Region 1 (CT, MA,

ME, NH, RI, VT)

55 Broadway, Suite 920

Cambridge, MA

02142-1093

Phone (617) 494-2055

Fax (617) 494-2865

Region 2 (NJ, NY,

VI)

One Bowling Green,

Room 429

New York, NY

10004-1415

Phone (212) 668-2170

Fax (212) 668-2136

Region 3 (DC, DE,

MD, PA, VA, WV)

1760 Market Street,

Suite 500

Philadelphia, PA

19103-4124

Phone (215) 656-7100

Fax (215) 656-7260

Region 4 (AL, FL,

GA, KY, MS, NC, PR,

SC, TN) 

61 Forsyth Street, S.W.,

Suite 17T50 

Atlanta, GA 30303

Phone (404) 562-3500

Fax (404) 562-3505

Region 5 (IL, IN,

MI, MN, OH, WI)

200 West Adams

Street, Suite 320

Chicago, IL 60606

Phone (312) 353-2789

Fax (312) 886-0351

Region 6 (AR, LA,

NM, OK, TX) 

819 Taylor Street,

Room 8A36

Fort Worth, TX 76102

Phone (817) 978-0550

Fax (817) 978-0575

Region 7 (IA, KS,

MO, NE)

901 Locust Street,

Suite 404

Kansas City, MO 64106

Phone (816) 329-3920

Fax (816) 329-3921

Region 8 (CO, MT,

ND, SD, UT, WY)

12300 West Dakota

Avenue, Suite 310

Lakewood, CO

80228-2583

Phone (720)-963-3300

Fax (720) 963-3333

Region 9 (AS, AZ,

CA, GU, HI, NV)

201 Mission Street,

Suite 2210

San Francisco, CA

94105-1926

Phone (415) 744-3133

Fax (415) 744-2726

Region 10 (AK, ID,

OR, WA)

915 Second Avenue,

Suite 3142

Seattle, WA 98174-

1002

Phone (206) 220-7954

Fax (206) 220-7959

U.S. Department of TransportationFederal Transit AdministrationOffice of The Chief Counsel400 Seventh Street, S.W.Room 9316Washington, DC 20590

Federal Transit

Administration

★★★★★★★★★ FTA

Federal Transit

Administration

Public Transportation

and School Buses

Questions and Answers Questions and Answers

Federal transit laws and

regulations place limitations

on the use of public

transportation to transport

students to and from school

and school-sponsored

activities or trips in

competition with private

transportation providers.

This brochure is intended to

help transportation providers

understand those limitations,

as well as the permissible use

of public transportation for

school students.

U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Transit Administration

400 Seventh Street, S.W.

Washington, D.C. 20590

Phone (202) 366-1936

Fax (202) 366-3809

General Rule Regarding School

Transportation*

In general, recipients of Federal Transit

Administration grants cannot provide

transportation for students and school

personnel if that transportation excludes the

general public or competes with private school

bus operators.

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS 

Question 1: Does the prohibition against

providing school bus service apply to school

field trips or trips to other school-sponsored

activities, like football games?

Answer: Yes. The prohibition against

school bus service applies to both home-toschool transportation and transportation for

school-sponsored activities or trips. However,

an FTA grantee may use buses, facilities, and

equipment for the transportation of school

students, personnel and equipment for

incidental charter bus operations, if one of more

of the charter bus service exceptions apply.

These include situations where there are no

willing and able private charter operators to

provide the service, or when the trip involves a

significant number of persons with disabilities.

For a complete description of the charter bus

exceptions, please refer to the charter service regulations (49 CFR 604). They are available on

line at http://www.fta.dot.gov/library/legal/

charterservice/index.html

Question 2: Does the prohibition against

providing school bus service apply to

transporting children who are participating in

Head Start programs?

Answer: No. Head Start transportation is

not school bus service; it is transportation to a

human service program. 

For more information, contact your FTA

Regional Office:

* The complete text of FTA’s School Bus

Operations regulations, 49 CFR Part 605, can

be accessed online at http://www.fta.dot.gov/

library/legal/schoolbus/
TRIPPER SERVICE

Question 3: Can students going to school

ride regular transit to their destination?

Answer: Yes. Public transportation

vehicles can be used to transport students and

school personnel to and from school if they

ride regularly scheduled mass transportation

service that is open to the general public. Such

service may be designed or modified to

accommodate the needs of school students and

personnel, using various fare collection or

subsidy systems. This is commonly known as

"tripper service." 

Question 4: I want to offer tripper

service. Can I put a sign on my regular public

transit buses or use the school name as the

designated destination to help students figure

out which bus to take to school? 

