Bus
In federal safety standards, a motor vehicle with motive power, other than a trailer, designed for carrying more than 10 persons.
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.
On Modern Public Fleet
- First Student and Con Edison Deploy Electric School Bus Charging in New York City
- Washington Metro Exercises Year 2 Option for 100 New Flyer Buses Under 500-Unit Contract
- Jefferson County Public Schools, Colo., Deploys 6 IC Electric Buses With Bidirectional Chargers
- Less Than 40% of EV School Buses Bought With EPA Grants Have Been Delivered
Sources
- NHTSA, 49 CFR 571.3 retrieved 2026-09-01