[PRCo] Re: PAT School Buses

[Bob Rathke]

I recall when the Feds (or was it Pa.?) wanted PAT to stop operating its 
charter service in competition with other charter carriers in W. Pa..

Bob 10/3/05

-----------------------------
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Fred Schneider" <fwschneider at comcast.net>
To: <pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org>
Sent: Sunday, October 02, 2005 7:40 PM
Subject: [PRCo] PAT School Buses


> 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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>
>