Region 1 (CT, MA,ME, NH, RI, VT)55 Broadway, Suite 920Cambridge, MA02142-1093Phone (617) 494-2055Fax (617) 494-2865

Region 2 (NJ, NY,VI)One Bowling Green,Room 429New York, NY10004-1415Phone (212) 668-2170Fax (212) 668-2136

Region 3 (DC, DE,MD, PA, VA, WV)1760 Market Street,Suite 500Philadelphia, PA19103-4124Phone (215) 656-7100Fax (215) 656-7260

Region 4 (AL, FL,GA, KY, MS, NC, PR,SC, TN) 61 Forsyth Street, S.W.,Suite 17T50 Atlanta, GA 30303Phone (404) 562-3500Fax (404) 562-3505

Region 5 (IL, IN,MI, MN, OH, WI)200 West AdamsStreet, Suite 320Chicago, IL 60606Phone (312) 353-2789Fax (312) 886-0351

Region 6 (AR, LA,NM, OK, TX) 819 Taylor Street,Room 8A36Fort Worth, TX 76102Phone (817) 978-0550Fax (817) 978-0575

Region 7 (IA, KS,MO, NE)901 Locust Street,Suite 404Kansas City, MO 64106Phone (816) 329-3920Fax (816) 329-3921

Region 8 (CO, MT,ND, SD, UT, WY)12300 West DakotaAvenue, Suite 310Lakewood, CO80228-2583Phone (720)-963-3300Fax (720) 963-3333

Region 9 (AS, AZ,CA, GU, HI, NV)201 Mission Street,Suite 2210San Francisco, CA94105-1926Phone (415) 744-3133Fax (415) 744-2726

Region 10 (AK, ID,OR, WA)915 Second Avenue,Suite 3142Seattle, WA 98174-1002Phone (206) 220-7954Fax (206) 220-7959

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FTA

Federal TransitAdministrationPublic Transportation

and School Buses

Questions and AnswersQuestions and AnswersFederal transit laws and

regulations place limitationson the use of public

transportation to transportstudents to and from school

and school-sponsoredactivities or trips in

competition with privatetransportation providers.

This brochure is intended tohelp transportation providersunderstand those limitations,as well as the permissible useof public transportation for

school students.

U.S. Department of Transportation

Federal Transit Administration400 Seventh Street, S.W.Washington, D.C. 20590Phone (202) 366-1936Fax (202) 366-3809

General Rule Regarding SchoolTransportation*

In general, recipients of Federal TransitAdministration grants cannot providetransportation for students and schoolpersonnel if that transportation excludes thegeneral public or competes with private schoolbus operators.

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS Question 1: Does the prohibition against

providing school bus service apply to schoolfield trips or trips to other school-sponsoredactivities, like football games?

Answer: Yes. The prohibition againstschool bus service applies to both home-to-school transportation and transportation forschool-sponsored activities or trips. However,an FTA grantee may use buses, facilities, andequipment for the transportation of schoolstudents, personnel and equipment forincidental charter bus operations, if one of moreof the charter bus service exceptions apply.These include situations where there are nowilling and able private charter operators toprovide the service, or when the trip involves asignificant number of persons with disabilities.For a complete description of the charter busexceptions, please refer to the charter serviceregulations (49 CFR 604). They are available online at http://www.fta.dot.gov/library/legal/charterservice/index.html

Question 2: Does the prohibition againstproviding school bus service apply totransporting children who are participating inHead Start programs?

Answer: No. Head Start transportation isnot school bus service; it is transportation to ahuman service program.

For more information, contact your FTARegional Office:

* The complete text of FTA’s School BusOperations regulations, 49 CFR Part 605, canbe accessed online at http://www.fta.dot.gov/library/legal/schoolbus/

TRIPPER SERVICEQuestion 3: Can students going to school

ride regular transit to their destination?

Answer: Yes. Public transportationvehicles can be used to transport students andschool personnel to and from school if theyride regularly scheduled mass transportationservice that is open to the general public. Suchservice may be designed or modified toaccommodate the needs of school students andpersonnel, using various fare collection orsubsidy systems. This is commonly known as"tripper service."

Question 4: I want to offer tripperservice. Can I put a sign on my regular publictransit buses or use the school name as thedesignated destination to help students figureout which bus to take to school?

Answer: Buses used for tripper servicecan only use a school name as the designateddestination if the school is the final destinationof a regularly scheduled mass transportationroute. Further, buses used for tripper servicemust be marked as open to the general public,in the same manner as other public transitbuses. They may not carry designations suchas "school bus," "school special," "student," orany other indications that could deter thegeneral public from using the bus.

