Bus

49 CFR 571.3 sets the line at capacity, not at size or appearance: a bus is “a motor vehicle with motive power, except a trailer, designed for carrying more than 10 persons.”

That threshold catches vehicles most people would not call buses. A 12-passenger van is a bus under this definition. For public fleets running parks programmes, senior transport, corrections transfer or shuttle services, the practical consequence is that vehicle sits under bus safety standards rather than passenger vehicle ones, and the operator requirements can change with it.

Transit and student transportation are among the largest public fleet segments in the country, and both are regulated well beyond this definition. This entry establishes only where the federal safety line is drawn.