FTA rules against agency in charter rules case

The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) ruled this week that more than $600,000 in federal funding will be withheld from the Akron (Ohio) Metro Regional Transit Authority for violations of charter bus regulations.

This is the first time that the FTA has used its new discretion in SAFETEA-LU to withhold funds from a transit agency that has engaged in unfair charter competition with a private sector bus operator.

The American Bus Association filed a claim with the FTA on behalf of several charter companies, claiming that Akron Transit had engaged in 475 illegal charter operations from 2002 to May 2005.

The FTA ordered that the transit agency be barred from receiving one and one-half times its total earnings from the illegal charter work, which came to $622,500 in future funding.

Akron Transit plans to appeal the decision.