The Unified Carrier Registration (UCR) Board granted an exemption to school buses following a presentation by the National School Transportation Association and several of its members.
NSTA formally requested an exemption from the UCR Board during a meeting in Washington, D.C. on Dec. 13. The Unified Carrier Registration Act of 2005 replaced the Single State Registration System for registering and collecting fees from the operators of vehicles that are engaged in interstate travel.
An exemption to the law would exclude school buses and school transportation vehicles used to transport children to and from school and school-related activities from the size of a motor carrier’s fleet size when calculating the fee to be paid under the UCR Act. NSTA explained that congressional intent and public policy considerations support an exemption for intrastate school buses and vehicles.
The UCR Board voted to approve the request.
“This is a significant achievement by NSTA that will benefit all of our members, but especially our smaller contractors faced with discontinuing trips due to the cost of UCR fees on their entire fleet,” NSTA President Blake Krapf said.
Twenty-five school bus contractor trade associations also signed NSTA’s letter to the board.
