Stricter Limo Rules Make It Into New York State Budget
An industry association leader says the rules don't address the specific issues.
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WASHINGTON, D.C. -- A leading national ground transportation executive, Dale Krapf, testified May 22 before the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee’s Highways and Transit Subcommittee about the importance of a strong motorcoach service sector.
Krapf, chairman of the Krapf Group and immediate past Chairman of the Board of the United Motorcoach Association, testified about motor carrier provisions in the 2015 FAST (Fixing America's Surface Transportation) Act, summarizing the written testimony he submitted to the subcommittee.
"The important motor carrier policies enacted in the FAST Act were just in a nick of time," Krapf told committee members. "The nation needs and deserves a thriving passenger carrier industry supported by rules and regulations that actually improve safety."
The Krapf Group, headquartered in West Chester, PA, is one of the largest passenger transportation companies in the nation, and also a leading provider of school transportation.
The hearing was streamed live starting at 10 a.m. ET, and can be viewed here. (Krapf appears at the 1:50 mark). He served UMA Chairman during most of the time policy development and implementation of the Act took place. He also testified on behalf of the Act’s impact on members of the National School Transportation Association.
Signed into law in December 2015, the FAST Act included many important provisions for passenger carriers, such as sending the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) back to the drawing board regarding financial responsibility limits and a major overhaul of the FMCSA’s beleaguered Compliance, Safety, and Accountability (CSA) program.
Other key provisions in the comprehensive legislation include equal access for motorcoaches on toll and HOV/HOT lanes and accountability to Congress regarding the length of time it takes to process new entrant applicants.
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In addition, Krapf expressed gratitude that, as a result of passage of the FAST Act, FMSCA established a procedure for removing from a company's public safety record those crashes that were not preventable by the motor carrier and for which the motor carrier had no fault.
Krapf also explained the importance of passing of H.R. 2120, known as BUSREGS-21, and other necessary reforms that would increase passenger safety, support regulatory reform, and promote industry growth to best serve the traveling public and boost the nation’s economy.
FMCSA Administrator Raymond Martinez testified immediately before Krapf and fielded dozens of questions from Subcommittee members, including many about addressing the nation's motorcoach and truck driver shortages.
Source: UMA press release
Related LCT articles:
Related Topics: DOT issues, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, federal regulations, ground transportation, group transportation, industry politics, motorcoach operators, motorcoaches, United Motorcoach Association, Washington DC
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