Claims may be filed with the transportation planning agency by operators under this article for the following purposes:

“Peak hours” means the period of time during a day which have a clearly greater-than-average level of patronage, typically the two periods of time which reflect the influx of home-work and work-home patronage on a transportation system.

bulk purchases of passenger tickets for passenger rail services, if it is authorized to make such purchases by its enabling legislation.

outside the city and county or district.

Public agencies authorized to file claims pursuant to Section 99234.9 may file claims under this article.

In order to provide, or to contract to provide, transportation services using vehicles for the exclusive use of elderly or disabled persons, a city or a county, which is contributing funds it is eligible to receive under this article to a joint powers agency of which it is a member to operate a public transportation system, may also file a claim under this article and may also file a claim for funds made available

pursuant to Section 99313.

The transportation planning agency may adopt rules and regulations supplemental to, and consistent with, those of the department to further delineate procedures for the submission of claims and stating criteria by which they will be analyzed and evaluated.

The criteria may include a statement of intent to disallow any portion of an operator’s claim which calls for moneys to finance unreasonable or arbitrary increases in executive level salaries based on consideration of executive level salaries in other public agencies and in the public transportation industry, both nationally and within the state.

To the extent necessary to perform its duties under this article, the transportation planning agency has full access to the books, records, and accounts of claimant operators.

The San Diego Metropolitan Transit Development Board shall adopt rules and regulations for its area of jurisdiction.

The transportation planning agency may include in its rules and regulations any rule and regulation of the transit development board.

Claims for public transportation systems may include claims for money for all purposes necessary and convenient to the development and operation of the system, including planning and contributions to the transportation planning process, acquisition of real property, construction of facilities and buildings, purchase and replacement of vehicles (including those usable by disabled persons), and system operation, maintenance,

and repair, payment for any of which purposes may take the form of direct expenditures or payment of principal and interest on equipment trust certificates, bonded or other indebtedness, or any amounts in accomplishment of a defeasance of any outstanding revenue bond indenture.

An approved claim may include an amount to pay the principal and interest on bonds of the applicant for a public transportation system.

This section shall not be construed as an authorization to any applicant to pledge revenues received from the county’s local transportation fund, unless approved by the voters of the county under Article 7 (commencing with Section 99320) of this chapter.

An operator shall not be eligible for allocation under this article if it routinely staffs with two or more persons a vehicle for public transportation purposes designed to be operated by one person.

No moneys may be allocated to an operator whose claim includes funds for an increase in operating budget in excess of 15 percent above the preceding year or substantial increase or decrease in scope of operations or capital budget provisions for major new fixed facilities, unless the operator’s claim is accompanied by statements, reports, and such other supporting data as may be reasonably required to substantiate such change.

If an operator ceases operations, any capital acquisitions made by that operator from funds allocated to it pursuant to this article may be transferred to any claimant to provide transportation services under this chapter.

The expenditure of the funds received under this article by an operator may in no year exceed 50 percent of the amount required to meet operating, maintenance, and capital and debt service requirements of the system after deduction therefrom of approved federal grants estimated to be received and funds estimated to be allocated pursuant to Section 99314.5.

Notwithstanding the 50-percent limitation, the amount budgeted for capital requirements in any year or other period up to five years, less the amount of federal and other state funds granted or approved therefor, may be allocated and expended for capital improvements to a

grade-separated mass transit system, if construction of such facilities has been found to be not inconsistent with the regional transportation plan of the transportation planning agency. Within such five-year period, the transportation planning agency may order the amount of the allocation in any year to be set aside and accumulated for accomplishment of the particular project.

Commencing with claims for the 1980–81 fiscal year, an operator that was in compliance with Section 99268 during the 1978–79 fiscal year in order to be eligible for funds under this article shall be eligible for such funds in any fiscal year, if it remains in compliance with that section during the fiscal year. The determination of compliance for any fiscal year shall be made in the same manner as the determination was made for the 1978–79 fiscal year, except for the exemption provided under Section 99267.5. An allowance for depreciation shall be made in the same manner as provided in the 1978–79 fiscal year.

For purposes of this section, an operator granted a waiver from the requirements of Section 99268 pursuant to Section 99268.8, as it read on January 1, 1979, shall not be deemed in compliance with that section.

Sections 99268.3, 99268.4, and 99268.9 may be waived by the transportation planning agency with respect to an operator during any fiscal year in which both of the following occurred, if the waiver is necessary to enable the operator to provide vital public transportation services:

Notwithstanding Sections 99268.2 and 99268.3, the transportation planning agency or the county transportation commission may set the required ratio of fare revenue to operating cost at not less than three-twentieths for an operator in a county with a population of 500,000 or less and serving an urbanized area where funds may be allocated under Article 8 (commencing with Section 99400). Prior to setting the required ratio, the transportation planning agency or the county transportation commission shall make findings specifying the reasons for its action.

Notwithstanding subdivision (a) of Section 99247, the costs of providing ridesharing services are excluded from operating costs.

pursuant to Section 37.139 of Title 49 of the Code of Federal

Regulations.

benefits as required by Governmental Accounting Board Statement Numbers 68 and 75.

Controller pursuant to Section 99243.

The exclusions contained in Sections 99268.10, 99268.16, and 99268.17 shall not be applicable for purposes of determining an operator’s compliance with Section 99268.

If fare revenues are insufficient to meet the applicable ratio of fare revenues to operating cost required by this article, an operator may satisfy that requirement by supplementing its fare revenues with local funds and calculating all free and reduced transit fares at their current full retail value. As used in this section, “local funds” means any nonstate grant funds or other revenues generated by, earned by, or distributed to an operator.