WASHINGTON Six weeks into implementation of the Unified Carrier Registration Agreement, the replacement for the old Single State Registration System, and questions about the new program abound.

Here are a handful of common questions and answers taken from a variety of sources:

Q. Does an interstate bus operator whose vehicles only travel in states that are not participating in the UCRA need to register under the program and pay the fees?

A. Yes. As long as a carrier is engaged in interstate commerce, it doesn't matter what states its vehicles travel in. It is subject to the fees.

Q. Are intrastate bus operators and vehicles covered under the UCRA?

A. Purely intrastate carriers are not covered under the UCRA, nor are the vehicles they operate.

An interstate operator, some of whose vehicles operate solely intrastate, may include those vehicles in its vehicle count for purposes of the UCRA since those vehicles will then be covered under the credential preemptions included in the federal law that established UCRA.

Q. Are operators registering and paying their UCRA fees now?

A. Yes. As of the middle of October, the national on-line system hosted by Indiana had collected about $20 million in UCRA fees, and states with their own systems have collected maybe another $5 million. In total, this represents nearly a quarter of the 2007 goal for the program.

Q. Who is subject to UCRA?

A. Any motorcoach company that operates in interstate or international commerce is subject to the UCRA fees. That includes many businesses that were not subject to SSRS, including private operators, regulated carriers that did not travel into SSRS states, and brokers. Carriers based in Canada and Mexico and operating in the U.S. also are subject to UCRA.

Q. Are states mailing out UCRA applications and other information?

A. Yes. Bus and truck operators and others subject to UCRA should be receiving information from states in the program. The mailing will include an application form and instructions, and information on how to register for UCRA and pay the UCRA fees on-line.

Like SSRS, UCRA is a base-state program. That is, a motor carrier or other business subject to UCRA will register with and pay fees to its base state only, on behalf of all the other UCRA participating states. The notice that operators will be receiving from the states will include instructions on which state is a carriers base state. In most cases, a regulated carriers UCRA base state will be the same state as its SSRS base state has been.

Q. How many states are participating in UCRA?

A. There are 34 states in the UCRA program for 2007, and can serve as a UCRA base state. Go to www.ucr.in.gov to see which states are participating and how to register.

Q. Im based in California (or one of the other states) which isn't participating in the program, what do I do?

A. Operators located in other states, or in Canada or Mexico, will have to choose one of the 34 states to serve as their UCRA base state.

Q. How are fees paid?

A. The form of payment acceptable to a state depends on the state. The main UCRA Website will accept credit cards and electronic transfers, although a fee will be charged to the payer.

Q. How are the UCRA fees computed?

A. Unlike SSRS fees, UCRA fees are not per-vehicle fees, but are levied per fleet. Nor do the UCRA fees depend on where a carrier has traveled, as the SSRS fees did.

Instead, whether an interstate carrier travels in few or many states, the size of the fee depends only on the number of commercial motor vehicles it operates. The total number of vehicles subject to the fee will, in most cases, be the same as the carrier reported to the U.S. Department of Transportation on its latest Form MCS-150.

Q. So, what are the fees for 2007?

A. Fleet Size --- Company Fee

0-2---------------$39

3-5---------------$116

6-20--------------$231

21-100------------$806

101-1,000---------$3,840

Over 1,000--------$37,500

Brokers and leasing companies that do not operate buses of their own pay $39.

Q. When does enforcement begin?

A. Nov. 15.

Q. Does that mean I need to get in gear and register?

A. Yes.