WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Federal Transit Administration updated the final rule for charter bus services, clarifying several key definitions, including fines.

In May, four provisions designed to increase the protection of private charter bus companies from undue competition from federally-funded public agencies went into effect. Those rules allowed the FTA to withhold a portion of a transit agency’s funding if they were accused of violating either federal charter bus or school bus rules and required the agency to investigate complaints rather than allowing the discretion to investigate or not investigate.

Some of those decisions hinged on whether the charter company acted in "bad faith." A new appendix expands the definition to consider whether a charter service provider has taken excessively long to reply to a customer quote. The new rule also allows customers to choose federally-funded transit agencies over private charter operators, if the private operator quote includes inordinate deadhead time on a route.

An included matrix clarifies possible fines for violation, which range from $25,000 to $20,000 for the most excessive breaches to $499 to $100 for the most minor. Changes also provide a comprehensive question and answer section in response to queries the agency received since the rule was initially published. These questions include a clarification of when private contractors working as subcontractors for public transit agencies would be subject to the same rules as transit agencies.

Read the entire docket online.