[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 191 (Thursday, October 2, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 57304-57305]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-24965]



[[Page 57303]]

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Part III





Department of Transportation





-----------------------------------------------------------------------



Federal Transit Administration



Over-the-Road Bus Accessibility Program Announcement of Project 
Selections; Notice

  Federal Register / Vol. 68, No. 191 / Thursday, October 2, 2003 / 
Notices  

[[Page 57304]]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

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.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                   Award amounts
                                                                 -----------------------------------------------
               Operator                        City/State            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
    B&W Charters, Inc.................  Kalamazoo, MI...........  ..............          36,961          36,961
    Brecksville Road Transit, Inc.....  Brecksville, OH.........  ..............          37,104          37,104

[[Page 57305]]

 
    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
    TNM&O.............................  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]
BILLING CODE 4910-57-P