BusTalk

[ripta42]

FTA orders transit agency to stop school bus routes
Metro Express, August 1, 2007

On July 30, the FTA notified the Rochester-Genesee Regional Transportation Authority (RGRTA) that the agency must cease its routes that serve the Rochester City School District before the beginning of the coming school year.

The notification reaffirms the FTA's original decision — made in January 2007 — that the RGRTA was illegally engaged in school bus operations, which stemmed from a complaint against the RGRTA last year.

In June 2006, the United Food & Commercial Workers District Local One alleged that the agency's provision of service pursuant to a subsidy agreement with the Rochester City School District was a violation of the FTA's school bus regulations, which seek to prevent federally funded transit bus operations from competing with private school bus operations.

In April 2007, the FTA reopened the case. The National School Transportation Association brought the matter to the attention of several congressmen, who wrote to FTA Administrator James Simpson expressing their concern with the agency's action.

In addition to the cease-and-desist order, on Monday the FTA notified the RGRTA that as a penalty it would withhold federal funding in an amount related to the subsidies that RGRTA received from the school district.

[ripta42]

RTS seeks injunction on student busing rule
FTA decision halts 12-year partnership
Rochester Democrat & Chronicle, August 3, 2007
Gary McClendon, Staff Writer

The Rochester-Genesee Regional Transit Authority requested an injunction in U.S. District Court in Rochester to oppose a federal ruling that would prohibit the Regional Transportation Service from transporting high school students.

The City School District supports Thursday's filing because it believes the bus service provided by RTS is in some ways superior to yellow bus service.

"We're filing papers to ask the court to step in and file a stay in regards to this recent decision. The best thing for all parties — for the parents, for the children who are accustomed to using this service is to do what has been done for 12 years now — and that's for RTS buses to be there in the manner that we have provided a service for the last 12 years," said Mark Aesch, chief executive officer of the transit authority.

The City School District is negotiating possible changes to the RTS bus service provided to schools, in case the federal court denies the injunction — or upholds the FTA ruling.

"Our initial discussions are to have a Plan B that works with the RTS because (the system) works right now, and it is something that we are familiar with, and it provides the services that we need for kids," said district interim Superintendent William Cala.

The Federal Transit Administration, which oversees the transportation authority, has ruled twice this year — in January and again on Monday — that RTS bus service to city high schools violates federal guidelines because the federally subsidized RGRTA service competes with private bus company vendors.

Laidlaw Transportation Service, which filed the original lawsuit against the RGRTA, claims the high school bus service is similar to what Laidlaw provides. They claim the RTS school bus service illegally displaced nearly 70 routes operated by Laidlaw because, while open to the general public, the routes are not "regular service as indicated in their published route schedules."

Almost all of the routes originate or end at city schools, run on limited schedules during school days, and do not run on weekends or holidays when schools are closed.

The RGRTA's strategic plan, said Aesch, is to "put buses where people want to go, when they want to go there. We don't run buses if there's nobody that wants to take a ride. We do run buses when there are people who want to take a ride."

The number of bus routes has increased from 108 to 146 despite January's FTA ruling, with RTS and the district agreeing in May to provide an additional 38 routes to serve city high schools this fall.

School officials say they agreed to expansion plans because a second FTA decision had yet to be made and the issue wasn't finalized.

"We also feel confident that this decision is the wrong decision, as well. So we're going to go forward with this," Cala said.

Aesch said the addition of 38 bus routes will expand the cost-savings plan that the transit authority provides to the local school district.

However, RGRTA's 2007-08 Budget Report shows a $1.2 million increase in school bus service revenue in Rochester fares from projected 2006-07 numbers.

The report calls for $6.2 million in fare revenues from the City School District in 2007-08 — nearly a 144 percent increase from $2.5 million in total district fare revenue to in 2005-06.

Concerning costs, Cala called the additional 38 routes "an exchange," based on "expanding the service to the City School District but lessening the service for private carriers."

If the federal court strikes down bus service to high schools, Cala said he favors maintaining the relationship with RGRTA because the bus service provides better amenities and is less expensive than private carriers for getting students to and from extra-curricular activities.

Cala said the current court proceedings won't alter bus service for city high school students, saying they'll still be able to ride RTS buses when school opens Sept. 6.

[ripta42]

And now, from the school bus operators' perspective:

New York Contractors Win FTA Case Against Transit Authority
School Transportation News, January 24, 2007

The Federal Transit Administration ruled in favor of a group of school bus contractors located in upstate New York after finding a local regional transportation authority violated federal tripper service regulations.

