Common use of CHARTER AND SCHOOL BUS SERVICE Clause in Contracts

CHARTER AND SCHOOL BUS SERVICE. A. Public transit agencies are not allowed to provide private charter services, except under a few select circumstances. All Charter rules can be found in 49 CFR 604. B. Charter service is defined as: (1) Transportation provided by a FTA recipient or subrecipient at the request of a third party for the exclusive use of a bus or van for a negotiated price where: i. A third party pays the transit provider a negotiated price for the group; ii. Any fares charged to individual members of the group are collected by a third party; iii. The service is not part of the transit provider’s regularly scheduled service, or is offered for a limited period of time; or iv. A third party determines the origin and destination of the trip as well as scheduling. (2) Transportation provided by a recipient to the public for events or functions that occur on an irregular basis or for a limited duration and: i. A premium fare is charged that is greater than the usual or customary fare; or ii. The service is paid for in whole or in part by a third party. (3) The Charter definition does not include demand response service to individuals. (4) If your transit system has subcontractors operating FTA-funded vehicles as part of your transit service, the subcontractor is covered by the FTA Charter rule in the same manner as your transit system. If the subcontractor has non-FTA-funded vehicles, those vehicles may be used for charter work, but all costs must be segregated so the statistics are not counted as public transit. If the subcontractor does perform charter work using non-FTA-funded vehicles, you may want to consider whether such action will generate complaints if those vehicles are signed as part of your public transit system fleet. (5) The Charter rules apply to recipients and subrecipients of FTA financial assistance, except for: i. A public transit system transporting its employees, other transit system employees, transit management officials, transit contractors and bidders, government officials and their contractors and official guests, to or from transit facilities or projects within its geographic service area or proposed geographic service area for the purpose of conducting oversight functions such as inspection, evaluation, or review. ii. Private charter operators that receive, directly or indirectly, Federal financial assistance under section 3038 or to the non-FTA funded activities of private charter operators that receive, directly or indirectly, FTA financial assistance under any of the following programs: 5307, 5339, 5310, or 5311. iii. A public transit system transporting its employees, other transit system employees, transit management officials, transit contractors and bidders, government officials and their contractors and official guests, for emergency preparedness planning and operations. iv. Transit services performed specifically under the program purposes of 5310 or 5311. v. A public transit system, for actions directly responding to an emergency declared by the President, governor, or mayor or in an emergency requiring immediate action prior to a formal declaration. If the emergency lasts more than 45 days, the recipient shall follow procedures set out in the rules. vi. A public transit system in a non-urbanized area transporting its employees, other transit system employees, transit management officials, and transit contractors and bidders to or from transit training outside its geographic service area.