Regulatory Roundup
Stay informed about the latest developments and actionable deadlines related to regulatory issues affecting the motorcoach, charter, and group tour and travel industries. This page will be updated monthly along with the Driving Policy newsletter.
Timely Reminders
Child Passenger Safety Week is set for September 21 – 27
Child Passenger Safety Week raises awareness about occupant protection for children, emphasizing the need to use the right car seat, booster seat, or seat belt for a child’s age and size and to ensure proper installation and use. The 2025 event is scheduled for September 21-27, culminating in National Seat Check Saturday on September 27, where free seat inspections are available.
Unified Carrier Registration to Open Oct. 1
The Unified Carrier Registration (UCR) for the 2026 registration year opened for pre-registration on August 1, 2025, and will open for full registration on October 1, 2025. All motor carriers, brokers, and leasing companies that operate across state lines in interstate commerce are required to complete the annual UCR registration to avoid fines and other enforcement actions.
MC Numbers to Sunset
The FMCSA has announced some major changes, perhaps none more significant than overhauling its carrier identification system. By Oct. 1, 2025, the agency plans to phase out Motor Carrier (MC) numbers and transition entirely to USDOT numbers. By eliminating MC numbers and forcing all authority records to be tracked under a single USDOT number, FMCSA hopes to reduce fraud and hold carriers more accountable for their history.
Waiver Issued for Digital CDL Medical Qualification Transition and Expanded
On July 14, 2025, FMCSA granted a waiver allowing interstate commercial driver’s license (CDL) holders, commercial learner’s permit (CLP) holders, and motor carriers to continue relying paper copies of medical examiner’s certificates as proof of drivers’ medical certification for up to 15 days after the date the medical examiner’s certificate is issued.
The agency modified this waiver on August 21, 2025, to allow CDL holders, CLP holders, and motor carriers to rely on the paper copy of the medical examiner’s certificate as proof of the driver’s medical certification for up to 60 days after the date the medical examiner’s certificate was issued.
The waiver is in effect until October 12, 2025; the full contents of the waiver modification can be found online.
New Rules & Important Notices
Department of Transportation Requests Highway Reauthorization Policy Suggestions
On June 24, the Department of Transportation announced its request for information, suggestions and ideas on policy and funding recommendations for the pending Highway Reauthorization legislation. ABA strongly supports a range of policy priorities that are important to the motorcoach industry. Comments are due September 8, 2025.
U.S. DOT Requests Comments on Strategic Plan
On Aug. 8, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) requested comments on the development of its strategic plan for fiscal years 2026-2030. Comments are due by Sept. 8.
DOT Seeks Public Input on Automated Driving Systems Research
On August 18, the U.S. DOT requested information to inform coordinated national research supporting the deployment of automated driving systems (ADS) transportation technology and realizing safe and efficient operations on the nation’s roadways. Comments are due by Oct. 17. Submissions should be emailed to AVResearchRFI@dot.gov, be no longer than 15 pages, use a standard Word document format, and avoid confidential or sensitive information.
FMCSA Requests Comment on DataQs Process
FMCSA is seeking public comment on proposed revisions to the DataQs system, specifically related to the Motor Carrier Safety Assistance Program (MCSAP) grant funding. This notice outlines proposed changes aimed at increasing efficiency, predictability, fairness, and transparency in the review process for data related to motor carrier safety. The comment period is open until September 2, 2025.
FMCSA Requests Comments on Annual Report of Class I and Class II For-Hire Motor Carriers
On July 28, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) requested comments on the Annual Report of Class I and Class II For-Hire Motor Carriers information collection request (ICR). Comments are due by Sept. 26.
FMCSA Requests Comments on the Crash Causal Factors Program: Heavy-Duty Truck Study
On Aug. 28, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) requested comments on the Crash Causal Factors Program: Heavy-Duty Truck Study Data Collection information collection request (ICR). The ICR will collect data from the state jurisdictions that were identified as part of a nationally representative study sample of fatal crashes involving heavy-duty trucks. Comments are due by Oct. 27.
FTA Releases Guidance on FIFA World Cup and Olympic Games Transportation
On July 31, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Transit Administration (FTA) released a video series providing guidance to public transit agencies, private bus operators and host cities as they prepare to move millions of fans for the 2026 FIFA World Cup Games and the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games. DOT is laying the groundwork in preparation for the World Cup next year. This video series follows guidance initiated through a “Dear Colleague” letter providing technical assistance and support for federal grant recipients related to events like the 2026 World Cup and 2028 Summer Olympics. View the videos. FTA will also be hosting a webinar on September 11 @ 1 pm ET to review plans for the games. Click here to register.
