Safety is of the utmost importance to BANY and its member organizations. New York has set the benchmark for bus passenger safety with some of the strictest inspection standards nationwide. Below are some best practices and links to other resources on how to charter a motorcoach.
- Understand that NYS has additional requirements for some student travel that includes what is referred to as 19-A certification. Become familiar with what that means by viewing the NYS Education Dept. Pupil Transportation site as well as inquire as to the Diamond shaped NYS DOT inspection sticker which is placed on NYS buses within every 6 months of operation.
- Ask for the company’s U.S. DOT number – you can use it to review the Company Snapshot provided by the FMCSA here: htps://safer.fmcsa.dot.gov/CompanySnapshot.aspx
- Request that the motorcoach company provide an abstract for drivers who could be assigned to your trip, review them to make sure that the drivers are appropriately qualified.
- Contact the Bus Driver Certification Unit of the NYS Department of Motor Vehicles (518)-457-9455 or busdriverunit@dmv.ny.gov to request the compliance status of the company and the driver qualification status of each of the potential drivers.
- Contact the NYS Department of Transportation regarding the bus company’s operator BUSNET profile. A written request may be mailed or FAXED to the Truck and Bus Safety Sec????on at (518) 457-6513. The request must contain the name and address of the operator for which the profile is being requested, as well as the profile period (from/to) for which data is being requested.
Additional Resources: