(a) A person shall not operate a transit bus transporting passengers unless that person has received from the department a certificate to operate a transit bus or is certified to drive a schoolbus or school pupil activity bus pursuant to Section 12517.
(b) All transit busdrivers shall comply with standards established in Section 40083 of the Education Code. The Department of Motor Vehicles shall establish an implementation program for transit busdrivers to meet these requirements. A transit busdriver who was employed as a busdriver on or before July 1, 1990, shall comply with Section 40085.5 of the Education Code instead of Section 40083 of that code in order to receive his or her original certificate.
(c) Implementation procedures for the issuance of transit busdrivers’ certificates may be established by the Department of Motor Vehicles as necessary to implement an orderly transit busdriver training program.
(d) The department shall issue a transit busdriver certificate to a person who provides either of the following:
(1) Proof that he or she has complied with Section 40083 of the Education Code.
(2) Proof that he or she has complied with Section 40085.5 of the Education Code.
(e) The department may charge a fee of ten dollars ($10) to an applicant for an original or a duplicate or renewal certificate under this section.
(f) The department shall issue a certificate to the applicant. The status of the certificate shall also become part of the pull notice and periodic reports issued pursuant to Section 1808.1. The certificate or the pull notice or periodic reports shall become part of, the person’s employee records for the purpose of inspection pursuant to Sections 1808.1 and 34501. It shall be unlawful for the employer to permit a person to drive a transit bus who does not have a valid certificate.
(g) The term of a certificate shall be a period not to exceed five years, and shall expire with the driver’s license.
(Amended by Stats. 2006, Ch. 574, Sec. 9. Effective January 1, 2007.)