Answer:

It depends on the source and use of funding. In general, ride-splitting, which allows customers requesting a ride to be paired with others traveling along a similar route, is eligible as public transportation if it meets the definition of shared-ride services. The FTA may reimburse a transit agency for the costs of contracting with a ride-splitting company that provides shared ride service to the general public; however, the law generally does not permit private firms to be eligible to receive FTA funds as a direct recipient or subrecipient. For example, a transit agency could contract with a shared mobility operator to provide a shared-ride service as a first/last mile solution as long as that contract requires both the drivers and passengers to accept any additional riders identified along the trip.

Answer:

It depends on the source and use of funding. Vanpools are a form of public transportation, and may receive capital or operating funds under FTA’s grant programs through an eligible recipient or subrecipient.

Answer:

No. Only additional service provided on a temporary basis in response to the storm is eligible. For example, additional temporary service on existing routes that are more heavily travelled during evacuation, a bus bridge between rail stations when a section of track is out of service for repairs, or temporary new service to and from an evacuation shelter would be eligible. Running less frequent service on an existing route for any reason is not an eligible expense. For example, operator wages on a regular bus route or rail line that is operating on increased headways due to reduced demand in the aftermath of a disaster is not eligible. Disaster-related costs associated with ramping service up or down, such as putting rolling stock into storage or returning rolling stock to service, are eligible.

Answer:

The Office of Management and Budget requires that all Hurricane Harvey, Irma, and Maria FTA ER funds be expended within 24 months of grant obligation. FTA has submitted a waiver for this requirement. If the waiver is granted, FTA will conduct an administrative amendment to remove the requirement on any grants already awarded with the 24-month expenditure requirement as a grant condition.

Answer:

No, although it is recommended that affected transit agencies submit their applications as soon as reasonably possible. Contact your FTA regional office for help getting started.

Answer:

Although Section 904(c) of the Disaster Relief Act requires that funds received under the Disaster Relief Act be expended within two years of obligation, OMB issued a waiver of this requirement for grants awarded under FTA’s Emergency Relief Program. In issuing this waiver, OMB stated an expectation that Federal agencies and grantees will work together to ensure that funds obligated under the Disaster Relief Act are expended in a timely manner.
Based on the complexity of projects we expect to be submitted, FTA expects to award funds for major capital projects that will take multiple years to complete. While there is not a defined timeframe in which these funds must be expended, all projects must be undertaken and completed in accordance with the project grant agreement and all identified milestones.

Answer:

No, paratransit providers are required to provide all eligible requested trips, not just trips to and from a single location. A person may take as many individual legs of a trip in a day as their schedule allows (factoring in pickup windows and time to complete their business), just as a fixed route user may take as many trips as he or she desires. For example, just as a person may take a fixed route from their home to work, then from work to an appointment, and then home again, so should a paratransit rider be able to. Each leg may be separately scheduled (that is, paratransit providers are not required to wait while a passenger runs into the post office, just as a fixed route user would be required to wait for the next bus).

Answer:

FTA has received numerous inquiries regarding the 24 month timeframe. FTA is pursuing a blanket waiver from this requirement for Hurricane Sandy Emergency Relief projects. Further guidance will be provided once it is available.

Answer:

Yes, under Department of Transportation (DOT) Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) regulations at 49 C.F.R. Section 27.123(b), an individual must file a written complaint with the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) no later than 180 days from the date of the alleged discrimination, unless the time for filing is extended by the FTA.

Answer:

There is a time limit on how long a lift may remain unrepaired on a transit vehicle only if the vehicle is not taken out of service. Under Department of Transportation (DOT) Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) regulations at 49 C.F.R. Section 37.163(d), when a lift is discovered to be inoperative, the entity must take the vehicle out of service before the beginning of the vehicle’s next service day and ensure that the lift is repaired before the vehicle returns to service. However, if there is no spare vehicle available to take the place of a vehicle with an inoperable lift, such that taking the vehicle out of service will reduce the transportation service the entity is able to provide, Section 37.163(e) permits the entity to keep a vehicle with an inoperable lift in service for no more than five days (if the entity serves an area of 50,000 or less population) or three days (if the entity serves an area of over 50,000 population) from the day on which the lift is discovered to be inoperative.

Answer:

Although Section 904(c) of the Disaster Relief Act requires that funds received under the Disaster Relief Act be expended within two years of obligation, OMB issued a waiver of this requirement for grants awarded under FTA’s Emergency Relief Program. In issuing this waiver, OMB stated an expectation that Federal agencies and grantees will work together to ensure that funds obligated under the Disaster Relief Act are expended in a timely manner. Based on the complexity of projects selected, FTA expects to award funds for major capital projects that will take multiple years to complete. While there is not a defined timeframe in which these funds must be obligated and expended, all projects must be undertaken and completed in accordance with the project application and grant agreement and all identified milestones.

Answer:

Yes, but Grantees should consult regions on any special requirements for Sandy-grant budget revisions or amendments. Also, any grant modification that increases the federal funds (e.g. grant amendment) will need to comply with all Federal requirements unless the funds being added were part of the initial allocation for expenses within categories 1, 2, or 3.

Answer:

No. Grantees will continue to use ECHO for reimbursement for awards made under TEAM and TrAMS.

