Members of the Coalition of Private Transportation Associations met with the top leadership of the Federal Transit Administration late last month to (hopefully) gain input into documents the FTA will be issuing that explain its charter service and other regulations.
Two months ago, FTA Administrator Jenna Dorn told a congressional hearing her agency would circulate a "plain-English" document by Dec. 29 that describes the FTA rules and regulations as they relate to the private sector.
FTA staffers attending the November meeting said the document would focus on what the federal requirements are, how they are enforced, what the sanctions are for non-compliance and what recourse is available. The goal of the document is to spell out and clarify FTA private-sector rules and regulations in language that even public transit agencies can understand.
Becky Weber, who represents the National School Transportation Association, told the eight FTA staff members attending the meeting that members of the coalition had a number of suggestions - besides charter service rules -- for inclusion in the proposed FTA document.
For example, Linda Darr of the American Bus Association raised the issues of access and partnering on intermodal facilities and the 511 system.
Hal Morgan of the Taxicab, Limousine and Paratransit Association, raised the issue of private operator participation in FTA planning, and consideration of private operators in providing mass transportation and related support services.
Morgan said the nut of the issue for the private sector is knowing how to get in the front door of local transit agencies during their planning process instead of after a new or different service has already been finalized and is ready to launch.
Terry Thomas of the National School Transportation Association echoed Morgan's sentiments, recounting more than 10 years of frustrating experience in dealing with local transit authorities in northeastern Ohio.
Some of the tough words at the meeting came from Morgan, who said it is the private sector's view that transit operators are merely giving lip service to private-sector participation and most of them do not give it real consideration.
Ms. Weber said the final FTA document should not only clarify what public transit agencies are not permitted to do, but should also be a "positive piece," explaining partnering opportunities with the private sector.
Norman Littler of the United Motorcoach Association brought up the issue of a report on the charter service issue the FTA was required to produce as part of the fiscal 2004 appropriations bill for the U.S. Department of Transportation.
Elizabeth Martineau, an FTA attorney, revealed that the report had been submitted without fanfare to the House and Senate Appropriations Committees at the end of October. Ms. Dorn indicated that since the report had gone to Congress it could be made available to members of the coalition.
The report is a near 70-page history of the federal charter service law with a summary of the charter service complaints the FTA received between 2001 and early this year.
The report restates the FTA contention that the charter service issue is not really a big deal because few official complaints are filed with the agency and its regional offices. Of course, the report neither acknowledges nor reports on the scores of complaints that private operators file with transit agencies that get resolved at the local level.
On the positive side, the report does reinforce the FTA finding from the late 1990s that there are few if any unmet charter service needs that public agencies need to fill. There remain transit systems across the U.S. that argue there are unmet charter service needs by government, civic, charitable and community-based organizations. The FTA report threw more cold water on that contention.
It also is clear from the report that during the past two years the Toldeo (Ohio) Area Regional Transit Authority has been the worst offender when it comes to violating federal charter service rules, and has been extremely recalcitrant in cleaning up its act. The Rochester-Genesee Regional Transportation Authority in New York is a not too distant second.