[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 40 (Tuesday, March 3, 2009)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 9172-9173]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-4454]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

49 CFR Parts 356, 365, and 374

[Docket No. FMCSA-2008-0235]
RIN 2126-AB16


Elimination of Route Designation Requirement for Motor Carriers 
Transporting Passengers Over Regular Routes: Proposed Delay in 
Effective Date

AGENCY: Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), DOT.

ACTION: Proposed delay in effective date.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the memorandum of January 20, 2009, from 
the Assistant to the President and Chief of Staff, entitled 
``Regulatory Review,'' published in the Federal Register on January 26, 
2009, FMCSA is seeking public comment on a contemplated delay of 90 
days in the effective date of its January 16, 2009, final rule entitled 
``Elimination of Route Designation Requirement for Motor Carriers 
Transporting Passengers over Regular Routes.'' The final rule announced 
the discontinuation of the administrative requirement that applicants 
seeking for-hire authority to transport passengers over regular routes 
submit a detailed description and a map of the route(s) over which they 
propose to operate. The effective date of the rule is March 17, 2009, 
with a compliance date of July 15, 2009. The FMCSA is considering a 
temporary 90-day extension in the effective date to June 15, 2009, to 
allow the Agency the opportunity for further review and consideration 
of the final rule. FMCSA acknowledges that the January 20, 2009, 
memorandum only recommends 60 days, but is allowing for 90 days to give 
us enough time to consider and respond to comments.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before March 9, 2009.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments identified by the Federal Docket 
Management System Number in the heading of this document by any of the 
following methods. Do not submit the same comments by more than one 
method. The Federal eRulemaking portal is the preferred method for 
submitting comments, and we urge you to use it.
    Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to http://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the online instructions for submitting comments. In the Comment 
or Submission section, type Docket ID Number ``FMCSA-2008-0235'', 
select ``Go'', and then click on ``Send a Comment or Submission.'' You 
will receive a tracking number when you submit a comment.
    Telefax: 1-202-493-2251.
    Mail, Courier, or Hand-Deliver: Docket Management Facility; U.S. 
Department of Transportation, Room W12-140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, 
SE., Washington, DC 20590-0001. Office hours are between 9 a.m. and 5 
p.m., e.t., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.
    Privacy Act: Regardless of the method used for submitting comments, 
all comments will be posted without change to the Federal Docket 
Management System (FDMS) at http://www.regulations.gov. Anyone can 
search the electronic form of all our dockets in FDMS, by the name of 
the individual submitting the comment (or signing the comment, if 
submitted on behalf of an association, business, labor union, etc.). 
DOT's complete Privacy Act Statement was published in the Federal 
Register on April 11, 2000 (65 FR 19476), and can be viewed at the URL 
http://docketsinfo.dot.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. David Miller, Regulatory 
Development Division, (202) 366-5370 or by e-mail at: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    On January 16, 2009, FMCSA published a final rule announcing the 
discontinuation of the administrative requirement that applicants 
seeking for-hire authority to transport passengers over regular routes 
submit a detailed description and a map of the route(s) over which they 
propose to operate (74 FR 2895). The Agency indicated that it will 
register such carriers as regular-route carriers without requiring the 
designation of specific regular routes and fixed end-points. Once motor 
carriers have obtained regular-route, for-hire operating authority from 
FMCSA, they will no longer need to seek additional FMCSA approval in 
order to change or add routes. The rule amended certain provisions of 
49 CFR Parts 356, 365 and 374 to make them consistent with the Agency's 
discontinuation of the route designation requirement. Each

[[Page 9173]]

registered regular-route motor carrier of passengers will continue to 
be subject to the full safety oversight and enforcement programs of 
FMCSA and its State and local partners.
    The effective date of the rule is March 17, 2009, with a compliance 
date of July 15, 2009.

Contemplated Extension of the Effective Date

    In accordance with January 20, 2009 (74 FR 4435) memorandum from 
the Assistant to the President and Chief of Staff, FMCSA is 
contemplating an extension of the effective date of its January 16, 
2009, final rule from March 17, 2009, to June 15, 2009. This will 
provide us sufficient time to address issues that have been raised 
about whether the new rule will make it more difficult for us to 
enforce our requirements concerning safety and access for individuals 
with disabilities. Although we believe the final rule fully addressed 
these issues, in light of the Assistant to the President and Chief of 
Staff's memorandum, we are proposing to delay the effective date of the 
final rule to allow the Agency the opportunity for further review and 
consideration of these issues.
    The Agency solicits comments specifically on the contemplated delay 
in the effective date.

List of Subjects

49 CFR Part 356

    Administrative practice and procedure, Routing, Motor carriers.

49 CFR Part 365

    Administrative practice and procedure, Brokers, Buses, Freight 
forwarders, Motor carriers, Moving of household goods, Reporting and 
recordkeeping requirements.

49 CFR Part 374

    Aged, Blind, Buses, Civil rights, Freight, Individuals with 
disabilities, Motor carriers, Smoking.

    Issued on: February 25, 2009.
Rose A. McMurray,
Acting Deputy Administrator.
[FR Doc. E9-4454 Filed 3-2-09; 8:45 am]
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