Passenger-Carrying HOS: What Changes vs Property-Carrying Drivers

Bus and passenger-hauling operations run on their own chapter of Part 395 — and several tools property drivers rely on simply don't exist on the passenger side.

The daily clocks (§395.5(a))

Note the different mechanics: the property 14-hour window is elapsed time; the passenger 15-hour limit is on-duty time — off-duty hours genuinely don't burn it.

The weekly clocks (§395.5(b))

Same numbers as property: 60 hours in 7 consecutive days, or 70 in 8. But there the symmetry ends — the 34-hour restart is a property-only provision. A passenger operation clears its weekly count one way only: days aging out of the rolling window. Plan heavy seasons (charters, sports schedules) around the arithmetic, not around a reset that isn't available.

Sleeper-berth pairings, passenger edition

Per FMCSA's regulatory summary: a passenger driver using a sleeper berth must take at least 8 hours in the berth, and may split that time into two periods provided neither is under 2 hours — pairings must total at least 8 hours. The property-carrying floors (7-hour berth stretch, 10-hour totals, the 2020 changes) do not transfer: there is no passenger 7/3.

What else carries over — and what doesn't

• 30-minute break rule: written in §395.3(a)(3)(ii) with short-haul exceptions; passenger drivers' limits in §395.5 contain no separate break clause — follow your carrier's policy and FMCSA guidance here.
• Short-haul exception: §395.1(e)(1) applies to passenger operations too — 150 air-miles, back within 14 consecutive hours, exempt from RODS and supporting documents.
• ELD and RODS: passenger CMVs run ELDs like everyone else; edits and certifications follow the same Part 395 Subpart B mechanics.

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Rule basis: 49 CFR 395.5, 395.1(b)(1), 395.1(e)(1), 395.3(c) via eCFR; FMCSA Summary of HOS Regulations.