WASHINGTON D.C. Private motorcoach operators take notice.

If you're interested in continuing to compete for charter work that has been offered to public transit agencies, youll have to register with the Federal Transit Agency.

The requirement is part of the new charter service rules that were adopted in January and which are to become effective April 30. (See Feb. 1 Bus & Motorcoach News.)

Under the new rules, the "willing-and-able" public notice provision that currently allows motorcoach operators to compete for charter work that public transit agencies may be interested in providing is out and the registration procedure is in.

The registration will result in motorcoach operators getting electronic notifications whenever a transit agency in their area becomes aware of a charter opportunity that legally should be done only by a private carrier.

These include charters that are subsidized by a third party, and those that if a transit agency did them would require a "premium" or fare that is different than the normal bus fare.

Although the new procedure does not take effect until May 1, the United Motorcoach Association is strongly urging coach operators to sign up now so they are on the list well before the change begins.

After April 30, there will be no notices mailed or published in local newspapers. All notices and charter opportunities will be posted by transit agencies on the Website and e-mailed to operators that have registered.

To sign up, go to www.fta.dot.gov/charterregistration, click on "I accept these terms" and then "submit new charter operator registration."

The registration form is a simple one-page application that requires your company name and address, contact information (including e-mail, which will be used for charter opportunity notifications), Federal Motor Carrier identification number, and the number of buses and vans in the company's fleet.

In addition, operators will have to choose the areas in which they are willing to provide charter service, ranging from the entire United States to individual states and cities.

Operators that are on the list will be notified by e-mail whenever a transit agency in their service area wants to handle a charter job that it is not allowed to do without first offering the work to private carriers.

The new charter rules are the product of more than a year of work by the FTA and a committee of private carriers, public transit agencies, state officials and trade groups.

To read the rules and obtain other information about them, go to http://www.fta.dot.gov/laws/leg_reg_179.html.