§387.27 Applicability
Question 1: Is a nonprofit corporation, providing for-hire
interstate transportation of passengers, subject to the minimum levels of
financial responsibility for motor carriers of passengers?
Guidance: Yes.
Question 2: What determines the
level of coverage required for a passenger carrier: the number of passengers or
the number of seats in the vehicle?
Guidance: The level of financial responsibility
required is predicated upon the manufacturer's designed seating capacity, not
on the number of passengers riding in the vehicle at a particular time. The
minimum levels of financial responsibility required for various seating
capacities are found in §387.33.
Question 3: Are luxury limousines
with a seating capacity of fewer than seven passengers and not operated on a
regular route or between specified points exempted under §387.27(b)(2)?
Guidance: No. Taxi cab service is highly regulated
by local governments, usually conducted in marked vehicles, which makes them
readily identifiable to enforcement officials. Limousines are not taxi cabs and
are therefore not exempted from the financial responsibility requirements.
Question 4: When must a contract
school bus operator comply with part
387?
Guidance: When the contractor is not engaged in
transportation to or from school and the transportation is not organized,
sponsored, and paid for by the school district.
Question 5: Does the exemption for the
transportation of school children end at the high school level or does it
extend to educational institutions beyond high school, for example junior
college or college?
Guidance: The exemption does not extend beyond the
high school level.
Question 6: Do the financial
responsibility requirements of Subpart B of Part 387 apply to school
buses used by the federal government of
Guidance: No. The financial responsibility requirements of Subpart B are only applicable to for-hire motor carriers transporting passengers in interstate or foreign commerce.