Removing the Automatic restrictions class A CDL?

Yes, an articulated bus. There are none in my state so all P endorsements here are restricted. I’ve never seen an articulated Greyhound, but I guess they could have some. Some large cities have them, but not here.

 

Or this thing

 

Yep, matter of fact I was wondering if there was a civilian version similar to the “cattle cars” the army hauled us around in back in the 60’s. Question answered, thanks.

 

Not exactly. An articulated bus is not a class A bus, it is still a class B vehicle because the vehicle is not designed to split and the driver is not isolated from the passengers. A class A bus is a true tractor and trailer with a conventional 5th wheel, driver in a isolated compartment within the tractor and a means of communication between the passenger compartment and the driver compartment. There are virtually no class A buses in use in North America anymore, the license is a hold over from a bygone era.

If you look at the attached image of Figure 1 from Part 383.91 it clearly shows the image of a class A bus as a tractor trailer and an articulated bus as a class B.

 

That is state specific. Here in PA I can administer a new road test in a class B with a manual to remove the E (auto only) restriction and they retain their full class A. For the out of state applicants we can administer the road test to the same holds true, however the rules may be different testing within their home state. The reciprocity agreement that allows testing out of state makes allowances for minor variations in procedure as long as the base test is the same.

 

You are correct, thank you.

 

If the trailer GVWR exceeds 10,000 pounds a tour bus towing a trailer hauling staging/sound equipment, as many musical acts use nowadays, would be considered a Class A combination vehicle and require a Class A license with passenger endorsement to operate when passengers are aboard. I assume the skills test would need to be taken in a tour bus towing a trailer with a >10,000 pounds GVWR.

In other words, a Class B bus towing a trailer with a GVWR over 10K pounds is a Class A combination vehicle, just as a Class B straight truck towing a trailer with GVWR >10,000# is a Class A combination vehicle.

As has already been pointed out in a comment above, using a passenger vehicle with an automatic transmission to gain a passenger endorsement would not cause a driver already holding a Class A CDL with no transmission restriction to lose the ability to also drive a non-passenger rated combination vehicle with a manual transmission.

However, if the driver wanted to drive a passenger vehicle with a manual transmission it is my understanding that the test would need to be taken in a passenger vehicle with a manual transmission. Otherwise there would be a transmission restriction placed on the passenger endorsement ONLY, but not on the overall Class A combination vehicle license.

 

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They still hauled us around in them in the 90s...