April 21, 2008

Crystal Frederick

Federal transit Administration

1200 New Jersey Avenue, S. E.

Washington D.C. 20590

Subject: Petition for an Exception to the Charter Service Regulations to
Provide Transit Services Directly to the Public for Events of Regional
Significance

The Ozaukee County Transit System, 410 S. Spring Street, Port
Washington, WI 53074 is requesting an exception to the charter service
regulations, in accordance with 49 CFR Part 604, Section 604.11(a)(1) in
order to provide transit services to events of regional significance
during the summer of 2008 for which planning has been underway for
several months.

Ozaukee County Transit Services has provided fixed route, freeway flyer
service, which is made available to anyone who would like to utilize the
service, to summer festivals in the Milwaukee County area for nearly a
decade. **None of the services is paid for in whole or in part by a
third party; however, the new definition of charter service (49 CFR Part
604, Section 604.3(c)(2)(i)) appears to have potentially defined the
freeway flyer service to these events as charter service for the
following reasons: a premium fare is charges that is grater than the
usual or customary fixed route fare.**

The fixed-route cash-fare charged by Ozaukee County Transit in 2008 is
\$2.75. Freeway flyer services to summer events generally follow the
weekday peak-period express route services; however, a round-trip of
\$7.00 would be charged. Given the definition of charter service, it is
believed that these public transit services would not be defined as
charter if the fare were \$5.50; however, it is also unclear whether or
not a fare of \$5.50 would be considered as greater than the usual or
customary fixed route fare.

A fare of \$7.00 has been chosen for these services because of the
additional cost in supporting the event, including but not limited to
cost for: passenger counting, dispatching, mid-day farebox emptying,
extra security personnel, litter collection at park-ride lots, ect. In
addition, a brochure is produced each spring to describe public transit
options to these festivals. Please see the following link for an example
of the marketing effort for services to summer festivals:
<http://www.ridemcts.com/seasonal_services/index.asp?id=611>

A description of each summer festival which is provided transit
services, including date, vehicle requirements, number of bus hours,
etc., is indicated below.

**Summerfest**

The first event of regional significance is Milwaukee's summer music
festival, known as Summerfest, which is scheduled to run from June 26 to
July 6, 2008. This eleven-day music festival is attended by nearly one
million people annually, and is billed as the largest music festival in
the United States. A \$7.00 round-trip fare will be charged.

We plan on using five buses to accommodate the transportation needs of
the festival goers between Ozaukee and Milwaukee County. A total of 759
bus hours are projected to be utilized by this event.

**Lakefront Festivals**

The second through fourth events of regional significance include Festa
Italiana (July 17-20, 2008), German Fest (July 24-27, 2008) and Irish
Fest (August 14-17, 2008). It is estimated that 216 hours of bus service
will be provided to accommodate demand to and from the festivals. A
\$7.00 round-trip fare will be charged.

**Wisconsin State Fair**

The fifth event of regional significance is the 2008 Wisconsin State
Fair, which is scheduled to run from July 31, 2008 to August 10, 2008.
It is estimated that 242 hours of bus service will be provided to
accommodate demand to and from the festivals. A \$7.00 round-trip fare
will be charged.

Ozaukee County Transit Services is requesting an exemption to the
Charter Regulations contained in (49 CFR Part 604, Section
604.3(c)(2)(i)). Please approve of the Ozaukee County Transit System's
request to operate public transit services to the aforementioned events
of regional significance in 2008. I am looking forward to your prompt
decision in this matter. Thank you.

Sincerely,

Penny A. Seidl

Program Supervisor, Transit