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Van Pool Transportation LLC--Acquisition of Control--Alltown Bus Service Inc. Publication: Federal Register Signing Official: Kenyatta Clay Agency: Surface Transportation Board Date: 14 July 2022 Topic: Van Pool Transportation, Alltown Bus Service  
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[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 134 (Thursday, July 14, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 42260-42261]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-15044]
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SURFACE TRANSPORTATION BOARD
[Docket No. MCF 21100]
Van Pool Transportation LLC--Acquisition of Control--Alltown Bus
Service Inc.
AGENCY: Surface Transportation Board.
ACTION: Notice tentatively approving and authorizing finance
transaction.
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SUMMARY: On June 14, 2022, Van Pool Transportation LLC (Van Pool or
Applicant), a noncarrier, filed an application for Van Pool to acquire
control of an interstate passenger motor carrier, Alltown Bus Service
Inc. (Alltown), from its sole shareholder, Greg C. Polan (Seller). 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 August 28, 2022. If any comments are
filed, Van Pool may file a reply by September 12, 2022. If no opposing
comments are filed by August 28, 2022, this notice shall be effective
on August 29, 2022.
ADDRESSES: Comments may be filed with the Board either via e-filing or
in writing addressed to: Surface Transportation Board, 395 E Street SW,
Washington, DC 20423-0001. In addition, send one copy of comments to
Van Pool'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: Valerie Quinn at (202) 245-0283.
Assistance for the hearing impaired is available through the Federal
Relay Service at (800) 877-8339.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: According to the application, Van Pool is a
limited liability company organized under Delaware law and
headquartered in Wilbraham, Mass. (Appl. 2.) Van Pool states that it
owns and controls all of the equity and voting interest in the
following interstate passenger motor carriers (collectively, the
Affiliate Regulated Carriers) that hold interstate passenger motor
carrier authority, (id. at 2-4): \1\
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\1\ Additional information about these motor carriers, including
U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) numbers, motor carrier
numbers, and USDOT safety fitness ratings, can be found in the
application. (See id. at 2-4; id. at Ex. A.)
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NRT Bus, Inc., which primarily provides non-regulated
student school bus transportation services in Massachusetts (Essex,
Middlesex, Norfolk, Suffolk and Worcester counties), and occasional
charter services;
Trombly Motor Coach Service, Inc., which primarily
provides non-regulated school bus transportation services in
Massachusetts (Essex and Middlesex counties) and occasional charter
services;
Salter Transportation, Inc., which primarily provides non-
regulated school bus transportation services in Massachusetts (Essex
County) and southern New Hampshire, and occasional charter services;
and
Easton Coach Company, LLC, which provides (i) intrastate
paratransit, shuttle, and line-run services under contracts with
regional transportation authorities and other organizations, primarily
in New Jersey and eastern Pennsylvania, and (ii) private charter motor
coach and shuttle services (interstate and intrastate), primarily in
eastern Pennsylvania.\2\
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\2\ In Van Pool Transportation LLC--Acquisition of Control--F.M.
Kuzmeskus, Inc., Docket No. MCF 21099, Van Pool has filed an
application to acquire F.M. Kuzmeskus, Inc. Today, the Board is
tentatively approving that application.
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According to the application, Van Pool also has operating
subsidiaries that provide transportation services that do not involve
regulated interstate transportation or require interstate passenger
authority (together with the Affiliate Regulated Carriers, the
Applicant Subsidiaries), primarily in the northeastern portion of the
United States. (Appl. 2-3; id. at Ex. B.) Van Pool states that it is
indirectly owned and controlled by investment funds affiliated with
Audax Management Company, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company.
(Id. at 6.) \3\
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\3\ Further information about the Applicant's corporate
structure and ownership can be found in the application. (See Appl.
6; id. at Ex. B.)
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The application explains that Alltown, the carrier being acquired,
is an Illinois corporation that provides primarily non-regulated school
bus transportation services in the Chicago, Ill., metropolitan area and
Chicago suburbs (the Service Area), and occasional charter services
when its vehicles are not in use for school activities. (Id. at 5, 10.)