Question 5: Can a bus in tripper servicestop directly in front of a school?

Answer: Only under certain conditions.Buses may stop only at stops that are accessibleto the public and that are clearly marked likeall system stops as available to the public(except in the case of traditional unmarked flagstops). Stops may not be located on privateproperty or on property that restricts access tothe public. All routes traveled by tripper busesmust be part of a grantee’s or operator’sregular service route, and must be included inthe published route schedules.

AVAILABILITY/COST OF PRIVATESCHOOL BUS OPERATORS

Question 6: If a school system doesn’twant to contract with any of the private busoperators in its area because the prices are toohigh, can a grantee provide transportation tostudents?

Answer: An FTA grantee in an urban areamay provide transportation that is exclusive tostudents and school personnel if privateschool bus operators in the urban area areunable to provide adequate transportation at areasonable rate and in conformance withapplicable safety standards. However, buses,facilities, or equipment purchased with FTAassistance cannot be used to provide thisservice. So a grantee may use only buses,facilities, and equipment that have beenpurchased exclusively with non-FTA funds totransport students and school personnel to andfrom school or school-sponsored activities.

Question 7: How should a granteedetermine whether private school busoperators in the area are unable to provideadequate transportation at a reasonable rate?

Answer: A grantee that wants to provideschool bus service must place a notice in anewspaper of general circulation within theproposed geographic area of service, send acopy of the notice to all private school busoperators in the area, and provide anopportunity for a public hearing on itsapplication for approval of school bus service.

FTA also recommends that a copy of thenotice be sent to the National SchoolTransportation Association.

PUBLICLY OWNED AND OPERATEDSCHOOL BUS SYSTEMS

Question 8: If a community operatesboth the schools and the public transportation

system, can it provide its own school busservice using public transportation buses?

Answer: A state or municipality that is anFTA grantee and operates a school systemwith its own separate and exclusive school busprogram may provide transportation that isexclusive to students and school personnel.However, buses, facilities, or equipmentpurchased with FTA assistance cannot be usedto provide this service.

COMPLAINTS AGAINST FTA GRANTEESQuestion 9: How can a private school

bus operator file a complaint about a violationof the school bus regulations?

Answer: Information concerning theservice should be sent in writing to the FTARegional Administrator. Include as manyspecifics as possible, such as who provided theservice, date and time of the service, origin,destination, and equipment used. Afterconsideration of this information, the RegionalAdministrator will make a preliminarydetermination as to whether probable causeexists to believe that a violation of theagreement has taken place. If probable causeexists the Regional Administrator willinvestigate the complaint and make a writtendetermination of whether there has been aviolation and may impose a remedy.

SCHOOL TRANSPORTATION FORSTUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES

Question 10: Is an FTA granteepermitted to bid on a school transportationcontract in competition with private schoolbus operators to provide exclusivetransportation for students with disabilities?

Answer: No, but see Question 1concerning charter service exceptions. Inaddition, a grantee may use paratransitservice to transport students and others toschool.

Question 11: Can an FTA grantee thatprovides paratransit or demand responsiveservice (such as "Dial-a-Ride" service) pick upa student and take him or her to school?

Answer: Yes, as long as the studentqualifies for the service and the service doesnot exclude the general public. Such servicewould be comparable to allowable "tripperservice" using the fixed route system.

Question 12: If a transportation brokerwins a school district contract to provideexclusive transportation for students withspecial needs, can the broker subcontract withan FTA grantee for this service?

Answer: No. Whether the publictransportation provider contracts directly withthe school district or contracts with a broker,exclusive transportation of students andschool personnel is a violation of the schoolbus regulation. However, a grantee may usesuch buses, facilities, and equipment for thetransportation of school students (includingstudents with disabilities), personnel andequipment for incidental charter operations, ifone or more of the charter service exceptionsapply (49 CFR Part 604).

FURTHER INFORMATION ON SCHOOLBUS SERVICENational School Transportation Association113 South West Street, 4th FloorAlexandria, VA 22314800-222-NSTA www.yellowbuses.org

National Association for Pupil Transportation1840 Western AvenueAlbany, NY 12203800-989-NAPT www.napt.org

National Association of State Directors ofPupil Transportation Services6298 Rock Hill RoadThe Plains, VA 20198800-585-0340 www.nasdpts.org