SUMMARY OF DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION (DOT) FINAL REGULATION ON OVER-THE-ROAD BUSES (OTRB'S), AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT (ADA), 37 CFR PART 49, PUBLISHED SEPTEMBER 24, 1998

Marilyn Golden, Disability RIghts Education and Defense Fund (DREDF)

OVERVIEW

In many respects, the new regulation is a victory for people with disabilities. It requires all vehicles which are newly purchased or leased by large intercity bus companies (like Greyhound) to be accessible. It contains strong language about the rights of people with disabilities to receive truly equal services, to ride in their own wheelchairs on the bus rather than being carried to a bus seat, and not to be restricted because a transit provider speculates there may be a safety risk. Further, a big problem area in the proposed regulation, the issue of rest stops, is much improved in the final version. And after the effective date for "interim accessible service," but before all buses are accessible, if an accessible bus is requested but not provided, the OTRB company must pay a fine to the individual with a disability ranging between $300 and $700.

However, there are several problems. DOT has given large fixed route carriers (including Greyhound) a potential time extension on the date by when they must have fully accessible fleets, and has loosened the requirements for small carriers of all kinds, in comparison to what was first proposed. Most worrisome is a new requirement that in 8 years, DOT will review the regulation and its implementation, and either retain or modify the requirements at that time. This continues DOT's extremely disturbing tendency to open up its ADA regulations to be potentially weakened.

It is important for disability advocates to remember two things:

1. This chapter of the struggle to make Greyhound and other private OTRB service providers accessible has a positive ending, but it's likely that this isn't the last chapter. The OTRB industry has shown extraordinary resistance to the ADA, and we are likely to confront them again, in Congress or the courts.
2. This regulation, while a good blueprint, is only a piece of paper unless implemented. Laws don't implement themselves! It will take all our efforts to advocate, monitor, protest, and initiate enforcement actions with Greyhound as well as with the many other private intercity bus providers, charter bus companies, tour bus companies, airport shuttles, and other OTRB users.

WHAT'S ALREADY REQUIRED PRIOR TO THIS REGULATION

This regulation only applies to over-the-road buses (OTRB's) used by private companies. OTRB's are high-floor buses with baggage compartments underneath. New OTRB's used by publicly funded transit agencies are already required by the ADA to be accessible, under DOT's original 1991 ADA regulation. And transit vehicles which are not OTRB's (that is, urban transit buses and other vehicles such as large vans and rail cars) are already required to be accessible (to various degrees) under DOT's original 1991 ADA regulation, whether privately or publicly funded.

SUMMARY OF THE NEW REGULATION

• From now until October 2000, for service provided by large companies (like Greyhound), or until October 2001, for service provided by small companies, OTRB companies must comply with the current requirements for over-the road-bus service. This means that, on 48-hour advance notice, they must provide boarding assistance to people with disabilities, and must transport passengers' wheelchairs.
• Beginning October 2000, for service provided by large companies (such as Greyhound), or 2001, for service provided by small companies, all new buses purchased or leased by fixed-route OTRB companies must be accessible. (Fixed route transit systems are those which run along prescribed routes according to fixed schedules.) Half the fleets of large OTRB operators must be accessible by October 2006; the entire fleets of these companies must be accessible by October 2012. However, if the company has not obtained enough buses in the 6 or 12 years to meet the 50% or 100% requirements, has not loaded up on inaccessible buses during the two-year phase in period between 1998 and 2000, and has otherwise complied effectively with this regulation's requirements, the Secretary of DOT can grant a time extension beyond the 6 and 12-year dates.
• Beginning October 2001/2002 (for large/small operators respectively), fixed-route OTRB companies must provide service in an accessible bus to a passenger who requests it with 48 hours' advance notice. (Before those dates, OTRB companies must provide boarding assistance onto inaccessible buses, if accessible buses are not available.) This interim service must continue until the OTRB companies' fleets are 100 percent accessible.
• There are two special situations affecting fixed-route service by small companies. A small company may provide equivalent service instead of acquiring accessible buses. This service must permit passengers to travel in their own wheelchairs and must provide people with disabilities service that is equivalent to that provided to non-disabled passengers, in terms of time, destination, cost, service availability, etc. This could be provided by an alternate vehicle (e.g. a van). Also, a small company that operates mostly charter/tour service but has a small amount of fixed-route service (up to 25%) can meet all its requirements through 48-hour advance reservations.
• Beginning October 2001/2002, charter and tour companies (and any other private demand/response transit service providers) must provide service in an accessible bus to a passenger who requests it with 48 hours' advance notice. (Before those dates, charter and tour companies must provide boarding assistance onto inaccessible buses, if accessible buses are not available.) Demand/response transit systems are those where a vehicle is dispatched or routed in response to a potential rider's request.
• At rest stops, OTRB bus companies must provide passengers time and assistance needed to leave and re-enter the bus to use the facilities, whether or not the bus is accessible. If the bus company owns, leases, controls, or contracts with a rest stop facility, it must make sure the facility meets the ADA's accessibility requirements.
• If a passenger requests advance notice service, and the company doesn't provide it in a timely manner, the company must pay compensation to the passenger. The amounts of compensation range from $300 - $700. The first time a given company fails to provide the required service, it pays the passenger $300. The second time the same company fails to provide any passenger the required service, it pays the passenger $400, and so forth, until $700 is the required compensation for the fifth time the company fails to serve a passenger as required. This requirement applies to both demand/response and fixed-route service. Paying compensation is not a defense in litigation brought to enforce compliance with the regulation.
• If there are more wheelchair users who wish to ride a bus than there are securement areas on the bus, the OTRB company must offer the additional passengers boarding assistance and the opportunity to transfer to a vehicle seat.
• Companies must train employees and maintain lifts and other accessibility equipment so that they provide reliable service. Training must include proper operation and maintenance of accessibility features and equipment, boarding assistance, securement of mobility aids, sensitive and appropriate interaction with passengers with disabilities, handling and storage of mobility devices, and familiarity with these requirements. Refresher training is also required to maintain proficiency.
• It is discrimination for any OTRB company:

  • to deny transportation to a person with a disability due to the disability;
  • to use or request the use of persons other than the company's employees for routine boarding or other assistance to passengers with disabilities, unless the passenger requests or consents to assistance from such persons;
  • to require or request a passenger with a disability to reschedule his or her trip, or travel at a time other than the time the passenger has requested, in order to receive transportation; or
  • to fail to provide equivalent reservation service to passengers with disabilities.

• Companies must communicate effectively with each other to provide accessible service through all segments of an interline trip (which is when a passenger transfers to another company's bus to complete a trip).
• DOT is proposing to require OTRB companies to collect information on the provision of interim service (which means being carried, before enough lift buses are obtained) and the provision of equivalent service (which is when small fixed route companies use an alternate vehicle). DOT has a 90-day comment period on the proposed requirements for information collection (all the other requirements are final and not open for comment).
• DOT will conduct a regulatory review of all these requirements and their implementation, including data concerning accessible buses, advance notice service, costs, and ridership, in 2005 - 2007. This review will allow DOT to make changes in the regulation, based on actual experience concerning costs, service, etc.

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