Passenger vehicles

Scope

All carriers operating passenger vehicles rated by the manufacturer for 9 or more passengers for compensation, or are 10,001 pounds or greater, operating in interstate commerce are federally regulated. Some exceptions apply to specific operations and intrastate regulations can apply if vehicles are operating in intrastate commerce only.

Regulatory citations

• 49 CFR Part 365 — Rules governing applications for operating authority
• 49 CFR Part 387 — Minimum levels of financial responsibility for motor carriers
• 49 CFR 390.3 — General applicability
• 49 CFR 390.5 — Definitions
• Appendix A to Part 390 — Applicability of the Registration, Financial Responsibility, and Safety Regulations to Motor Carriers of Passengers 
• 49 CFR 391.68 — Private motor carriers of passengers (non-business)
• 49 CFR 391.69 — Private motor carriers of passengers (business)

Key definitions

• Commercial motor vehicle (CMV): Any self-propelled or towed motor vehicle used on a highway in interstate commerce to transport passengers or property when the vehicle:
  • Has a gross vehicle weight rating or gross combination weight rating, or gross vehicle weight or gross combination weight, of 4,536 kg (10,001 pounds) or more, whichever is greater; or
  • Is designed or used to transport more than 8 passengers (including the driver) for compensation; or
  • Is designed or used to transport more than 15 passengers, including the driver, and is not used to transport passengers for compensation; or
  • Is used in transporting material found by the Secretary of Transportation to be hazardous under 49 U.S.C. 5103 and transported in a quantity requiring placarding under regulations prescribed by the Secretary under 49 CFR, subtitle B, chapter I, subchapter C.

• Direct compensation: Payment made to the motor carrier by the passengers or a person acting on behalf of the passengers for the transportation services provided, and not included in a total package charge or other assessment for highway transportation services.
• For-hire motor carrier: A person engaged in the transportation of goods or passengers for compensation.
• Interstate commerce: Trade, traffic, or transportation in the United States:
  • Between a place in a State and a place outside of such State (including a place outside of the United States);
  • Between two places in a State through another State or a place outside of the United States; or
  • Between two places in a State as part of trade, traffic, or transportation originating or terminating outside the State or the United States.

• Intrastate commerce: Any trade, traffic, or transportation in any State which is not described in the term “interstate commerce.”
• Motor carrier: A for-hire motor carrier or a private motor carrier. The term includes a motor carrier’s agents, officers and representatives as well as employees responsible for hiring, supervising, training, assigning, or dispatching of drivers and employees concerned with the installation, inspection, and maintenance of motor vehicle equipment and/or accessories. For purposes of this subchapter, this definition includes the terms employer, and exempt motor carrier.
• Operating authority: The registration required by 49 U.S.C. 13902, 49 CFR365, 49 CFR 368, and 49 CFR 392.9 (a).
• Private motor carrier: A person who provides transportation of property or passengers, by commercial motor vehicle, and is not a for-hire motor carrier.
• Private motor carrier of passengers (business): A private motor carrier engaged in the interstate transportation of passengers which is provided in the furtherance of a commercial enterprise and is not available to the public at large.
• Private motor carrier of passengers (non-business): Private motor carrier involved in the interstate transportation of passengers that does not otherwise meet the definition of a private motor carrier of passengers (business).
• School bus: A passenger motor vehicle which is designed or used to carry more than 10 passengers in addition to the driver, and which the Secretary determines is likely to be significantly used for the purpose of transporting preprimary, primary, or secondary school students to such schools from home or from such schools to home.
• School bus operation: The use of a school bus to transport only school children and/or school personnel from home to school and from school to home.

Summary of requirements

Passenger vehicles — and the business models behind their operation — come in all shapes and sizes, from small private vans used to shuttle scout groups, to modern 50-passenger for-hire luxury coaches. But for the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), an underlying concern for all passenger vehicles is safety.

For many years, the FMCSA’s predecessor agencies only regulated “for-hire” passenger transportation in vehicles designed to transport more than 15 people.

But today, safety regulations exist at all levels, governing small private church groups and large tour operators alike, with certain exceptions.

The following is a summary of the regulations and major exceptions affecting passenger-carrying operations, by size and business model. Keep in mind that intrastate operations are governed at the state and local level; contact your state for details.

