Charter Services Demonstration Program; Public Meeting

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Transit Administration

Charter Services Demonstration Program; Public Meeting

AGENCY: Federal Transit Administration, DOT.

ACTION: Notice of meeting.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: This notice announces a public meeting, open to all interested

parties, to discuss and comment on the Federal Transit Administration's

(FTA) draft final report to Congress on the charter services

demonstration program mandated by section 3040 of the Intermodal

Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 (ISTEA). Under

[[Page 43116]]

the current charter regulations, a recipient of FTA assistance may not

provide charter service except under certain limited exceptions.

DATES: The meeting will take place on September 12, 1996, from 9 a.m.

to 4 p.m.

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held in room 10234-10238 at the

Department of Transportation, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC

20590.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Walter Kulyk, Office of Mobility Innovation, Federal Transit

Administration (TRI-10), at 202-366-4991.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

Section 3040 of ISTEA directed FTA to issue regulation to implement

a charter service demonstration in not more than four states. During

the demonstration, public transit operators would be permitted to

provide charter service to meet the charter needs of government, civic,

charitable, and other community organizations that would not otherwise

be served in a cost effective or efficient manner. Section 3040

required FTA to submit a report to Congress evaluating the

effectiveness of the charter demonstration program and providing

recommendations for improving the current service regulations.

In conformance with section 3040, FTA established in eight sites

nationwide a demonstration program aimed at determining whether FTA's

charter regulations should be amended to allow public transit agencies

to provide charter service to government, charitable, civic, and

community groups that would otherwise not be served in a cost effective

and efficient manner. The report provides detailed information about

the type and amount of service provided during the demonstration, as

well as the impact of the demonstration on customers served and on

private charter operators.

FTA Charter Demonstration

FTA established a Federal Advisory Committee (FAC), comprised of

individuals equally representing public and private operators, to

assist FTA in implementing regulations establishing the charter

demonstration. FTA issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) in the

Federal Register on October 28, 1992, soliciting proposals from transit

agencies to participate in the demonstration. FTA received six

proposals and, after consulting with the FAC, selected the following

public operators to participate in the demonstration:

* Monterey-Salinas Transit, Monterey, California.

* Central Oklahoma Transportation and Parking Authority, Oklahoma

City, Oklahoma.

* Bi-State Development Agency, St. Louis, Missouri.

* Michigan Department of Transportation on behalf of four unnamed

transit agencies within the State of Michigan.

* Yolo County Transit Authority, Yolo County, California.

MDOT subsequently selected the following public transit operators

to participate in the demonstration in Michigan:

* Isabella County Transportation Commission, Isabella County,

Michigan.

* Capital Area Transit Authority, Lansing, Michigan.

* Marquette County Area Transportation Authority, Marquette County,

Michigan.

* Muskegon Area Transit System, Muskegon, Michigan.

FTA issued the Final Rule on July 9, 1993 implementing the charter

demonstration for a one-year period from August 9, 1993 through August

9, 1994. FTA subsequently extended the demonstration to October 31,

1994, and again to October 31, 1995, to address public operators'

concerns that the demonstration did not provide adequate time for full

implementation.

Local Implementation of the Charter Demonstration

The Charter Bus Demonstration Regulations emphasized the need for a

local decision making process. The final rule provided for the

selection of a local advisory committee, appointed by the Board,

composed of equal representation of public and private operators. The

local advisory committees in each site developed a local charter

policy, and the Board approved it. The Board automatically approved the

local charter policy if the Committee unanimously approved it. The

Committee provided a means for both the public and private sectors to

express their opinions and encouraged cooperation among the groups.

In each demonstration site, the local committees agreed to broad

categories of customers that the public operator could serve during the

demonstration. Several of the committees debated in the initial

meetings whether to permit broad categories or to review exceptions on

a case-by-case basis. Generally, committee members agreed that the

process of reviewing each charter request to determine whether the

public operator could provide the service was cumbersome and did not

serve the customer well.

Although each local advisory committee developed its own policy for

the demonstration, the local charter policies focused on the following

groups and types of charter:

* Member governments.

* Economic development groups and chambers of commerce.

* Convention-related charters.

* Community organizations and events.

* Charters with unique equipment.

* Charters for private individuals and organizations through a

referral process.

The Draft Final Report

In conformance with section 3040 of ISTEA, FTA has prepared a draft

final report that sets out the findings of the demonstration program

and makes proposals for improving the current charter regulations. The

report provides detailed data on the amount and type of service

provided by public operators during the demonstration, the categories

of groups served, and the impact of this service on both customers and

private charter operators.

Prior to finalizing this report and its proposals for modifying the

current charter regulations, FTA wishes to convene a public meeting to

discuss the demonstration findings and conclusions.

This meeting will be open to all interested parties. FTA will

submit a final report to Congress after the meeting.

Issued on: August 14, 1996.

Gordon J. Linton,

Administrator.

[FR Doc. 96-21112 Filed 8-19-96; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4910-57-M