Governing Law
The Surface Transportation and Uniform Relocation Assistance Act (STURAA - see below) of 1987, Section 317: Bus Testing, establishes a requirement for new model buses to be tested prior to purchase with federal funds. It also established the Bus Testing Center and defined the tests to be performed on the new model buses under Bus Testing Regulation (49 CFR Part 665).
STURAA - The Bus Testing Law
The Surface Transportation and Uniform Relocation Assistance Act of 1987, Section 317: Bus Testing, amends Section 12 (General Provisions) of the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) Act of 1964 as follows: After September 30, 1989, no new bus model may be acquired under the Act unless a bus of such model has been tested at a bus testing facility. The Act specifies that the bus testing facility shall be established by renovation of an existing facility (in Altoona, Pennsylvania). The Act defines the term new bus model to mean a bus model not previously used (prior to October 1988) in mass transportation service in the United States or one produced with a major change in configuration or components. The bus testing facility shall be capable of testing a bus for maintainability, reliability, safety, performance, structural integrity, fuel economy, and noise. The bus testing facility shall be operated under a contract with FTA by a qualified organization that shall collect fees for testing.
A complete history of bus testing legislation is provided on the Federal Transit Administration website.