Petition to the Administrator: 

Exception for an Event of Regional or 

National Significance 

Re: Santa Clara Valley Transit 

Administration 

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) Docket Number FTA-2007-0022 

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) No. 2015-05 

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ORDER 

On October 28, 2015, the Santa Clara Valley Transit Administration (SCVTA) submitted a 

request to the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) seeking an exception under FTA's Charter 

Service regulation to provide charter service for a one-day event in the Santa Clara, California 

area. SCVT A's request seeks an exception to provide charter service for an event of Regional or 

National Significance pursuant to 49 C.F.R. § 604.ll(a)(l). 

In accordance with 49 C.F.R. § 604.1l(b)(i), SCVTA provided the following information: 

1. Date of event: February 7, 2016. 

2. Description of event: The 2016 National Football League's (NFL) Super Bowl 50. 

3. Types of service requested: Buses to transport hundreds of thousands of people from the 

Fremont BART station to the sporting event, approximately 17 miles away. 

4. The number of charter service hours neededfor the event: Approximately 130 hours. 

5. The anticipated number of vehicles and duration of the event: 15 buses for a one-day 

event from 9:00a.m. to 3:30p.m. and 7:00p.m. to 9:00p.m. 

Furthermore, in support of its petition, SCVTA has provided the following information: 

1. Santa Clara plans to host Super Bowl 50 on February 7, 2016, at Levi's Stadium. 

SCVT A estimates that hundreds of thousands of visitors will attend the event. 

2. In preparing for this event, SCVTA has been coordinating with the National Football 

League (NFL) regarding its routes, capabilities and identifying any areas where 

additional service might be needed. The NFL also is coordinating and contracting with 

over 700 private charter bus providers in and out of the area to ensure the necessary 

transportation services are available for the event attendees. 

3. Although many people will use the private charter services, SCVTA believes that many 

additional individuals will use the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) train system, as a 

means of transport to Levi's Stadium. 
4. The nearest BART station to Levi's Stadium is Fremont Station, a distance of 

approximately 17 miles. 

5. While SCVTA currently provides express bus service from Fremont Station to Levi's 

Stadium, SCVT A is proposing to provide additional non-stop service at a premium fare 

to Levi's Stadium from the Fremont BART station before and after the Super Bowl. 

Neither the NFL nor any other entity has asked that SCVTA provide this service to the 

event. 

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6. On October 9, 2015, SCVTA sent a notice regarding the proposed service to the 

registered charter companies in its geographic service area to determine if any other 

private provider had an interest in performing the service. Only one company, El Camino 

Charters, timely responded to the notice. El Camino responded to SCVT A on October 

23, 2015 noting in relevant part that: "We intend to and have the ability to provide 

services for Super Bowl 50 on February 7, 2016 and for other events related to the Super 

Bowl earlier that week. The services we intend to offer include the service between 

Fremont BART station and Levi's Stadium." 

7. SCVTA responded to El Camino on October 23, 2015, with a request for clarification as 

to whether it intended to provide the specific service set forth in the Notice. El Camino 

did not respond to the request for additional information and has not contacted SCVT A 

since its original response. 

8. On December 4, 2015, El Camino filed a response to SCVTA's petition, recommending 

that it be denied. 

El Camino asserts that it is ready and able to provide the proposed charter service and therefore, 

SCVTA should be precluded from providing charter service. Despite El Camino's contentions, 

its own response brief raises questions as to whether or not it can actually provide the service 

identified in the notice. El Camino notes in its response that it may not have the vehicles 

necessary to provide the service, but that it should be allowed to lease the vehicles and drivers 

from SCVTA if needed. !d. at pg. 3. 

El Camino, however, cannot provide only part ofthe service set out in SCVTA's notice; it must 

be able to provide all ofthe service. FTA's Frequently Asked Questions and Answers (49 C.F.R. 

Part 604, Appendix C), include the following: 

(45) Q: May a registered charter provider select which portions of the service it would like to provide? 

A: No. A registered charter provider may not "cherry pick" the service described in the notice. In other 

words, if the e-mail notification describes service for an entire football season, then a registered charter 

provider that responds to the notice indicating it can provide only a couple of weekends of service would 

be nonresponsive to the e-mail notice. Public transit agencies may, however, include several individual 

charter events in the e-mail notification. Under those circumstances, a registered charter provider may 

select from those individual events to provide service. 
Based on the information contained in El Camino's response to the petition, it appears that El 

Camino does not have the ability to actually provide the service unless it leases drivers and 

vehicles from SCVT A; therefore, its initial response is non-responsive. 

Lastly, FTA notes that for events of regional or national significance, a public transit agency 

must include how it consulted private providers, how private participation will be utilized into 

the event and that all private providers have been exhausted. In its petition, SCVTA indicates 

that over 700 private coaches will be used for the Super Bowl. It contacted all of the private 

providers in the area; receiving notice from only one provider expressing interest that proved to 

be non-responsive. 

Accordingly, based on the above mentioned facts, I hereby GRANT the Santa Clara Valley 

Transit Administration's request for an exception to the charter service regulations for an event 

of Regional or National significance. SCVTA may provide charter service to and from the 

Freemont BART Station on February 7, 2016 for Super Bowl 50. 

It is so ordered this 23rd day ofDecember, 2015. 

/~~¥~~ DanaNifosi 

Deputy Chief Counsel 

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