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Interpretation ID: bombardier.ztv

    Mr. William K. Cooper. P.E.
    Vice President
    Engineering and System Assurance
    Bombardier Transportation (Holdings) USA Inc.
    1501 Lebanon Church Road
    Pittsburgh, PA 15236-1491

    Dear Mr. Cooper:

    This is in reply to your letter of January 13, 2003, requesting an interpretation as to whether the Guided Light Transit (GLT) that Bombardier is preparing to market is a "motor vehicle." You stated that the GLT "is similar in appearance and function to a European street tram, but runs on rubber tires and is guided during street operation by a single rail set into the roadway." You further stated "Propulsion is electric via an overhead catenary system." You argued that the GLT is not a "motor vehicle," "owing to its primary operation in a guided mode where the operator is not required to steer."

    You provided additional information in a CD-ROM that you left with us after meeting with Taylor Vinson of this Office, and other agency representatives, on December 10, 2002. We have downloaded this information and it, with your letter, forms the basis for our response.

    The information indicates that the rubber-tired GLT is intended to bridge the gap between articulated buses and steel-wheeled trams. The GLT is a vehicle consisting of three passenger-carrying units, and contains 41 designated seating positions. The overall length of the GLT is 24.5 m and its "empty weight" is 25,000 kgs. In the GLTs "Maintenance/Failure Management Mode," the operator "provides steering, traction and braking for limited failure management and non-revenue service maneuvers." We understood from our meeting that "non-revenue service maneuvers" refers to the driving of the GLT, under its own power, between the guide rail and the structure where it is housed. In going to and from the guide rail, the GLT does not carry passengers.

    You have also presented information indicating that the GLT complies, or will comply, with all but one of the Federal motor vehicle safety standards (FMVSS) that would apply to it as a "bus" with a GVWR more than 4,536 kg. were the GLT determined to be a "motor vehicle."The one exception is FMVSS No. 208, Occupant Crash Protection, where "Discussion required with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA") is noted (in our view, the GLT would comply with FMVSS No. 208 were the operator provided with, at a minimum, a Type 1 seat belt assembly (a lap belt for pelvic restraint) that complies with the specifications of S4.4.2.2 of FMVSS No. 208, referenced by the primary requirement for a bus with a GVWR of more than 10,000 pounds, S4.4.3.1.).

    Under 49 U.S.C. Chapter 301 Motor Vehicle Safety, a "motor vehicle" is "a vehicle driven or drawn by mechanical power and manufactured primarily for use on public streets, roads, and highways, but does not include a vehicle operated only on a rail line." Under a literal application of this definition, the GLT would be a "motor vehicle" because it is manufactured primarily for use on the public streets and it is not operated exclusively on a rail line.

    Nevertheless, we interpret the definition to exclude vehicles operated on a rail line even if the vehicles are rubber-tired, instead of steel-wheeled, and if the rail line is part of a public road. Importantly, we observe that the GLT is "operated exclusively on a rail line" at all times that it is carrying passengers other than a driver; i.e., when the safety of the passengers on the public roadways would be the paramount concern of this agency. At such times, it is electrically powered by an overhead catenary, consistent with other public transit vehicles such as trams and trolleys that are operated exclusively on rails. We further note that the GLT exceeds in length articulated (two-unit) buses typically regulated by this agency and due to its GVWR, is excused from compliance with some FMVSS that apply to buses. Therefore, we have concluded that the GLT is not a "motor vehicle."

    Even if we decided that the GLT were a motor vehicle, there would be public policy reasons as well for NHTSA not to regulate it. Bombardiers submission also indicates that the GLT complies or will comply with such safety regulations of the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) as may apply to it (49 CFR Part 665). We have, on two occasions, relinquished our jurisdiction over "motor vehicles" where it appeared they were more appropriately regulated by another Federal agency. Initially, we considered mobile homes to be "motor vehicles" because they used the public roads in traveling from the place of manufacture to one or more home sites during their life, requiring them to be equipped in compliance with the Federal motor vehicle safety standards that applied to "trailers." We found it more appropriate for mobile homes to be regulated by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The second situation involved motorized bicycles. We distinguished those that were powered 100 percent of the time by a motor from those where the power source was primarily muscular and the motor operated intermittently as an assist, such as in climbing hills. We found it more appropriate that the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) regulate power-assist bicycles. Because the GLT is not a transit vehicle of the type usually regulated by this agency, it is more appropriate for FTA to regulate it than it would be for NHTSA to do so.

    If you have any questions, you may call Taylor Vinson (202-366-5263).

    Sincerely,

    Jacqueline Glassman
    Chief Counsel

    ref:571
    d.5/15/03