Answer: Buses used for tripper service

can only use a school name as the designated

destination if the school is the final destination

of a regularly scheduled mass transportation

route. Further, buses used for tripper service

must be marked as open to the general public,

in the same manner as other public transit

buses. They may not carry designations such

as "school bus," "school special," "student," or

any other indications that could deter the

general public from using the bus. 

Question 5: Can a bus in tripper service

stop directly in front of a school? 

Answer: Only under certain conditions.

Buses may stop only at stops that are accessible

to the public and that are clearly marked like

all system stops as available to the public

(except in the case of traditional unmarked flag

stops). Stops may not be located on private

property or on property that restricts access to

the public. All routes traveled by tripper buses

must be part of a grantee’s or operator’s

regular service route, and must be included in

the published route schedules.

AVAILABILITY/COST OF PRIVATE

SCHOOL BUS OPERATORS

Question 6: If a school system doesn’t

want to contract with any of the private bus

operators in its area because the prices are too

high, can a grantee provide transportation to

students?

Answer: An FTA grantee in an urban area

may provide transportation that is exclusive to

students and school personnel if private

school bus operators in the urban area are

unable to provide adequate transportation at a

reasonable rate and in conformance with

applicable safety standards. However, buses,

facilities, or equipment purchased with FTA

assistance cannot be used to provide this

service. So a grantee may use only buses,

facilities, and equipment that have been

purchased exclusively with non-FTA funds to

transport students and school personnel to and

from school or school-sponsored activities.

Question 7: How should a grantee

determine whether private school bus

operators in the area are unable to provide

adequate transportation at a reasonable rate? 

Answer: A grantee that wants to provide

school bus service must place a notice in a

newspaper of general circulation within the

proposed geographic area of service, send a

copy of the notice to all private school bus

operators in the area, and provide an

opportunity for a public hearing on its

application for approval of school bus service. 

FTA also recommends that a copy of the

notice be sent to the National School

Transportation Association.

PUBLICLY OWNED AND OPERATED

SCHOOL BUS SYSTEMS

Question 8: If a community operates

both the schools and the public transportation

system, can it provide its own school bus

service using public transportation buses?

Answer: A state or municipality that is an

FTA grantee and operates a school system

with its own separate and exclusive school bus

program may provide transportation that is

exclusive to students and school personnel.

However, buses, facilities, or equipment

purchased with FTA assistance cannot be used

to provide this service. 

COMPLAINTS AGAINST FTA GRANTEES

Question 9: How can a private school

bus operator file a complaint about a violation

of the school bus regulations?

Answer: Information concerning the

service should be sent in writing to the FTA

Regional Administrator. Include as many

specifics as possible, such as who provided the

service, date and time of the service, origin,

destination, and equipment used. After

consideration of this information, the Regional

Administrator will make a preliminary

determination as to whether probable cause

exists to believe that a violation of the

agreement has taken place. If probable cause

exists the Regional Administrator will

investigate the complaint and make a written

determination of whether there has been a

violation and may impose a remedy. 

SCHOOL TRANSPORTATION FOR

STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES

Question 10: Is an FTA grantee

permitted to bid on a school transportation

contract in competition with private school

bus operators to provide exclusive

transportation for students with disabilities? 

Answer: No, but see Question 1

concerning charter service exceptions. In

addition, a grantee may use paratransit

service to transport students and others to

school.

Question 11: Can an FTA grantee that

provides paratransit or demand responsive

service (such as "Dial-a-Ride" service) pick up

a student and take him or her to school? 

Answer: Yes, as long as the student

qualifies for the service and the service does

not exclude the general public. Such service

would be comparable to allowable "tripper

service" using the fixed route system. 

Question 12: If a transportation broker

wins a school district contract to provide

exclusive transportation for students with

special needs, can the broker subcontract with

an FTA grantee for this service? 

Answer: No. Whether the public

transportation provider contracts directly with

the school district or contracts with a broker,

exclusive transportation of students and

school personnel is a violation of the school

bus regulation. However, a grantee may use

such buses, facilities, and equipment for the

transportation of school students (including

students with disabilities), personnel and

equipment for incidental charter operations, if

one or more of the charter service exceptions

apply (49 CFR Part 604).

FURTHER INFORMATION ON SCHOOL

BUS SERVICE

National School Transportation Association

113 South West Street, 4th Floor

Alexandria, VA 22314

800-222-NSTA www.yellowbuses.org

National Association for Pupil Transportation

1840 Western Avenue

Albany, NY 12203

800-989-NAPT www.napt.org

National Association of State Directors of

Pupil Transportation Services

6298 Rock Hill Road

The Plains, VA 20198

800-585-0340 www.nasdpts.org