05-21722. Over-the-Road Bus Accessibility Program Announcement of Project Selections

AGENCY:

Federal Transit Administration, DOT.

ACTION:

Notice.

SUMMARY:

The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) Federal Transit Administration (FTA) announces the selection of projects to be funded under Fiscal Year 2005 appropriations for the Over-the-Road Bus (OTRB) Accessibility Program, authorized by Section 3038 of the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21). The OTRB Accessibility Program makes funds available to private operators of over-the-road buses to help finance the incremental capital and training costs of complying with DOT's over-the-road bus accessibility rule, published in the Federal Register on September 24, 1998.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

The appropriate FTA Regional Administrator for grant-specific issues; or Blenda Younger, Office of Program Management, [phone], for general information about the OTRB Program.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

A total of $6.9 million was made available for the program in FY 2005: $5.2 million for intercity fixed-route providers and $1.7 million for all other providers, such as commuter, charter, and tour operators. A total of 120 applicants requested $33.7 million: $19.5 million was requested by intercity fixed-route providers, and $14.2 million was requested by all other providers. Project selections were made on a discretionary basis, based on each applicant's responsiveness to statutory project selection criteria, fleet size, and level of funding received in previous years. Because of the high demand for the funds available, most applicants received less funding than they requested, but almost all qualified applicants received some funding. The selected projects will provide funding for the incremental cost of adding lifts to 72 new vehicles, retrofitting 122 vehicles, and $53,099 for training. Each of the following 93 awardees, as well as the 27 applicants who were not selected for funding, will receive a letter that explains how funding decisions were made.