The application
[[Page 42261]]
states that Alltown: uses approximately 462 school buses and
approximately 325 drivers in providing its services; holds interstate
operating authority under FMCSA Docket No. MC-193112; and has a
``Satisfactory'' USDOT Safety Rating. (Id. at 5.) According to the
application, all of the issued and outstanding shares of Alltown are
held by the Seller, who does not own or control any interstate
passenger motor carrier other than Alltown. (Id.) Van Pool represents
that, through this transaction, it will acquire the issued and
outstanding shares of Alltown, the effect of which will be to place
Alltown under the control of Van Pool. (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) the 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 proposed 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. 7-12.)
Van Pool asserts that the proposed transaction will not have a
material, detrimental impact on the adequacy of transportation services
available to the public. (Id. at 7-8.) Van Pool states that Alltown
will continue to provide the same services it currently provides under
the same name, but will operate as a subsidiary of Van Pool, which is
experienced in passenger transportation operations. (Id.) Van Pool
explains that it is experienced in the same market segments served by
Alltown and that the transaction is expected to result in improved
operating efficiencies, increased equipment utilization rates, and cost
savings derived from economies of scale, all of which will help ensure
the provision of adequate service to the public. (Id. at 8.) Van Pool
also asserts that adding Alltown to its corporate family will enhance
the viability of Van Pool's organization and the Applicant
Subsidiaries. (Id.)
Van Pool claims that neither competition nor the public interest
will be adversely affected by the proposed transaction. (Id. at 9-12.)
Van Pool explains that the school bus transportation market is very
competitive in northern Illinois; school bus services are often
outsourced under contracts using competitive bidding processes, and
there are many school bus services providers in that market area. (Id.
at 11 (listing multiple competitors).) As to charter services, which
represent ``a very small portion of Alltown's revenue,'' Van Pool
states that Alltown's competitors include Aries Charter Transportation,
Chicago Classic Coach, Culvers Transportation, Chicago Motor Coach, and
several school bus transportation companies, as well as brokers for
charter services that operate within the Service Area. (Id. at 11.) \4\
Applicant further notes that all charter service providers, including
Alltown, compete with other modes of passenger transportation,
including rail and passenger transportation network companies. (Id. at
11.) Van Pool also notes that the Service Area of Alltown is
geographically ``dispersed'' from the service areas of the Affiliate
Regulated Carriers \5\ and states that there is virtually no overlap in
the service areas and customer bases among the Affiliate Regulated
Carriers and Alltown. (Id. at 12.)
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\4\ (See also id. at 5 (stating that Alltown's charter services
generate less than 7.8% of its aggregate annual revenue, with the
interstate portion of those services accounting for less than
0.8%).)
\5\ The service areas of the Affiliate Regulated Carriers are in
New England (regions of Massachusetts and New Hampshire) and the
Mid-Atlantic (New Jersey and eastern Pennsylvania). (Id. at 3-4.)
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Van Pool states that the proposed transaction will increase fixed
charges in the form of interest expenses because funds will be borrowed
to assist in financing the transaction; however, Van Pool maintains
that the increase will not impact the provision of transportation
services to the public. (Id. at 8.) Van Pool also asserts that it does
not expect the transaction to have substantial impacts on employees or
labor conditions, and it does not anticipate a measurable reduction in
force or changes in compensation levels or benefits at Alltown. (Id. at
9.) Van Pool submits, however, that staffing redundancies could result
in limited downsizing of back-office or managerial-level personnel.
(Id.)
The Board finds that the acquisition as proposed in the application
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, unless a final decision can
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 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 proposed 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 August 29, 2022, unless opposing
comments are filed by August 28, 2022. If any comments are filed,
Applicant may file a reply by September 12, 2022.
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 the General Counsel, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington,
DC 20590.
Decided: July 8, 2022.
By the Board, Board Members Fuchs, Hedlund, Oberman, Primus, and
Schultz.
Kenyatta Clay,
Clearance Clerk.
[FR Doc. 2022-15044 Filed 7-13-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4915-01-P