FTA to Update Capital Investment Grant Guidance
To continue advancing transit projects that have a transformative impact on American communities in the most efficient and transparent manner, FTA is inviting public comment on revisions to the agency’s policy guidance for the Capital Investment Grants (CIG) program. FTA implements the CIG program, in part, through policy guidance that includes the process applicants must follow to be considered for discretionary funding. The guidance also sets forth the procedures and criteria FTA uses to evaluate and rate projects. The current revisions are intended to amend FTA’s CIG Policy Guidance most recently updated in December 2024. Click here to view the proposed revisions. Comments are due by September 2, 2025.
NHTSA Requests Comments on Exemption from FMVSS No. 208, Occupant Crash Protection
On July 30, NHTSA requested comments on an application for a temporary exemption from the requirement to install Type 2 seat belts at side-facing locations from Nix Coach Interiors LLC. The exemption would allow them to install Type 1 seatbelts (lap belt only) at side-facing seating positions, instead of the Type 2 seatbelts (lap and shoulder belts) required by FMVSS No. 208, Occupant Crash Protection. Comments are due by Sept. 29.
SBA Issues Guidance Expanding Retirement Plan Options for Small Employers
On July 29, the Small Business Administration released interpretive guidance and a request for information to help small employers select high-quality, low-cost “pooled employer plans” or “PEPs.” Pooled Employer Plans allow participating employers a way of banding together to offer their employees a workplace retirement savings option. The interpretive guidance addresses the limits of a participating employer’s responsibility in selecting and managing a PEP, including how it can be further alleviated, and offers some commonsense suggestions for how that responsibility might ultimately be satisfied. The public is asked to submit comments on market practices associated with PEPs, which SBA intends to consider as a basis for a regulatory safe harbor that will further encourage market participants to offer and employers to join well-designed PEPs. Furthermore, PEPs have the potential to provide diversified investment lineups at a lower cost than small plans could likely negotiate on their own. Comments are due by September 29, 2025.
OSHA Heat Standard Public Hearings Request for Comments
An informal public hearing on OSHA’s Heat Injury and Illness Prevention in Outdoor and Indoor Work Settings proposed rule took place virtually through July 2, 2025. The hearings are available to the public for live viewing on YouTube. Click here to access each day’s proceedings. A post-hearing docket is open for public comment through September 30, 2025.
Interior Department Reopens its Deregulatory Portal
The comment period for the request for information entitled “DOI Regulatory Reform RFI” published on May 20, 2025, is reopened and will remain open indefinitely. No deadline for receiving comments on this effort has been established at this time; the Interior will review comments on an ongoing basis.
EPA Moves to Block California’s Roadside Emissions Checks
On August 26, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a proposal to disapprove of California’s Heavy-Duty (HD) Inspection and Maintenance (I/M) Requirements as they apply to out-of-state and out-of-country vehicles. The HD I/M requirement in the State Implementation Plan (SIP) submitted by California establishes an I/M program for any heavy-duty vehicle driven in the state—regardless of registration. EPA is proposing to deny these actions due to concerns that this requirement violates the U.S. Constitution’s Commerce Clause, and this inconsistency with Federal law also violates Section 110 of the Clean Air Act. This proposed disapproval comes on the heels of two complaints filed by the U.S. Department of Justice in federal courts against the California Air Resources Board (CARB) regarding the State’s enforcement of preempted emissions standards through its so-called “Clean Truck Partnership” with heavy-duty truck and engine manufacturers. Comments are due September 25, 2025.
National Park Service (NPS): Freedom Riders National Monument Master Plan
The Freedom Riders National Monument is finalizing a Master Plan for the Bus Burning Site in Calhoun County, Alabama. The site is the location where a violent mob set fire to a bus of Freedom Riders during the 1961 Freedom Rides, a movement to challenge discriminatory state laws and local customs that required racial segregation on buses and in bus station facilities. The bus burning site is one of two sites that comprise the national monument—the other being the Greyhound Bus Station in downtown Anniston, where the Freedom Riders initially encountered the mob and from which the bus departed. The NPS is currently welcoming public comment on preliminary management and design concepts. Comments are due Sept. 24, 2025.
