If operated by a private company, yes. If operated by the state, it is not considered to be used for commercial purposes, although it is still subject to FMCSA and FHWA regulation, and the driver must possess a CDL of a class appropriate to the vehicle with Passenger and School Bus endorsements.
If operated by a private company, yes. If operated by the state, it is not considered to be used for commercial purposes, although it is still subject to FMCSA and FHWA regulation, and the driver must possess a CDL of a class appropriate to the vehicle with Passenger and School Bus endorsements.
There is no "school bus CDL". You either have a Class C or Class B CDL with a school bus endorsement. A Class C, you can drive any bus under 26,001 lbs. GVWR. If you get a hazmat endorsement, you can transport hazardous materials in any vehicle 26,000 lbs. GVWR or less. If you have a Class B, technically, you can drive any single vehicle with a Gross Vehicle Weight Rating of more than 26,000 lbs, but you're not going to get hired to drive a Class 8 with an unsynchronized manual transmission without any experience.
No. For one, if the Gross Vehicle Weight Rating of the bus is 26,001 lbs. or more, that right there requires at least a Class B CDL. Furthermore, any bus of any weight rating which is designed to transport more than 15 passengers (including the driver) requires a CDL of a class appropriate to the vehicle (at least Class C for a bus under 26,001 GVWR; at least Class B for a bus of 26,001 GVWR or more), and this applies whether the bus is laden or empty.
Your question doesn't make any sense. What is a "26,001 lbs. restriction", exactly? A Class B CDL covers commercial single vehicles with a GVW of 26,0001 lbs. and higher. You would need to get a school bus endorsement before driving a school bus, though.
Articulated bus
A bus is a large commercial motor vehicle designed for passenger transportation by road.
A Class A motor home is constructed on a commercial truck chassis or commercial bus chassis. The front of the motor home is flat and it has large windows. Bus conversions are generally Class A.
There's only three circumstances where you would:The vehicle is carrying a quantity of hazardous materials which requires placards under 49 CFR. This would require a Class C (minimum) CDL with hazmat endorsement.The vehicle is a bus designed to transport more than 15 persons (including the driver). This would require a Class C (minimum) CDL with Passenger endorsement (or the school bus endorsement if it's a school bus)In New York State, a commercial vehicle over 18,000 lbs. Gross Vehicle Weight Rating requires a Class C (minimum) CDL.There is no air brake endorsement - a CDL driver must complete the written air brakes test and conduct their road test in an air brake equipped vehicle, or they will receive a restriction which prohibits them from operating an air brake equipped commercial vehicle.
The gross vehicle weight for a 71 passenger school bus is 29,800lbs. The 71 passenger school bus can carry up to 48 students.
Class C CDL with School Bus endorsement.
Find a school bus matron training for a two week class