§ 73-C — Definitions

§ 73-c. Definitions. Whenever used in this article, the following\nterms shall have the respective meanings:\n 1. "Department" shall mean the state department of transportation.\n 2. "Commissioner" shall mean the commissioner of transportation.\n 3. "Committee" shall refer to the New York state interagency\ncoordinating committee on rural public transportation as hereinafter set\nforth.\n 4. "Transportation disadvantaged person" shall mean any person, who by\nreason of physical, economic or other circumstances does not have access\nto private personal transportation or is unable to use private personal\ntransportation, either permanently or temporarily such as frail,\nelderly, physically or mentally handicapped, low-income, youth,\nunemployed or underemployed, and other individuals who may need public\ntransportation services for gaining access to human or public services,\nhealth care, educational, recreational, shopping or employment\nopportunities. Identification of persons in this group shall not\npreclude such persons from being considered "general public" in any\npublic transportation service criteria established pursuant to this\narticle.\n 5. "Public transportation service" shall mean a passenger\ntransportation service which, during its hours of operation, is\navailable on an equal opportunity basis to any person, without\npreference for service availability, eligiblity or design being given to\nany person or population sub-group because of age, gender, race,\nnational origin, creed or agency client status, and which is regularly\nadvertised and marketed as available to the general public. Nothing in\nthis article shall be deemed to mean that the transportation services\noperated or provided by human or social service agencies solely for\ntheir clients or programs constitute, in and of themselves, public\ntransportation services.\n 6-a. "Transportation provider" shall mean any public, private or\nnot-for-profit entity utilizing public funds to provide or contract for\npublic transportation services for the benefit of the general public or\nspecific client groups.\n 6-b. "Operator of passenger transportation service" shall mean the\nmunicipal government or public transportation authority which assumes\nfull responsibility for the operation of the service or a common or\ncontract carrier under contract to said government or authority for the\npurpose of assuming said responsibility.\n 7. a. "Coordinated transportation service" in a rural county shall\nmean a passenger transportation service formed by the pooling or\nsharing, by contract, of funds, facilities, vehicles, equipment and\nother resources used for passenger transportation for the purpose of\nimproving the mobility of rural residents through increased service\nlevels, so that the coordinated service is under the direction and\ncontrol of a single operator of passenger transportation having the\nauthority for establishing the service's operating hours, routes,\nschedules, dispatching and other operating features and when the\nresulting transportation service serves more passengers for the same or\nreduced amount of government expenditure than the previoulsy\nuncoordinated services. A coordinated transportation service may include\nan existing public transportation service operating within the rural\ncounty. Nothing contained herein shall require a transportation provider\nto contribute funds or services; current providers may participate in\nwhole or in part in the coordinated service.\n b. "Coordinated public transportation service" shall mean a\ncoordinated transportation service which is predominately a public\ntransportation service as defined in this article. Such coordinated\npublic transportation service shall offer service to the general public\nto at least the same extent and degree, in terms of service levels,\noperating hours and geographic coverage, as service is offered for\nclients of human service agency programs, and seeks to increase service\nto transportation disadvantaged persons who do not receive\ntransportation from a human or social services agency program.\n 8. "Rural counties" shall mean those New York state counties having\npopulations of two hundred thousand or less.\n 9. "Services coordinator" shall mean the person, authority, agency or\ncorporation designated by resolution of a rural county's governing body\nto undertake or oversee preparation and implementation of the rural\ncounty's public transportation service plan in accordance with this\narticle. Such person, authority, agency or corporation shall be chosen\nfrom among those who can fairly and equitably address the needs of all\ntransportation disadvantaged persons and the general public, without\npreference to any one population sub-group or component of the\ntransportation disadvantaged population.\n