Capital District 

Coalition for Accessible Transportation

(518) 273-1110

(A Grassroots Disability Coalition located  in Albany, New York's  Capital Region)

Members of: 

The Council for Community Service of NYS, (CCSNYS)

The National Alliance of Public Transportation Advocates, (NAPTA)

Americans for Transportation Mobility, (ATM)

 

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An investigator holding a magnifying glass over an object.    CDTA LINE BUS Compliance Review!

Summer 2006

I promised to give you more on this so though this first paragraph seems familiar, keep reading, I go into much more detail.  

 

Yes, ANOTHER Compliance review, this time, the FTA Office of Civil Rights is doing a compliance review on CDTA's Fixed Route Transportation.  One of the main reasons is that CDTA is in Violation of the ADA because there is no working system to call out stops to customers with vision disabilities.

 

 

The Office of Civil Rights only does about  6 of these a year.  This is NOT a "routine" review.   Each one runs 40,000 - $60,000.  They don't seem too happy about having to do yet another one for the same Transit Authority.

 

 

 

ADA regulations are as follows:

 

"The DOT ADA regulations at 49 CFR sections 37.167(b) and (c) require that stop announcements must be made on fixed route systems as follows:

(b) On fixed route systems, the entity shall announce stops as follows:

  1. The entity shall announce at least at transfer points with other fixed routes, other major intersections and destination points, and intervals along a route sufficient to permit individuals with visual impairments or other disabilities to be oriented to their location.

  2. The entity shall announce any stop on request of an individual with a disability.

(c) Where vehicles or other conveyances for more than one route serve the same stop, the entity shall provide a means by which an individual with a visual impairment or other disability can identify the proper vehicle to enter or be identified to the vehicle operator as a person seeking a ride on a particular route."

 

 "The DOT ADA regulation at 49 CFR sections 37.161(a) - (c) require the following:

 

(a) Public and private entities providing transportation services shall maintain in operative condition those features of facilities and vehicles that are required to make the vehicles and facilities readily accessible to and usable by individuals with disabilities. These features include, but are not limited to, lifts and other means of access to vehicles, securement devices, elevators, signage and systems to facilitate communications with persons with impaired vision or hearing.

 

(b) Accessibility features shall be repaired promptly if they are damaged or out of order. When an accessibility feature is out of order, the entity shall take reasonable steps to accommodate individuals with disabilities who would otherwise use the feature.

 

(c)This section does not prohibit isolated or temporary interruptions in service or access due to maintenance or repairs."

The DOT ADA regulations do not require the use of audio equipment. The requirement is for stop announcements to be made in such a manner that they can be heard by every person riding the bus. If the stop announcements are not audible, regardless of whether or not audio equipment is used, the requirement is not being met.

 

 

 

 

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Last Updated:  01/02/2008