Wondering why school buses are shuttling Hoos from Downtown to the football games this year instead of the usual Charlottesville Transit Service (CTS) buses? It’s not because the city schools are taking over the duty to raise funds or because the yellow is supposed to be a closer proxy to the Cavalier orange. Rather it’s the result of the fickle regulations of the feds.
In April, the Federal Transit Administration tweaked its regulations of “charter service” such that suddenly the football shuttle fell under that definition. Buses that rely on federal grant assistance for funding can’t be used for charter work, so Charlottesville Transit Service has to use school buses, which aren’t purchased with federal money, for the game day shuttle. What made things worse for CTS is that they didn’t know until August that the regulatory change might affect them.
 City buses have been outlawed from use for the football shuttle, but school buses have gotten the job done this season. |
“It’s really a fairly simple change, but it’s based on a regulatory environment that isn’t always that simple,” says Bill Watterson, transit division manager. The school buses were a relatively painless alternative because the city—not the city schools—owns the school buses, which are also managed by Watterson. Watterson points out that school buses were used when the football shuttle was first started.
Though it costs $5 round-trip, the football shuttle service isn’t designed to generate a profit. The revenue is just used to cover the costs, though that depends on ridership. “There is an element of uncertainty because you’re never certain how many people will choose to ride you on game day,” says Watterson.
For the game between UVA and Southern Cal, the shuttle had 1,884 riders. It averaged 1,793 per game last year.
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