Van Pool Transportation LLC--Acquisition of Control--Easton Coach Company, LLC |
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Topics: Salter Transportation, Easton Coach Company
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Jeffrey Herzig
Surface Transportation Board
11 August 2021
[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 152 (Wednesday, August 11, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 44129-44130]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-17133]
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SURFACE TRANSPORTATION BOARD
[Docket No. MCF 21097]
Van Pool Transportation LLC--Acquisition of Control--Easton Coach
Company, LLC
AGENCY: Surface Transportation Board.
ACTION: Notice Tentatively Approving and Authorizing Finance
Transaction.
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SUMMARY: Van Pool Transportation LLC (Van Pool) has filed an
application to acquire control of Easton Coach Company, LLC (Easton), a
regulated interstate motor carrier, from ECC Holding Company, Inc.
(ECC), a noncarrier. The Board is tentatively approving and authorizing
the transaction, and, if no opposing comments are timely filed, this
notice will be the final Board action.
DATES: Comments must be filed by September 27, 2021. If any comments
are filed, Applicant may file a reply by October 11, 2021. If no
opposing comments are filed by September 27, 2021, this notice shall by
effective on September 28, 2021.
ADDRESSES: Comments should be filed with the Surface Transportation
Board via e-filing on the Board's website. In addition, one copy of any
comments must be sent to Applicant's representative: Andrew K. Light,
Scopelitis, Garvin, Light, Hanson & Feary, P.C., 10 W Market Street,
Suite 1400, Indianapolis, IN 46204.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Amy Ziehm at (202) 245-0391.
Assistance for the hearing impaired is available through the Federal
Relay Service at (800) 877-8339.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: According to the application,\1\ Van Pool is
a Delaware limited liability company that is headquartered in
Wilbraham, Mass.\2\ (Appl. 2.) Van Pool currently owns and operates
three passenger motor carriers that hold interstate passenger motor
carrier authority through the Federal Motor Carrier Safety
Administration (FMCSA):
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\1\ On June 30, 2021, counsel for Van Pool filed an unverified
letter correcting an error in the application regarding one of the
related motor carriers' U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT)
safety and fitness ratings. Then, on July 12, 2021, Van Pool
submitted the required verification for the statements in the June
30, 2021 letter, pursuant to 49 CFR 1182.2(c). Therefore, the filing
date of the application for purposes of calculating the procedural
and statutory deadlines is July 12, 2021. See 49 CFR 1182.4(a).
\2\ Further information about Applicant's corporate structure
and ownership can be found in the Application. (See Appl. 7-8; id.
at Ex. B.)
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NRT Bus, Inc. (NRT), which primarily provides non-
regulated student school bus transportation services in the
Commonwealth of Massachusetts and occasional passenger charter services
to the public;
Trombly Motor Coach Service, Inc. (Trombly), which
primarily provides non-regulated student school bus transportation
services in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and occasional passenger
charter services to the public; and
Salter Transportation, Inc. (Salter), which primarily
provides non-regulated student school bus transportation services in
New Hampshire and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and occasional
passenger charter services to the public. (Id. at 3-5.) \3\
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\3\ Van Pool currently has two applications pending before the
Board seeking authority, after-the-fact, to own and control NRT,
Trombly, and Salter. See Appl., May 4, 2021, Van Pool Transp. LLC--
Acquis. of Control--NRT Bus, Inc., MCF 21095; Appl., May 4, 2021,
Van Pool Transp. LLC--Acquis. of Control--Salter Transp. Inc., MCF
21096.
Additional information about these motor carriers, including
USDOT numbers, motor carrier numbers, and USDOT safety and fitness
ratings can be found in the application and the corrected Exhibit A
to the letter filed by counsel on June 30, 2021. (See Appl. 3-5;
Corr. Ex. A, Letter from Gregory Ostendorf to Cynthia Brown, June
30, 2021, Docket No. MCF 21097.) In the application, Van Pool and
counsel represented to the Board that Salter had a ``Satisfactory''
USDOT safety and fitness rating. That statement was incorrect. (See
Corr. Ex. A, Letter from Gregory Ostendorf to Cynthia Brown.) Salter
does not have a USDOT safety and fitness rating. (Id.) Van Pool and
its counsel should take greater care in future proceedings before
the Board to avoid incorrect representations of matters of fact.
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As a result of the transaction, Van Pool will acquire all issued
and outstanding equity interest in Easton from ECC, a Delaware
corporation that does not own or control any other interstate passenger
motor carrier. (Id. at 5, 7.) According to Van Pool, Easton is
[[Page 44130]]
a Delaware limited liability company that provides intrastate
paratransit, shuttle, and line-run services pursuant to contracts with
regional transportation authorities and other organizations in,
primarily, New Jersey and eastern Pennsylvania. (Id. at 6.) It also
provides private charter motor coach services, including coach and
shuttle ground transportation services for passengers, primarily in
eastern Pennsylvania. (Id.) Van Pool represents that Easton has
approximately 750 passenger-carrying vehicles, including 21 motor
coaches, and it utilizes approximately 800 drivers. (Id.) The
geographic areas served by Easton do not overlap with the geographic
areas serviced by NRT, Trombly, and Salter. (Id.)
