§ 15-C — Accessible public transportation

§ 15-c. Accessible public transportation. 1. Definitions. When used in\nthis section:\n a. "Transportation provider" shall mean the Niagara frontier\ntransportation authority, the Rochester-Genesee transportation\nauthority, the capital district transportation authority, the central\nNew York regional transportation authority, the Utica transit authority,\nthe metropolitan suburban bus authority, Suffolk county, Westchester\ncounty and Broome county.\n b. "Committee" shall mean the committee for accessible transportation\nestablished pursuant to subdivision two of this section.\n c. "Transit-disabled person" shall mean any individual who, by reason\nof illness, age, injury, or congenital malfunction or other permanent or\ntemporary incapacity or disability, is unable, without special\nfacilities, special planning or design, to utilize mass transportation\nfacilities as effectively as members of the general public.\n d. "Para-transit" shall mean a transportation service specifically\ndesigned to serve the needs of transit disabled persons using special\nvehicles operating on demand.\n e. "Accessible fixed-route service" shall mean a regularly scheduled\nfixed-route bus service operated by a transportation provider with\nlift-equipped transit buses.\n 2. Establishment of committee. a. To assist in the development of an\naccessible transportation system, a committee for accessible\ntransportation shall be established for each transportation provider.\nEach committee shall consist of seven persons, including the\ncommissioner of transportation and the state advocate for the disabled,\nor their designee, and five persons appointed by the governor including\none member from the transportation provider and three transit-disabled\npersons. If the member appointed from the transportation provider ceases\nto be a member of the provider, such member shall at the same time cease\nto be a member of the committee. The commissioner of transportation, or\nthe commissioner's designee, shall serve as chairperson.\n b. Members of the committee, other than the commissioner of\ntransportation and the state advocate for the disabled, shall serve at\nthe pleasure of the governor. If at any time there is a vacancy in the\nmembership of the committee by reason of death, resignation,\ndisqualification, or otherwise, such vacancy shall be filled in the same\nmanner as the original appointment.\n c. A majority of the whole number of members of the committee shall\nconstitute a quorum for the transaction of the committee's business. The\ncommittee shall have the power to act by a majority vote of the members.\n d. Meetings of the committee shall take place no less than once every\ntwo months for a period of fifteen months following the effective date\nof this section unless waived, in writing, by a majority vote of the\nmembers of the committee. Within such fifteen month period, the\ncommittee shall, in addition to its regular meetings, hold no less than\ntwo public meetings at which the committee shall receive testimony\nconcerning service needs. Thereafter, regular meetings of the committee\nshall take place no less than every three months unless waived, in\nwriting, by a majority vote of the members of the committee.\n 3. Committee responsibilities. a. Each committee shall, by July first,\nnineteen hundred ninety-one, develop an accessible transportation\nservices plan to provide for accessible transportation services at a\nlevel sufficient to meet demand in an economic and efficient manner,\nwhich coordinates, to the maximum extent possible, accessible\nfixed-route services, para-transit, accessible rapid transit, and other\ntransportation services available to transit-disabled persons, as\nappropriate.\n b. The accessible transportation services plan shall include service\ncriteria for the provision of para-transit services.\n c. The plan shall also include:\n (i) service areas and routes which shall reflect residential\ndistributions of transit-disabled persons and existing transportation\nservices operating in the transportation provider's service area that\nare accessible to transit-disabled persons;\n (ii) eligibility for use of para-transit;\n (iii) hours and days of operation;\n (iv) available financing, including farebox revenue;\n (v) passenger and mileage data;\n (vi) vehicle hours of operation;\n (vii) a financial analysis and comparison of projected capital and\noperating costs, a revenue plan to cover any additional costs within\nresources otherwise available to the transportation provider and a\ndetermination of the effectiveness of any proposed accessible\nfixed-route service and alternative para-transit; and\n (viii) any other information deemed appropriate. The committee shall\nconsult on such plan with the metropolitan planning organization, and\nfollowing such consultation, shall recommend the plan to the\ntransportation provider for implementation.