To review FMCSA guidance on several passenger-carrying vehicle scenarios refer to Appendix A of Part 390. Scenarios include but are not limited to:

• Passengers using air and ground transport – A move can be in interstate commerce even if the ground transportation is entirely in one state, which means the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSRs), not state regulations, apply unless otherwise exempt.
  • Hotel, parking, and car rental shuttles receive indirect compensation via the rate paid for a package of services. These are for-hire operations requiring interstate authority when travel is incidental to air travel.
• Education-related transportation at private and government-run schools – Contractors to school districts and non-profit, private schools with extracurricular activity trips were covered.
• Faith-based organizations – Any compensation for interstate trips can make a faith-based organization subject to FMCSRs.
• Employer-related transportation – If any compensation is received from employees, the operation is for-hire. FMCSRs apply if the move is in interstate commerce, involves compensation, and the vehicle otherwise meets the definition of a CMV from 390.5.
  • If the vehicle movement involves no compensation, is rated to carry 15 or fewer passengers, including the driver, and is less than 10,001 pounds, FMCSA does not regulate the vehicle or driver.
• Assisted living facilities – If engaged in transportation using CMVs across state lines, FMCSA regulates these operations due to the indirect compensation received from the residents’ fees, unless exempt from many FMCSRs under 390.3(f)(6).
• Youth camps – Applicable regulations when crossing state lines.

For-hire motor carriers. A “for-hire” carrier is one that provides interstate transportation of passengers for a commercial purpose and must obtain federal operating authority under Part 365. The service is generally available to the public, and the carrier is compensated, either directly or indirectly, for the transportation service provided. Examples: intercity bus service; charter bus service; canoe rental company bus service; hotel bus service. Large vehicles (16+ passengers). Carriers operating for-hire passenger vehicles that are designed or used to transport 16 or more passengers, including the driver, are subject to most of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSRs) as found in 49 CFR Parts 350-399, including rules for:

• Drug and alcohol testing — Part 382;
• Commercial driver’s licenses (CDL) — Part 383; and
• Financial responsibility — Part 387, Subpart B.

• Vehicles transporting only school children and teachers to or from school;
• Vehicles carrying less than 16 individuals in a single daily round trip to commute to and from work; or
• Vehicles operated by a motor carrier under contract providing transportation of pre-primary, primary, and secondary students for extracurricular trips organized, sponsored, and paid by a school district.

*Direct compensation means payment made to the motor carrier by the passengers or a person acting on behalf of the passengers for the transportation services provided, and not included in a total package charge or other assessment for highway transportation services.

Examples of indirect compensation are tour groups and rafting trips with package rates as well as assisted living facilities with general fees or assessments for various service including transportation contained in the total facility charge to all residents.

Passenger-carrying vehicles less than 10,001 pounds and designed to carry 9 to 15 passengers including the driver, with no compensation (direct or indirect) involved, are not subject to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSRs) and are excluded from the definition of a “commercial motor vehicle” in 390.5T. The operation of such vehicles are exempt from the FMCSRs even if the carrier operates other vehicles that are subject to the safety regulations. An example of “no compensation” would be a company transporting employees without collecting fees from employees or a private school paying for transportation exclusively out of the school’s general budget.

Private motor carriers. Private motor carriers of passengers (PMCPs) became subject to the FMCSRs on January 1, 1995. They are divided into “business” and “non-business” carriers.All PMCPs are exempt from Part 387, Minimum Levels of Financial Responsibility for Motor Carriers.

Business PMCPs. Business PMCPs provide private transportation in the furtherance of a commercial enterprise. They do not provide transportation to the general public. Examples: companies using buses to transport their own employees; private school transportation (paid for out of the school’s budget) of students to athletic or other events; professional musicians using buses for concert tours.Business PMCPs are subject to the same FMCSRs as for-hire carriers, as described above, except Part 387.

If the business PMCP has continuously employed a single-employer driver since July 1, 1994, then, as long as that driver continues to be a single-employer driver of that motor carrier, the driver under 391.69 is exempt from:

• 391.21 (application);
• 391.23 (previous-employer and driving-record checks); and
• 391.31 (road test).

Non-business PMCPs. Non-business PMCPs provide private transportation NOT in the furtherance of a commercial purpose. Examples: churches; scout groups; civic organizations; other charitable organizations that may purchase or lease buses for the private transportation of their respective groups.Non-business PMCPs are subject to the same FMCSRs as for-hire carriers, as described above, but under 391.68 are exempt from:

• Part 387 (financial responsibility);
• 391.11(b)(1) (age requirement);
• 391.11(b)(6) (list of violations);
• 391.11(b)(8), 391.31, and 391.33 (road test);
• Part 391, Subpart C (application, driving record, previous-employer inquiries, annual review);
• The portions of 391.41 and 391.45 that require a driver to be medically examined and carry a medical exam certificate (but drivers are NOT exempt from the minimum physical qualifications in 391.41(b));
• Part 391, Subpart F (qualification files);
• 395.8 (driver logs);
• 396.3(b) (maintenance records); and
• 396.11 (daily vehicle inspections).