Award Amount

Operator	City/State	Intercity fixed-route	Other	Total
Region I
Arrow Line	E. Hartford, CT		$35,932	$35,932
Bonanza Bus Lines	Providence, RI	$32,881		32,881
Concord Coach Lines, Inc.	Concord, NH	46,800		46,800
Dartmouth Transportation Co., Inc.	Concord, NH	23,900		23,900
DATTCO, Inc.	New Britain, CT	35,000		35,000
M&L Transit Systems, Inc.	Woburn, MA		35,000	35,000
Peter Pan Bus Lines	Springfield, MA	31,461		31,461
Plymouth & Brockton	Plymouth, MA	55,620		55,620
Premier Coach Company, Inc.	Colchester, VT		26,980	26,980
Vermont Transit Co., Inc.	Burlington, VT	40,557		40,557
Region II
Adirondack Trailways	Hurley, NY	33,500		33,500
Blue Bird Coach Lines	N. Tonawanda, NY	45,270		45,270
Hampton Jitney, Inc.	Southampton, NY	59,412		59,412
Lion Trailways	Rio Grande, NJ	88,673		88,673
Onondaga Coach Corp.	Auburn, NY		25,200	25,200
Star Transit Company, Inc.	Trenton, NJ		36,000	36,000
Sunrise Coach Lines, Inc.	Greenport, NY	70,924		70,924
Syracuse and Oswego Coach	E. Syracuse, NY		40,500	40,500
Utica Rome Bus Company	Clinton, NY		42,750	42,750
Region III
Abbott Bus Lines, Inc.	Roanoke, VA		39,600	39,600
Bieber Tourways	Kutztown, PA	58,291		58,291
Buco Transportation/Campbell	Slippery Rock, PA		24,040	24,040
David Thomas Tours, Inc.	Philadelphia, PA		28,800	28,800
Dillon's Bus Service, Inc.	Millersville, MD	27,000		27,000
First Priority Tours, Inc.	District Hgts., MD		21,393	21,393
Fullington Trailways	Clearfield, PA	51,485		51,485
Gold Line, Inc.	Tuxedo, MD	82,000		82,000
Gunther Charters, Inc.	Hanover, MD		26,100	26,100
James River Bus Lines	Richmond, VA	27,000		27,000
Keller Transportation, Inc.	Waldorf, MD	78,101		78,101
Morgan's Bus Tours, Inc.	Upper Marlboro, MD		29,250	29,250
National Coach Works of Virginia	Tuxedo, MD	42,000		42,000
Trans-Bridge Lines	Bethlehem, PA	58,500		58,500
Region IV
American Charters, LTD.	Charlotte, NC		24,000	24,000
American Coach of Atlanta, Inc.	Norcross, GA		22,500	22,500
American Coach Lines Jacksonville	Jacksonville, FLA		52,200	52,200
American Coach Lines Miami	Miami-Dade, FLA		32,625	32,625
Angelic Tours and Shuttles	Fayetteville, NC		40,000	40,000
Capitol City Transit Lines	Atlanta, GA		36,000	36,000
Coach Ride, LLC	Starkville, MS		25,200	25,200
Gentry Coach Company	Knoxville, TN		25,179	25,179
Holiday Tours, Inc.	Marietta, GA		27,816	27,816
Lancaster Tours Inc.	Lancaster, SC		40,000	40,000
Midnight Sun Tours, Inc.	Lake Worth, FLA		36,000	36,000
Royal Tours	Asheboro, NC		45,360	45,360
Southern Coach Company	Durham, NC		26,100	26,100
Region V
Badger Coaches, Inc.	Madison, WI	117,495		117,495
Coach USA Indiana	Gary, IN	36,504		36,504
Excellent Adventures, Inc.	Ft. Wayne, IN		24,500	24,500
Indian Trails, Inc.	Owosso, MI		19,210	19,210
Lakefront Lines Inc.	Brook Park, OH	100,800		100,800
Lamers Bus Lines Inc.	Green Bay, WI	62,175		62,175
Philipps Bus Service, Inc.	Winona, MN		28,746	28,746
Pioneer Coach Lines, Inc.	Chicago, Il		26,854	26,854
Ready Bus Line	La Crescent, MN		30,275	30,275
River Trails Transit Lines, Inc.	Galena, IL		27,644	27,644
Southeastern Trailways	Indianapolis, IN		43,897	43,897
Southwest Coaches, Inc.	Marshall, MN		43,734	43,734
Southwestern Illinois Bus Co.	Chester, IL		27,000	27,000
St. Cloud Charter Service	St. Cloud, MN		20,089	20,089
The Free Enterprise System, Inc.	Jeffersonville, IN		25,645	25,645
Vandalia Bus Lines, Inc.	Caseyville, IL		27,000	27,000
Van Galder Bus Company	Janesville, WI	182,302		182,302
Wisconsin Coach Lines	Waukesha, WI	40,500		40,500
Region VI
All Aboard America	Santa FE, NM		22,510	22,510
Americanos USA, LLC	Dallas, TX	162,228		162,228
AM Tour/Lone Star Coaches	Grand Prairie, TX		25,000	25,000
Cowtown Bus Charters, Inc.	Ft. Worth, TX	62,164		62,164
Crucero USA, LLC	Dallas, TX	81,114		81,114
El Expreso Bus Company, Inc.	Houston, TX	98,200		98,200
Fun Time Tours	Corpus Christi, TX		48,600	48,600
Greyhound Lines, Inc.	Dallas, TX	2,636,205		2,636,205
Gulf Coast Transportation	Houston, TX	68,310		68,310
Hotard Motor Coaches, Inc.	New Orleans, LA		44,193	44,193
Kerrville Bus Co.	San Antonio, TX	194,400		194,400
Lone Star Trailways, Inc.	Tyler, TX		34,972	34,972
Oklahoma Trailways, Inc.	Tulsa, OK		36,000	36,000
Sierra Stage Coaches, Inc.	S. Houston, TX		25,200	25,200
Si Texas Tours	Bandera, TX		32,400	32,400
TNM&O	Lubbock, TX	40,557		40,557
Valley Transit	Harlingen, TX	40,557		40,557
Region VII
Arrow Stage Lines	Omaha, NE		30,000	30,000
Burlington Trailways	W. Burlington, IA	86,798		86,798
Prestige Transportation Systems	Wichita, Kansas		34,920	34,920
Village Charters, Inc.	Wichita, Kansas		46,589	46,589
Region VIII
No Awards
Region IX
K-T Contract Services	N. Las Vegas, NV	71,996		71,996
Roberts Hawaii	Honolulu, HI		25,200	25,200
Sierra Trailways of California	Sacramento, CA	43,149		43,149
Silverado Stages, Inc.	San Luis Obispo, CA	60,421		60,421
Triple J Tours, Inc.	Las Vegas, NV		37,791	37,791
Region X
MTR Western	Seattle, WA		28,706	28,706
Northwestern Stage Lines	Spokane, WA	33,750		33,750
Premier Alaska Tours, Inc.	Anchorage, AK		25,200	25,200
Total		5,208,000	1,686,400	6,894,400

Eligible project costs may be incurred by awardees prior to final grant approval. The incremental capital cost for adding wheelchair lift equipment to any new vehicles delivered on or after June 9, 1998, the effective date of TEA-21, is eligible for funding under the OTRB Accessibility Program.

Applicants selected for funding may be contacted by FTA regional offices if additional information is needed before grants are made. The grant applications will be sent to the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) for certification under labor protection requirements pursuant to 49 U.S.C. 5333(b). After referring applications to affected employees represented by a labor organization, DOL will issue a certification to FTA. Terms and conditions of the certification will be incorporated in the FTA grant agreement under the new guidelines replacing those in 29 CFR Part 215. Please see Amendment to Section 5333(b), Guidelines to Carry Out New Programs Authorized by the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21); Final Rule (64 FR 40990, July 28, 1999).

Issued on: October 26, 2005.

Jennifer L. Dorn,

Administrator.