\n 4. Required level of fixed-route accessibility. a. Each transportation\nprovider shall provide access to one hundred percent of its\nregularly-operated buses that provide local, fixed-route service. To\nimplement this requirement on and after the effective date of this\nsection, all buses purchased, leased or otherwise brought into service\non the bus lines of each transportation provider shall be lift-equipped\nexcept any bus which a provider has under contract of purchase on July\nfirst, nineteen hundred ninety for delivery after that date. Such\nlift-equipped buses shall be properly operated and maintained to\nfacilitate their use by transit-disabled persons.\n b. The provisions of paragraph a of this subdivision shall not apply\nto buses that are purchased, leased or otherwise brought into service\nthat have a useful life of six years or less.\n 5. Required level of para-transit service. a. Within thirty days after\nthe submission of the accessible transportation services plan, the\ntransportation provider shall, with respect to that portion of the plan\nsetting forth service criteria for para-transit service, approve such\ncriteria, request amendments to the criteria or reject such criteria. If\nthe transportation provider approves the criteria, it shall proceed to\nimplement such criteria. If the transportation provider requests\namendments to the criteria, the committee shall consider such request\nand, no later than thirty days following such request, submit either\namended criteria or the initial criteria. Within fifteen days of such\nsubmission, the transportation provider shall either approve or reject\nthe criteria, as resubmitted. If the transportation provider rejects the\ncriteria, it shall be subject to the provisions of paragraph b of this\nsubdivision. This schedule may be modified by mutual consent of the\ncommittee and the transportation provider.\n b. If a transportation provider rejects the service criteria submitted\nby the committee, the transportation provider shall, subject to the\nprovisions of paragraphs c and d of this subdivision, provide the\nfollowing minimum level of para-transit service:\n (i) For transportation providers operating up to fifty buses,\npara-transit services shall operate with a para-transit fleet of no less\nthan ten percent of the provider's fixed route fleet, but in no event\nless than one vehicle;\n (ii) For transportation providers operating fifty-one to one hundred\nbuses, para-transit services shall operate with a para-transit fleet of\nno less than eight percent of the provider's fixed route fleet, but in\nno event less than five vehicles;\n (iii) For transportation providers operating one hundred one to one\nhundred fifty buses, para-transit services shall operate with a\npara-transit fleet of no less than six percent of the provider's fixed\nroute fleet, but in no event less than eight vehicles; and\n (iv) For transportation providers operating in excess of one hundred\nfifty buses, para-transit services shall operate with a para-transit\nfleet of no less than five percent of the provider's fixed route fleet,\nbut in no event less than nine vehicles.\n c. Each provider shall begin implementing the requirements of\nparagraph a of this subdivision upon the committee's submission of an\naccessible transportation service plan and shall fully implement such\nrequirements no later than three years thereafter; provided, however,\nthat each provider must fully implement such requirements by December\nfirst, nineteen hundred ninety-four.\n d. In no event shall the amount of a provider's expenditures on\npara-transit services be less than the amount allocated for para-transit\nservices in a provider's budget for the year nineteen hundred ninety,\nunless agreed to by the committee.\n 6. Committee reports. On or before February first, nineteen hundred\nninety-three, each committee shall submit a report to the governor, the\npresident pro tem of the senate, and the speaker of the assembly, which\ndetails the progress of the committee in addressing the transportation\nneeds of persons with disabilities and which presents the accessible\ntransportation services plan developed by the committee and recommended\nto the metropolitan planning organization and the transportation\nprovider.\n 7. Technical assistance. The committee shall receive technical\nassistance from the metropolitan planning organization, the department\nof transportation, the transportation provider, the office of the\nadvocate for the disabled, and any other state agency that it determines\nappropriate.\n 8. The committee may, by vote of two-thirds of its members cease to\nexist at any time after December thirty-first, nineteen hundred\nninety-five.\n 9. The commissioner of transportation is authorized to promulgate\nregulations to carry out the provisions of this section.\n