Federal Transit Administration One of 10 agencies within U.S. DOT - PDF document

9/12/2017 Common ADA Issues 24th Annual Mid-Atlantic ADA Update Tysons, VA – September 14, 2017 John Day Richie Nguyen Office of Civil Rights Topics Covered Federal Transit Administration FTA Office of Civil Rights Common ADA Issues Mobility On Demand Q&A 2 Federal Transit Administration • One of 10 agencies within U.S. DOT • Provides financial and technical assistance to local public transit systems • Oversees safety measures • Helps develop next-generation technology research • >$12 billion annually to support and expand transit services 3 1

9/12/2017 FTA’s Office of Civil Rights ADA DBE EEO TitleVI Civil Rights Programs Grants & Oversight Major (TRs, SMRs, Projects Specialized) Technical Complaint Assistance & Investigations Training 4 Office of Civil Rights – Who We Are Our Office  30 employees  Associate Administrator  Deputy AA  2 Directors  3 Team Leads  15 HQ staff  11 RCROs 5 Common ADA Issues • General – ADA Circular – Complaint Process – Service Animals • Paratransit – No-Show Policies – Service to Visitors • Demand-Responsive – Equivalent Service 6 2

9/12/2017 ADA Circular • Effective November 4, 2015 • Provides one-stop shopping www.transit.dot.gov/ada 7 Complaint Process • Becoming a top oversight and FTA complaint finding • Longstanding requirement to have a process for “promptly resolving” complaints • New requirements in § 27.13 / 37.17 – Advertise how to file – Ensure accessible format – Respond to complainant 8 Service Animals DOT’s definition applies to • transportation (not DOJ’s) FTA doesn’t recognize • ESAs/therapy animals (but local transit systems can) Service animals can be • required to be under owner’s control 9 3

9/12/2017 Paratransit No-Show Policies • Still #1 finding in oversight reviews • Pattern or practice • Reasonable period of time • Model no-show policy in Circular – P. 9A-11 – 9A-13 10 Paratransit Service to Visitors • Must treat visitors as eligible • Issues: – Eligibility process • Contacting “home” transit agency – Finding service information 11 Demand-Responsive Service Equivalent Service • Inaccessible vehicles may be acquired as long as service to PWDs is equivalent – Response time – Fares – Geographic area of service – Hours and days of service – Restrictions or priorities based on trip purpose – Availability of information and reservations capability – Any constraints on capacity or service availability 12 4

9/12/2017 Mobility On Demand • Transportation Network Companies (TNCs) seeking to partner with transit • Transit agencies seeking to partner with TNCs to provide mobility on demand 13 Mobility On Demand • ADA concerns: – Equivalent service – Segregated service – Second-class paratransit service for wheelchair users • Title VI concerns: – Smartphone necessity – Unbanked individuals 14 Mobility On Demand Basic Principles • ADA applies regardless of Federal funding • DOT ADA regulations apply to public and private entities • Service must be provided in the most integrated setting 15 5

9/12/2017 Mobility On Demand Basic Principles • “Stand in the Shoes” – Private entities entering into a contract or other arrangement or relationship with public entities are subject to public entity provisions 16 Mobility On Demand Service Under Contract (or Other Arrangement or Relationship) • Private entities that acquire vehicles for use, or in contemplation of use under contract or other arrangement or relationship with a public entity, must acquire accessible vehicles under same circumstances (49 CFR 37.23(b)) • Public entities must ensure that the overall percentage of accessible vehicles is not diminished (49 CFR 37.23(c)) 17 Mobility On Demand Fixed Route Service • Vehicles must be accessible to and usable by individuals with disabilities, including wheelchair users (49 CFR 37.71) • Interaction between passenger and service does not make otherwise fixed route service demand responsive – Flag stops 18 6

9/12/2017 Mobility On Demand Demand Responsive Service • Inaccessible vehicles may be acquired if the system, when viewed in its entirety, provides a level of service to individuals with disabilities, including wheelchair users, that is equivalent to service provided to individuals without disabilities • Equivalent service standards (49 CFR 37.77(c)): – Response time – Fares – Geographic area of service – Hours and days of service – Restrictions or priorities based on trip purpose – Availability of information and reservations capability 19 – Any constraints on capacity or service availability Mobility On Demand ADA Paratransit • FTA permits use of sedans as long as accessible vehicles are dispatched for those who need them • All paratransit service criteria apply – Origin-to-destination service – Service area (3/4-mile) – Response time (next-day) – Fares (2x fixed route fare) – No restrictions on trip purpose – Hours and days of service (same as fixed route) – No capacity constraints 20 Mobility On Demand Suggestions to provide accessible vehicles: • Require the TNC to provide accessible vehicles as a condition of entering into an agreement with the transit agency • Enter into a separate agreement with another entity has accessible vehicles • Rely on accessible vehicles already part of the paratransit fleet. 21 7

9/12/2017 Mobility On Demand Shared Mobility FAQs Dear Colleague Letter www.transit.dot.gov/shared-mobility 22 Mobility On Demand MOD Sandbox • October 2016 • $8,000,000 • 11 Projects 23 Mobility On Demand 24 8

9/12/2017 Questions? Recap: • ADA Circular • Complaint Process • Service Animals • Paratransit – No-Show Policies – Service to Visitors • Demand-Responsive – Equivalent Service • Mobility on Demand 25 Questions? Federal Transit Administration Contact Us www.transit.dot.gov 9