Regulations last checked for updates: Nov 22, 2024

Title 49 - Transportation last revised: Nov 18, 2024
§ 1331.1 - Form and content of application.

The application and supporting exhibits shall conform to 49 CFR part 1104 and shall show, in the order and with the paragraph designations indicated, the following:

(a) Full name and business address of the carrier applicant(s); whether each applicant is a corporation, individual, or partnership; if a corporation, the State of incorporation; and if a partnership, the names of the partners and date of the partnership's formation.

(b) Full name and business address of each entity on whose behalf the application is filed and whether it is a corporation, individual, or partnership.

(c) Whether applicant and each entity on whose behalf the application is filed is a rail, motor, or water carrier, a household goods freight forwarder, or express, sleeping-car, or pipeline company.

(d) If the agreement of which approval is sought pertains to a conference, bureau, committee, or other organization, a complete description of such organization, including any subunits, and of its or their functions and methods of operation, together with a description of the territorial scope of such operations, and a complete description of any working or other arrangement or relationship that such organization has with any other organization. If the agreement is of any other character, a precise statement of its nature and scope and the mode of procedure thereunder.

(e) The facts and circumstances relied upon to establish that the agreement will promote the national transportation policy at 49 U.S.C. 10101.

(f) The name, title, and address of the person to whom correspondence is to be sent.

§ 1331.2 - Required exhibits.

There shall be filed with and made a part of each original application, and each copy, the following exhibits:

(a) As Exhibit 1, a true copy of the agreement.

(b) If the agreement pertains to a conference, bureau, committee, or other organization:

(1) As Exhibit 2, a copy of the constitution, bylaws, or other documents or writings specifying the organization's powers, duties, and procedures, unless incorporated in the agreement filed as Exhibit 1;

(2) As Exhibit 3, an organization chart; and

(3) As Exhibit 4, a schedule of its charges to members or a statement showing how the expenses are divided among the members.

(c) As Exhibit 5, opinion of counsel that the application meets the requirements of 49 U.S.C. 10706,with.

§ 1331.3 - Procedure.

(a) Applicant shall serve a copy of the application by first class mail upon the regulatory body having jurisdiction over rates, fares, or charges of each State or territory covered by the agreement, and the original application filed with the Board shall include a certificate naming the bodies upon whom the application has been served.

(b) The Board will publish in the Federal Register a notice that an application has been filed under these rules and indicating how a hearing on the application may be obtained.

(c) A protest to an application should conform to 49 CFR part 1104.

(d) The Board's general rules of practice govern procedural matters not specifically covered by these rules.

§ 1331.4 - New parties to an agreement.

Where a carrier becomes a party to an agreement which has been approved by the Board, such approval will extend to such carrier upon the filing with the Board by the carrier or its authorized agent of a verified statement that it has become a party to the agreement, which statement shall show the information prescribed at § 1331.1(b). Such carrier may provide transportation under joint rates or over through routes, but may not otherwise act with carriers of a different class (as defined at 49. U.S.C. 10706(d)).

§ 1331.5 - Additional standards for retaining antitrust immunity by passenger bus industry rate bureaus.

(a) Rate bureaus must comply with the terms of their agreements, as approved by the Board. Failure to do so will result in lack of immunity for that activity.

(b) The bureaus are required to maintain detailed minutes of all meetings where immunized matters are discussed. The bureaus will be subject to withdrawal of their immunity for serious continuing violations of Board standards, and individual tariff publications will be subject to rejection, suspension, or investigation for improprieties in the rate bureau process.

(c) Absent Board approval, no other changes may be made in any approved agreement.

(d) For the purposes of the statute, the following definitions shall apply:

(1) A general increase is a proposed general adjustment of substantially all the rates published in a rate bureau's tariff(s).

(2) A broad change in tariff structure modifies in a relatively non-uniform fashion the relationship between most rates published in a rate bureau's tariff, and applies to a large area, either nationally or regionally.

(3) An innovative fare will be determined on a case-by-case basis; the Board will, on request, issue opinions on whether particular rate proposals may be regarded as innovative. Two examples of an innovative fare are:

(i) A fare for unlimited passenger travel; and

(ii) An experimental fare providing for transportation at the passenger's option over the line of one or more carriers.

(4) A promotional fare generally has three characteristics:

(i) Limited duration;

(ii) Attractive price or level of service quality; and

(iii) Some added feature in addition to those normally offered.

authority: 49 U.S.C. 1321,10706
source: 55 FR 11206, Mar. 27, 1990, unless otherwise noted.
cite as: 49 CFR 1331.2