[PRCo] PAT School Buses

[Fred Schneider]

Let us ask John Swindler to jump into the fray.

It occurs to me that there were some problems in the early years with  
charters, and school buses constituted a charter,  because UMTA was  
providing Federal support to these agencies and the charter  
operations were funneling this support into a restricted area where  
it no longer served the entire populace.   If I can phrase this a  
different way, UMTA was saying that you cannot use federal support to  
run a charter (and since we gave you the bus or the trolley, that's  
federal support).   I recall that SEPTA kept an independent company  
called Trenton-Philadelphia Coach Company to handle all charters, and  
its operations were supposedly outside of UMTA grants.   Here in  
Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Red Rose Transit Authority took over the  
fixed routes inside Lancaster County of the Conestoga Transportation  
Company while leaving CTC with its charter business, the school  
buses, and I think they were still running York - Lancaster buses to  
connect with trains at Lancaster (although these may have disappeared  
with Amtrak in 1971).

John:   So if SEPTA and RRTA had to jump through hoops, how did PAT  
get away with running school buses?  Was it legal?   Was it the 500  
pound gorilla technique?

fws

On Oct 2, 2005, at 6:43 PM, Bill Robb wrote:

> Apparently PAT inherited school runs from the
> independent operators as well as school buses:
>
> http://www.amcap.org/monthlyfeature/200509/index.shtml
>
> I recall added on lights on some places like New
> Jersey and Boston so transit buses could do school
> service, but I believe this is now illegal.
>
> Bill Robb
>
> --- Mark McGuire <macmarka at netzero.net> wrote:
>
>
>>   More memories, Ken!
>>
>>  I used to ride one of the old GMs to grade
>> school(Julia Ward Howe).
>> The PAT bus would pick us up right up the street and
>> would make a few
>> stops on the way to St. Winifred and Howe schools. I
>> don't recall
>> paying a fare so maybe the parents got together to
>> charter bus service
>> for their children. Probably 20 kids rode the buses
>> to and from
>> school. I loved the old GM buses but remember riding
>> the fishbowls
>> also. Once in a blue moon we would get one of my
>> favorites, a GM
>> shortie bus with AC unit(the 1800 series numbers I
>> believe). We had
>> great times riding the PAT buses to school in the
>> mornings and afternoons. Thanks again for the
>> memories, Ken. Even though I was
>> more of a trolley fan in my youth.
>>
>>                            Mark
>>
>>
>>
>>
>
>
>
>
>
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