Action
Notice; extension of exemption.
Summary
FMCSA announces the extension of the 2015 exemption granted to Trailways Companies (Trailways) and other regular-route for-hire passenger carriers. The Agency extends the expiration date from June 4, 2015, to June 4, 2020, in response to the "Fixing America's Surface Transportation Act" (FAST Act). That Act extends the expiration date of hours-of-service (HOS) exemptions in effect on the date of enactment of the FAST Act to 5 years from the date of issuance of the exemptions. This exemption provides that drivers of passenger-carrying vehicles with regularly scheduled routes are exempted from changing their duty status from "driving" to "on-duty not driving" when making stops of less than 10 minutes for the limited purpose of picking up or dropping off passengers, baggage, or small express packages. The Agency previously determined that operations under this exemption would likely achieve a level of safety equivalent to or greater than the level of safety that would be obtained in the absence of the exemption.