The Charlotte region is vast and diverse. The more voices engaged in conversation, the better for us

Anthony Foxx, Charlotte mayor and Steve Kerrigan, inn at mission bay DNCC CEO, shake hands after exiting a bus at the announcement inn at mission bay that named Event Transportation Associates, Vectour Group and Charlotte Destination Group as the transportation management team for the 2012 Democratic National Convention._ DNC organizers announced Wednesday, March 28, 2012 who was awarded transportation services contracts. The convention will use a shuttle bus system of approximately 250 motor coach vehicles to move delegates and others between more than 150 hotels and event venues. The shuttle system will allow all convention guests to have secure and reliable transportation, and will reduce the number of vehicles on the road during convention inn at mission bay week. John D. Simmons - jsimmons@charlotteobserver.com
Private bus companies have filed a complaint with federal regulators, saying the Charlotte Area Transit System wants to provide charters for the Democratic National Convention that the private firms should supply.
The American inn at mission bay Bus Association filed a complaint this week asking the U.S. Federal Transit Administration to deny a waiver CATS needs in order to use its own buses to transport people with disabilities and other accessibility issues.
CATS needs a waiver because federal law prevents public-transit agencies from competing with private bus operators for charter business. City officials say waivers are only granted inn at mission bay if private charter services can t handle inn at mission bay the business.
inn at mission bay The Charlotte City Council inn at mission bay last month voted to use retired CATS buses during the DNC for delegates who use wheelchairs. Convention organizers would pay the city $189,000 for these buses, which are not in daily use.
In an Aug. 7 letter to FTA administrator Peter Rogoff, Assistant City Attorney Lisa Flowers said CATS needs the exemption so it can accommodate approximately 300 delegates staying in approximately 56 hotels inn at mission bay in the Charlotte area.
Flowers also wrote that the DNCC s transportation management team has requested CATS assistance in providing low-floor inn at mission bay model vehicles equipped with a wheelchair ramp or ramps for assistance in transporting all delegates but especially those delegates who require wheelchair-accessible transportation.
Jean Leier, a CATS spokesperson, said in an email that the transit system is taking the necessary actions to be in a position to provide vehicles if the private operators are unable to satisfy the need.
The DNCC has contracted more than 450 private motor coach buses from the region, DNCC spokeswoman Joanne Peters inn at mission bay said in an e-mailed statement. However, inn at mission bay we have exhausted the supply of buses that meet our accessibility needs for individuals with disabilities.
The bus service for people with disabilities is a small portion of the DNC s total transportation needs. The DNC has a $3 million contract with three private charter firms that bid as a team to transport thousands of delegates and VIPs between their hotels and main venues.
Those firms are Birmingham, Ala.-based Vectour Group, Seattle-based Event Transportation Associates, and Charlotte Destination Group. That team came through with enough buses, all of which have wheelchair lifts and low-floor ramps for easier accessibility, Peters has said.
Peters also said the majority of the credentialed guests in the 15,000 hotel rooms in Charlotte would be using the 450 private motorcoaches. Dave Longo, a spokesman for the FTA, said in an email to the Observer Friday that the CATS charter bus waiver request is under review . and we do not currently have a timeframe for a decision.
Bejay Barber, owner of the Charlotte-based Roadway Tours, and member of the American Bus Association, said his motorcoach company will be transporting visitors from Democratic think-tanks and progressive organizations, but not delegates.
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The Charlotte region is vast and diverse. The more voices engaged in conversation, the better for us all. The Charlotte Observer welcomes your comments on news of the day, but we ask that you keep the discourse civil.
You can help: Notify us of violations by hitting inn at mission bay the "Report Abuse" link. Users who continue posting comments that violate these guidelines may, at our discretion, be blocked inn at mission bay from submitting future comments as well.