The FTA's Region II ordered the Rochester Genesee Regional Transportation Authority to cease and desist from the service "as soon as it is feasible."

In addition to not properly informing the public of the new regular transit bus stops on school grounds (and the fact the public was allowed to enter school property to access them), the FTA also found the RDGTA failed to obtain a federal exemption demonstrating that private school bus companies were unable to provide the student transportation service.

The United Food & Commercial Workers District Union Local brought suit last June against the Rochester Genesee Regional Transportation Authority claiming a subsidy agreement with the local school district violated the FTA’s school bus regulation outlined in 49 CFR Part 605. Specifically, the RGRTA was accused of setting up special routes at Rochester Central School District sites to specifically ferry students back and forth from classes, a practice the union claimed had displaced 70 regular education routes provided by Laidlaw Education Services.

The RGRTA had been providing legal tripper service for the past 12 years. Then, last year, the school district decided to replace the Laidlaw routes with new transit routes and new stops on school grounds, and it signed the $5.9 million subsidy agreement with RGRTA.

“It’s this expanded service that was the subject of the FTA ruling,” said Robin Leeds, a school bus industry specialist with NSTA. “Unfortunately, what the transit agency has said is its their intention to tie this up with appeals until the end of the year or beyond.”

[RailBus63]

Certainly seems to me that RGRTA and the city school district are going against the spirit of the FTA regulations - I don't know how they expect to win a court case when they actually replaced Laidlaw's routes with RGRTA buses.

[Dieseljim]

There have since been changes made in these routes so as to provide riders essentially a one seat ride from one route to another without transferring from one bus to another, such as a 3-Lyell bus becoming an 8-E.Main bus as it traverses a part of the innerloop, bypassing the traditional transfer points of Main and State and Main and Clinton and still get kids to and from their schools on time and in the case of after school activities, provide a way to get home afterward. Something that Laidlaw seemed unable or unwilling to do, since their operations are focused more on suburban school districts than the city. Buffalo's NFTA has been doing essentially the same thing for years and the private Niagara Frontier Transit System before that and no one has said anything about THAT. If the Rochester City School District can get a private carrier to do the job the way they need it done more power to them. These trippers are published in RTS timetables, though I do not have the latest set, but the restructuring of the school oriented routes has been done hopefully to everyone's satisfaction, improved service for ALL riders and less uncertainty about how a school kid is going to get home from afterschool activities. With the growth of violence in some parts of the city, I would encourage my kids to grab the first bus that came along and get home as quickly as they can and by any way they can. Cash strapped cities as Rochester and its school district will do what they can to keep expenses under control and the innovative bus service that Regional Transit Service has come up with benefits both the kids and general public alike. One benefit is between some pairs of routes, the bus goes right from one route to the other, giving riders a one seat ride to destination. Now who can argue with that? Besides, Laidlaw (now First Student) had a rather nasty strike not too long ago.

[Dieseljim]

I just got the latest set of schedules and here are the following routes affected by the changes to comply with the FTA:2-Thurston has been restructured as 2/2X Thurston to name one example. The others are as follows: 2/2X Parsells,3/3X Goodman, 3A/3B/3C/3X Lyell,4/4X Hudson,4/4X Genesee;5/5X South,5/5X St/ Paul,6/6X Clifford,6/6X Jefferson,7/7X Clinton,7/7X Monroe,8A,8B,8X Chili,8/8X East Main,9/9X Jay-Maple,9/9X Bay-Webster,10/10X Portland,10/10X Dewey,11/11X S.Clinton,11/11X Joseph,16/16X Crosstown, 18/19-18X-19X University,18/19-18X-19X Plymouth, and 50/50X MCC. In some cases, buses change from one route number to another to provide passengers a seamless, one seat transfer from one route to another. Example; On the 8-East Main timetable, trips marked X change to 2-Parsells route in one direction. If any of you were to get a set of Regional Transit Service timetables of current issue as I just did, you will find numerous examples of this throughout the system, some trips of which operate on a seasonal basis for ALL riders, but especially for the benefit of the school kids. This may seem complicated, but it seems to be the best solution that RTS could come up with to solve its problem with the FTA. While the aforementioned routes have seperate timetables, most routes with the same number generally operate as one through route from one end of the city to another. This essentially follows the practice of the old Rochester Transit Corporation, which issued their timetables, in the same manner.