Almost every school district has, as a result of “Guideline 17,” a list of routinely-used carriers; this is not to imply that those carriers are not safe and reliable. However, most school districts use an administrative approval process, which does not require either an on-site inspection for initial approval or subsequent routine inspections and performance monitoring for continuing approval. Carriers who appear on the PTSP National Approved List have undergone intense scrutiny by highly-trained safety and security professionals. Under the program, carriers who gain approval must demonstrate a high degree of compliance with all applicable regulations, supported by effective safety management controls, to ensure that their record of safety is achieved by design and not default. Once a carrier is approved, it is then subject to routine on-site DOT compatible compliance/safety inspections (bi-annual), routine on-road performance monitoring (every 6 months) and no-notice random roadside inspections (prior to students boarding) to ensure it continues to maintain the highest standards of safety and performance needed to remain approved.

Not necessarily. Carriers who operate at a high degree of compliance and safety generally realize a significant increase in operational efficiencies and thus avoid losses normally associated with accident involvement. As a result, these carriers can offer competitive prices to coincide with their increased level of safety and performance. Additionally, because all carriers on the PTSP National Approved List are held to a higher standard, even selecting a carrier with the lowest price ensures a highly qualified passenger motor carrier to meet your transportation needs.

In some cases it would be, but not in all. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has about 800 inspectors to monitor and inspect over 700,000 motor carriers in operation today, thus most carriers have not received a federal inspection and do not have a rating. Others that have been rated, may not have been seen in many years. And, in most cases, for a carrier to be flagged by FMCSA for inspection, the carrier must have already been found to have significant problems and/or to have been involved in an excessive number of accidents.

Some expense is always associated with reducing risk; but this program will not be expensive to implement. Many of the same carriers you already use may also provide transportation services to other school districts and thus already be approved under the PTSP. However, the most significant advantage of the PTSP is the cost savings realized through the economy of scales. As new school districts join the program it actually decrease the cost of maintaining the program for all participating school districts participating in the program.

No, experience has shown that the remaining carriers will expand their operation to meet the new demand placed upon them.

Uniformity and consistency are an absolute necessity and thus are key elements of the PTSP National Approved List of carriers. All carriers are held to the same standards and undergo identical inspections and reviews.

Yes, any unsafe operation is a risk. Thus, inspection reports for any carrier failing the inspection is submitted to FMCSA.

Unfortunately no, as to do so would alter the uniformity and consistency of the program from a national perspective. However, you can add additional requirements through a supplemental agreement between you and those carriers you decide to use.

No. The purpose of establishing the PTSP National Approved List is to allow all jurisdictions to access a much larger number of approved carriers, although an individual jurisdiction may have been responsible for only a limited number of the carriers inspected and included on the PTSP National Approved List. Because the inspection process is the same for all jurisdictions participating in the program, you can be confident that carriers in other jurisdictions have met the same high standards as those within your jurisdiction. Selecting a carrier who does not undergo the same rigorous inspection and monitoring process could be a significant risk and should be avoided.

There are at least two situations in which access to carriers nationwide would be an advantage. First, students often travel to other parts of the country for school-related activities. Once they arrive at their destination, they may require transportation services from the airport or railroad station to their hotel, etc. Having access to a nationwide list of approved carriers would allow you to confidently make ground transportation arrangements with a safe and reliable carrier outside your jurisdiction. Second, many charter and tour carriers, although based in a specific state, operate nationwide. As such, many of those carriers may have coaches and drivers available for your use within your local area, often at a cost savings to you.

You only need to provide PTSP the list of the carriers you currently use, the rest is done for you making it a simple and easy transition. CSS, who manages the PTSP program, takes care of the rest for you. You will however, be provided a use ID and Password for access to the PTSP web site which contains the National List of approved carriers, and given a supply of PTSP Official Passenger Motor Carrier Application forms for carriers seeking PTSP approval. There are virtually no administrative burdens associated with joining the PTSP.

No, school buses providing transportation services that are confined to transporting students from home to school and from school to home are exempt from federal regulations. Only when a carrier is compensated for transporting students outside of “from home to school and school to home,” would it be subject to either state and/or federal regulations and, thus subject to the PTSP inspection and approval process.

The term “on-road performance” means the carrier's vehicle and driver out-of-service rates and the carrier's accident rate. Routinely monitoring a carrier's on-road performance every six months will ensure that it continues to maintain safe operations.

Yes. There is a PTSP Safety Performance Rating, and although the rating categories are different from FMCSA's, the inspection process and criteria are the same. FMCSA uses three rating categories, “satisfactory,” “conditional,” and “unsatisfactory.” However, there can be a very small margin between “satisfactory” and “unsatisfactory” ratings in the FMCSA guidelines. PTSP uses a 1 through 5 numeric rating system, with a rating of 1 corresponding to an “outstanding” operation and a rating of 5 to an “unsatisfactory” operation. Safety Performance Ratings of 1, 2 or 3 are equivalent to FMCSA's “satisfactory” rating, 4 is equivalent to FMCA's “conditional,” and 5 is “unsatisfactory.” Ratings of 1, 2, or 3 are considered acceptable and ratings of 4 or 5 are considered not acceptable. This system provides measurable distinctions between various levels of performance within FMCSA's “satisfactory” rating. Not only does this provide a greater degree of clarity regarding a carrier's performance, but also allows persons selecting carriers to incorporate “best value” into their decision-making process.

You may simply call the CSS Headquarters at 1-800-888-4612 and ask to speak to the Pupil Transportation Safety Program Manager, who will be able to provide you the information and assistance you need.

Yes. PTSP would be happy to send a representative to meet with your School Board.

Yes, and we encourage you to do so. Many districts or counties rely upon the same motor carriers for their transportation needs; there are significant advantages associated with the economies of scale. Combining your efforts would clearly make sense.

“Non-Use” is a categorization that is applied to carriers who have not completed the On-Road Performance Monitoring during the six month review period. A carrier also be classified as “Non-Use” when they violate a Passenger Carrier Agreement.

Carriers are disqualified from PTSP when they do not maintain the established safety standards. When a carrier is disqualified, the carrier will be removed from the PTSP approved carrier list and an e-mail notification will alert participating school districts of the disqualifying status.