Answer:

In general, the acquisition of spare parts is an eligible capital expense under FTA’s Emergency Relief program. Pursuant to the May 29, 2013 Federal Register Notice, FTA will review proposed local priority resiliency projects based on information included in the program of projects, including the resiliency justification. The acquisition of additional spare parts may be justified in cases where an extreme weather event or other emergency would accelerate the consumption of particular parts (e.g. replacement parts for modular flood barriers or pump equipment), where spare parts likely to be affected by an emergency require extended lead times, or where a higher standing inventory of a particular item has been otherwise identified as necessary as a result of Hurricane Sandy. Provisions of the DOT Common Grant Rule 49 CFR Part 18 Section 18.32 apply to the acquisition of spare parts.

Answer:

Under Department of Transportation (DOT) Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) regulations at 49 C.F.R. Section 37.167(d), transit providers are required to permit service animals to accompany individuals with disabilities in vehicles and facilities. Service animals are animals that are individually trained to perform tasks for people with disabilities, such as guiding people who are blind, alerting people who are deaf, pulling wheelchairs, alerting and protecting a person who is having a seizure, or performing other special tasks. A transit provider may ask if an animal is a service animal or ask what tasks the animal has been trained to perform, but cannot require special ID cards for the animal or ask about the person's disability. A service animal may not be excluded unless the animal is out of control and the animal's owner does not take effective action to control it or the animal poses a direct threat to the health or safety of others.

Answer:

No, passengers must not be asked to disclose their disability before using a fixed route vehicle’s lift or ramp to board the vehicle. Under Department of Transportation (DOT) Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) regulations at 49 C.F.R. Section 37.165(g), a transit provider must permit individuals with disabilities who do not use wheelchairs, including standees, to use a vehicle’s lift or ramp to enter the vehicle. People using canes or walkers and other standees with disabilities who do not use wheelchairs but have difficulty using steps must also be permitted to use the lift on request. If a rider asks to use a lift or ramp, the transit personnel should deploy the lift or ramp without inquiring about the individual’s disability. Click here for the text of this regulation.

Answer:

Under Department of Transportation (DOT) Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) regulations at 49 C.F.R. Section 37.123(f), transit entities are required to permit one person to accompany the paratransit eligible individual. Additional persons accompanying the eligible individual are to be served on a space-available basis to prevent displacement of other ADA paratransit eligible individuals. The transit provider may not limit who the companion may be; the companion may be a family member, friend, or business associate, etc. The transit authority may require that the eligible individual reserve a space for the companion when reserving his or her own ride. A personal care attendant (PCA), someone designated or employed to assist the eligible individual, may always ride with the eligible individual. The transit entity may require that the eligible individual reserve a space for the PCA when reserving the trip. If there is a PCA on the trip, the eligible individual may still bring a companion, as well as additional companions on a space-available basis. To be considered as “accompanying” the eligible individual, a companion must have the same origin and destination points as the eligible individual.

Answer:

No, under Department of Transportation (DOT) Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) regulations at 49 C.F.R. Section 37.5(d), an entity may not impose special charges, not authorized by this part, on individuals with disabilities for providing services required by this part or otherwise necessary to accommodate them. Section 37.125 requires each operator of complementary paratransit to establish an eligibility process. The details of the process are developed at the local level by transit operators and the communities they serve. As Appendix D to Section 37.125 explains, however, the process developed may not impose unreasonable administrative burdens on applicants, and may not involve “user fees” or application fees to the applicant. This section prohibits applicants from having to pay for transportation to and from an assessment, as the assessment is part of the eligibility process.

Answer:

While Department of Transportation (DOT) Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) regulation 49 C.F.R. 38.23(d)(7) requires a seatbelt and shoulder harness to be provided as part of the wheelchair securement system, passengers with disabilities cannot be required to use the seatbelt and shoulder harness unless all passengers are provided with seatbelts and shoulder harnesses and are required to use them. Since few fixed route buses are equipped with seatbelts and shoulder harnesses for all passengers, their use cannot be required for passengers with disabilities. In the case of paratransit vehicles, seatbelts and shoulder harnesses may indeed be available for all passengers, and if all passengers are required to make use of them, passengers with disabilities occupying the securement location may also be required to do so. Note, however, that in some cases the use of seatbelts themselves may be more harmful to passengers with certain types of disabilities than riding without them. Most state seatbelt laws recognize this, and provide for exceptions; policies concerning seatbelt use aboard transit vehicles should provide for similar exceptions.

Answer:

Yes. Under 49 CFR Section 37.125 of the Department of Transportation (DOT) Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) regulations, a transit provider “may establish an administrative process to suspend, for a reasonable period of time, the provision of complementary paratransit service to ADA eligible individuals who establish a pattern or practice of missing scheduled trips.” A pattern or practice involves intentional, repeated or regular actions, not isolated, accidental, or singular incidents. Transit agencies cannot base a suspension of service on any trips missed by a rider for reasons beyond his or her control, including trips missed due to illness, family emergency, or transit agency error or lateness. Before suspending service, a transit provider must notify the individual in writing, provide an opportunity for an appeal, and issue written notification of the decision and reasons for it. The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) has permitted transit systems to also count “late cancellations” as no-shows, where they have the same operational impact as a no-show. A transit provider should be able to absorb the capacity of a trip cancelled one or two hours before the scheduled pickup. An hour or two is typically sufficient notice for a transit provider to redirect a vehicle without any negative operational consequences. Because these trips are being regarded as no-shows, the circumstances surrounding late cancellations would be the same as for a no-show; i.e., trips that are cancelled late due to circumstances beyond the passenger’s control would not be grounds for sanctions.