Van Pool states that it intends to maintain and continue the
services provided by Easton to the public. (Id. at 9.) It expects that
the transaction will result in improved operating efficiencies,
increased equipment utilization rates, and costs savings, all of which
will help ensure the provision of adequate service to the public. (Id.)
Under 49 U.S.C. 14303(b), the Board must approve and authorize a
transaction that it finds consistent with the public interest, taking
into consideration at least: (1) The effect of the proposed transaction
on the adequacy of transportation to the public, (2) total fixed
charges that result from the proposed transaction, and (3) the interest
of affected carrier employees. Van Pool has submitted the information
required by 49 CFR 1182.2, including information to demonstrate that
the transaction is consistent with the public interest under 49 U.S.C.
14303(b), see 49 CFR 1182.2(a)(7), and a jurisdictional statement under
49 U.S.C. 14303(g) that the aggregate gross operating revenues of the
involved carriers exceeded $2 million during the 12-month period
immediately preceding the filing of the application, see 49 CFR
1182.2(a)(5). (See Appl. 7-13.)
Van Pool asserts that the transaction will not have a material,
detrimental impact on the adequacy of transportation services currently
available to the public. (Id. at 9.) Van Pool intends that the services
provided by Easton currently available to the public will be maintained
and that Easton will continue to operate under the same name, just
within the holdings of Van Pool. (Id.) Van Pool further represents that
it is experienced in the same market segments served by Easton--
intrastate paratransit, shuttle, and line-run services--and, because of
Van Pool's passenger carrier management capacity, the transaction is
expected to result in improved operating efficiencies, increased
equipment utilization rates, and cost savings. (Id.) Thus, Van Pool
states, the transaction will help ensure the provision of adequate
transportation services to the public. (Id. at 9-10.)
Van Pool claims that neither competition nor the public interest
will be adversely affected by the proposed transaction. (Id. at 11-12.)
Van Pool states that while demand for interstate passenger motor
carriers has been reduced as a result for the COVID-19 pandemic, as the
public health situation continues to improve, Van Pool expects that
demand for Easton's services will increase. (Id. at 12.) And, according
to Van Pool, competition for such services is strong; Easton competes
directly with other passenger charter services, including J&J Luxury
Transportation, Hagey Coach & Tours, Martz Bus, Perkiomen Travel &
Tours, and Trans-Bridge Lines. (Id.) In addition, Van Pool asserts that
all charter service providers, including Easton, also compete with
``other modes of passenger transportation, including rail, low-cost
airlines, and passenger transportation network companies.'' (Id.) Van
Pool also states that Easton does not compete with any of the other
three passenger motor carriers owned by Van Pool because ``there is
virtually no overlap in the service areas and/or customer bases among
[NRT, Trombly, and Salter] and Easton in that regard.'' (Id.)
Van Pool states that although the transaction will increase fixed
charges in the form of interest expenses, the increase will not impact
the provision of transportation services to the public. (Id. at 10.)
Finally, Van Pool asserts that the transaction will not have a
substantial impact on employees or labor conditions because it intends
to continue the existing operations of Easton. (Id.) Van Pool states
that staffing redundancies, though, could potentially result in limited
downsizing of back-office and/or managerial level personnel. (Id.)
The Board finds that the acquisition as described in the
application, as supplemented, is consistent with the public interest
and should be tentatively approved and authorized. If any opposing
comments are timely filed, these findings will be deemed vacated, and,
if a final decision cannot be made on the record as developed, a
procedural schedule will be adopted to reconsider the application. See
49 CFR 1182.6. If no opposing comments are filed by the expiration of
the comment period, this notice will take effect automatically and will
be the final Board action.
This action is categorically excluded from environmental review
under 49 CFR 1105.6(c).
Board decisions and notices are available at www.stb.gov.
It is ordered:
1. The transaction is approved and authorized, subject to the
filing of opposing comments.
2. If opposing comments are timely filed, the findings made in this
notice will be deemed vacated.
3. This notice will be effective September 28, 2021, unless
opposing comments are filed by September 27, 2021. If any comments are
filed, Applicant may file a reply by October 11, 2021.
4. A copy of this notice will be served on: (1) The U.S. Department
of Transportation, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, 1200
New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590; (2) the U.S. Department of
Justice, Antitrust Division, 10th Street & Pennsylvania Avenue NW,
Washington, DC 20530; and (3) the U.S. Department of Transportation,
Office of General Counsel, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC
20590.
Decided: August 5, 2021.
By the Board, Board Members Begeman, Fuchs, Oberman, Primus, and
Schultz.
Jeffrey Herzig,
Clearance Clerk.
[FR Doc. 2021-17133 Filed 8-10-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4915-01-P