquired with FTA matching grant funds."