Interpretation ID: nht80-1.42
DATE: 03/27/80
FROM: AUTHOR UNAVAILABLE; Frank Berndt; NHTSA
TO: Maryland Department of Transportation
TITLE: FMVSR INTERPRETATION
TEXT: This responds to your February 8, 1980, letter asking whether it is permissible for a State to transport children to and from school on regular city transit buses. The answer to your question is yes, if the buses are on their scheduled transit routes and are transporting both school children and adults.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has defined school bus in a way that allows buses sold for use as common carriers in urban transportation to transport school children without complying with school bus standards. This definition is located in Title 49 of the Code of Federal Regulations, Part 571.3. The agency permitted this exemption from the school bus safety standards in acknowledgment of the high costs involved in maintaining dual fleets of buses, one for school children and one for adults. Accordingly, the agency permitted cities with operating bus lines to transport children on those city buses. The agency also believes that joint bus fleets can help to conserve fuel.
The agency has made one restriction on the use of city buses to transport school children. The buses must be operating on their regular passenger routes and schedules and must not be operating on special school bus routes. Any vehicle that is operating exclusively as a school bus should be constructed in accordance with the school bus safety standards.
SINCERELY,
March 6, 1980
Raymond J. Salehar Highway Safety Engineer Maryland Department of Transportation Motor Vehicle Administration
Dear Mr. Solehar:
Thank you for sending HJR 21 for comments. Even though you state they would be informal, it is our practice to ask our legal department to make these comments.
I am forwarding HJR 21 to Joseph J. Levin, Chief Council, NHTSA for response.
David H. Soule Highway Safety Management Specialist Traffic Safety Programs
cc: J. J. LEVIN
Maryland Department of Transportation
Motor Vehicle Administration RAYMOND J. SALEHAR Highway Safety Engineer
David Soule:
This bill is a departure from the norm. . . . the problem is that Baltimore City is using Metro transit buses for school use by providing tickets to the students affected. They also have a small fleet of buses around the outskirts of the city and for handicapped students. These buses are painted yellow but our statute does restrict them from using flashing red lights.
Do you visualize any harm in this joint resolution?
Would appreciate your informal comments. If the commission proceeds you may be called later this year for more formal advice.
Thanks for the LPG information, your P. Aylor in Atlanta was a very information person.
HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION No. 21
01r0067
By: Delegates Bird, Mooney, Maloney, Sheehan, Pitkin, Bainum, Scull, Simmons, Pesci, Donaldson, McCaffrey, and Cicoria
Introduced and read first time: January 17, 1980
Assigned to: Constitutional and Administrative Law
HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION
A House Joint Resolution concerning
Dual Transportation Systems
FOR the purpose of requesting the Legislative Policy Committee to establish a commission to study the dual systems of transportation in urban areas of the State so that the yellow school bus system may be phased out wherever possible; and requiring the commission to report its findings by a certain date.
WHEREAS, The State of Maryland maintains a dual transportation system in its urban areas consisting of the yellow school bus for transportation of school children and transit buses for the general public; and
WHEREAS, Both systems are heavily subsidized by State grants to the local subdivisions of the State; and
WHEREAS, These transportation systems are too often duplicative in the services they render and inefficient in providing total transportation for the general public; and
WHEREAS, In the majority of urban areas throughout the United States, school children are encouraged to ride public transportation; and WHEREAS, The combination of public transportation and school transportation would result in substantial savings in State revenue, as well as the development of a unified and more efficient public transportation system; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF MARYLAND, That the Legislative Policy Committee is requested to establish a commission for the purpose of studying the dual transportation system in the urban areas of the State of Maryland in order to develop a plan to phase out the yellow school bus system wherever possible and to encourage school children of appropriate ages to ride public transportation to and from school; and be it further
EXPLANATION:
Numerals at right identify computer lines of text.
HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION No. 21
RESOLVED, That the commission shall consist of three members of the House of Delegates appointed by the Speaker of the House, three members of the Senate appointed by the President of the Senate, and three members to be appointed by the Governor, one member being the designee of the Secretary of Transportation; and be it further
RESOLVED, That the commission shall make its final report to the Governor and the Legislative Policy Committee by December 31, 1981.
Maryland Department of Transportation
Office of the Secretary
DATE: 2/7/80
BILL NO.: HJR 21
COMMITTEE: CAL
SUBJECT: Phase out yellow school bus
DOT POSITION: SUPPORT
EXPLANATION: HJR 21 provides to establish a commission to study the dual systems of school bus transportation in urban areas.
COMMENT: It is recognized that this system is costly to the state because it is a dual system. Presently there are 413 yellow school busses being operated in Baltimore City. 100 are privately owned, 204 are contracted to the Department of Education and 109 are owned by the Department of Education.
The MVA supports the appointment of a select committee to study this matter and to make recommendations to combine these operations for possible phasing out of the yellow school bus operation.
For Information: Nance J. Stamboni