68 FR 191 pgs. 57304-57305 - Over-the-Road Bus Accessibility Program Announcement of Project Selections

Type: NOTICEVolume: 68Number: 191Pages: 57304 - 57305
FR document: [FR Doc. 03-24965 Filed 10-1-03; 8:45 am]
Agency: Transportation Department
Sub Agency: Federal Transit Administration
Official PDF Version:  PDF Version

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Transit Administration

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 2003 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, 202-366-2053, for general information about the OTRB Program.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

A total of $6.9 million was made available for the program in FY 2003: $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 84 applicants requested $17.6 million: $10.5 million was requested by intercity fixed-route providers, and $7.1 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 all qualified applicants received some funding. The selected projects will provide funding for the incremental cost of adding lifts to 128 new vehicles, retrofitting 80 vehicles, and $335,546 for training. Each of the following 74 awardees, as well as the 10 applicants who were not selected for funding, will receive a letter that explains how funding decisions were made.

Operator City/State Award amounts Intercity fixed-route Other Total
Region I:
Bonanza Bus Lines Providence, RI $109,935 $109,935
Bristol Tours, Inc Bristol, VT 39,547 39,547
Concord Coach Lines, Inc Concord, NH 48,800 48,800
Entertainment Tours Braintree, MA 63,000 63,000
Peter Pan Bus Lines Springfield, MA 157,859 157,859
Vermont Transit Co Burlington, VT 33,151 33,151
Region II:
Adirondack Trailways Hurley, NY 187,500 187,500
Blue Bird Coach Lines, Inc N.Tonawanda, NY 87,030 87,030
Hampton Jitney, Inc Southampton, NY 28,800 28,800
Shortline (Hudson Transit) Mahwah, NJ 180,000 180,000
Sunrise Coach Lines, Inc Green Port, NY 39,384 39,384
Syracuse and Oswego Motor Lines E. Syracuse, NY 43,481 43,481
Trans Express, Inc Brooklyn, NY 33,750 33,750
Trolley Tours, Inc Forked River, NJ 72,000 22,950 94,950
Utica Rome Bus Company Clinton, NY 41,990 41,990
Region III:
Abbott Bus Lines, Inc Roanoke, VA 91,482 91,482
Angelic Luxury Coach, Inc District Hgts, MD 35,000 35,000
Brown Bus Company Richmond, VA 28,710 28,710
Butler Motor Transit Butler, PA 37,800 37,800
Capitol Bus Company Harrisburg, PA 50,400 50,400
Elegance Bus Tours, Inc Suitland, MD 35,000 35,000
Eyre Bus Service, Inc Glenelg, MD 63,142 63,142
First Priority Tours, Inc District Hgts. MD 20,965 20,965
Hagey Coach, Inc Franconia, PA 50,400 50,400
Krapf's Coaches, Inc West Chester, PA 25,200 25,200
Lenzer Tour and Travel Sewickley, Pa 37,800 37,800
Penn Highway Transit Co Lancaster, PA 33,712 33,712
Perkiomen Tours Pennsburg, PA 33,300 33,300
Susquehanna Transit Co Avis, PA 100,596 100,596
Thomas Tours Beltsville, MD 12,617 12,617
Trans-Bridge Lines Bethlehem, PA 154,101 154,101
Region IV:
Americoach Tours Memphis, TN 38,250 38,250
Blue Grass Tours, Inc Lexington, KY 28,507 28,507
Carolina Trailways Raleigh, NC 33,151 33,151
Champion Coach Greenville, SC 27,000 27,000
Escot Bus Lines, Inc Tampa, FL 39,368 39,368
Good Time Tours Pensacola, FL 2,700 2,700
Lancaster Tours and Travel Lancaster, SC 35,000 35,000
North Mississippi Services Tupelo, MS 45,814 45,814
Region V:
Alpha Bus Leasing Cincinnati, OH 54,871 54,871
BW Charters, Inc Kalamazoo, MI 36,961 36,961
Brecksville Road Transit, Inc Brecksville, OH 37,104 37,104
Cavallo Bus Lines, Inc Gillespie, IL 35,000 35,000
Colonial Coach Lines Des Plaines, IL 112,274 112,274
Dixon Meyers Bus Transportation Mt. Morris, IL 35,946 35,946
Jefferson Lines Minneapolis, MN 133,250 133,250
Peoria Charter Coach Co Peoria, IL 35,910 35,910
Pioneer Coach Lines, Inc Chicago, IL 27,000 27,000
Red River Trails Moorhead, MN 27,239 27,239
Robinson Coach Evanston, IL 35,500 35,500
Trobec Bus Service, Inc St. Stephen, MN 27,000 27,000
Vandalia Bus Lines, Inc Caseyville, Il 52,332 52,332
Wisconsin Coach Waukesha, WI 108,000 108,000
Region VI:
Cowtown Bus Charters, Inc Fort Worth, TX 28,474 28,474
El Expresso Houston, TX 76,050 76,050
Fun Time Tours Corpus Christi, TX 38,554 38,554
Gotta Go Express Trailways Fort Worth, TX 25,626 25,626
Greyhound Dallas, TX 2,588,544 2,588,544
Gulf Coast Transit Houston, TX 38,250 38,250
Kerrville Bus Co San Antonio, TX 176,670 176,670
TNMO Lubbock,TX 165,755 165,755
Valley Transit Harlingen, TX 99,453 99,453
Region VII:
Burlington Trailways W. Burlington, IA 85,488 85,488
Tiger Air Express, Inc Columbia, MO 45,022 45,022
Region VIII:
Express Charters, Inc Fort Collins, CO 27,000 27,000
Utah Trailways Salt Lake City, UT 28,135 28,135
Region IX:
Marin Airporter San Rafael, CA 112,365 112,365
Pacific Coachways Garden Grove, CA 25,200 25,200
Quest Transportation, Inc San Luis Obispo, CA 74,160 74,160
RDH Transportation Services Honolulu, Hawaii 55,576 55,576
Silverado Stages, Inc San Luis Obispo, CA 74,160 74,160
Region X:
Central Washington Airporter Ferndale, WA 44,305 44,305
Northwestern Stage Lines Spokane, WA 29,250 29,250
Premier Alaska Tours, Inc Anchorage, AK 26,316 26,316
Total 5,182,982 1,688,950 6,871,932

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: September 26, 2003.

Jennifer L. Dorn,

Administrator.

[FR Doc. 03-24965 Filed 10-1-03; 8:45 am]

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