§37.189. Service requirement for OTRB demand-responsive systems. — Inbound Citations

(b) An operator meeting the criteria of paragraph (a) of this section may conduct all its trips, including fixed-route trips, on an advance-reservation basis as provided for demand-responsive trips in § 37.189. Such an operator is not required to comply with the accessible bus acquisition/equivalent service obligations of § 37.183(b).

(b) The requirements of § 37.189 apply to demand-responsive systems operated by private entities not primarily in the business of transporting people. If such an entity operates a demand-responsive system, and purchases or leases an OTRB for or in contemplation of use on the system, it is not required to purchase or lease an accessible bus except as needed to meet the requirements of § 37.189.

(a) This paragraph (a) applies to demand-responsive operators under § 37.189 and fixed-route operators under § 37.193(a)(1) that are required to, and small mixed-service operators under § 37.191 that choose to, provide accessible OTRB service on 48 hours' advance notice.

(1) When the operator receives a request for an accessible bus or equivalent service, the operator shall complete lines 1-9 of the Service Request Form in Appendix A to this subpart. The operator shall transmit a copy of the form to the passenger no later than the end of the next business day following the receipt of the request. The passenger shall be required to make only one request, which covers all legs of the requested trip (e.g., in the case of a round trip, both the outgoing and return legs of the trip; in the case of a multi-leg trip, all connecting legs).

(2) The passenger shall be required to make only one request, which covers all legs of the requested trip (e.g., in the case of a round trip, both the outgoing and return legs of the trip; in the case of a multi-leg trip, all connecting legs). The operator shall transmit a copy of the form to the passenger in one of the following ways:

(i) The operator shall transmit the form no later than the end of the next business day following the request;

(ii) If the passenger can receive the confirmation by this method, then the operator shall provide a unique confirmation number to the passenger when the request is made and provide a paper copy of the form when the passenger arrives for the requested trip; or

(iii) If the passenger can receive the confirmation by this method, then the operator shall transmit the form within twenty-four hours of the request for transportation.

(3) The operator shall retain its copy of the completed form for five years. The operator shall make these forms available to Department of Transportation or Department of Justice officials at their request.

(4) Beginning October 29, 2001, for large operators, and October 28, 2002, for small operators, and on the last Monday in October in each year thereafter, each operator shall submit a summary of its forms to the Department of Transportation. The summary shall state the number of requests for accessible bus service and the number of times these requests were met. It shall also include the name, address, telephone number, and contact person name for the operator.

(a) Beginning October 28, 2005, the Department will review the requirements of § 37.189 and their implementation. The Department will complete this review by October 30, 2006.

(1) As part of this review, the Department will consider factors including, but not necessarily limited to, the following:

(i) The percentage of accessible buses in the demand-responsive fleets of large and small demand-responsive operators.

(ii) The success of small and large demand-responsive operators' service at meeting the requests of passengers with disabilities for accessible buses in a timely manner.

(v) Cost and service impacts of implementation of the requirements of § 37.189.

(2) The Department will make one of the following decisions on the basis of the review:

(i) Retain § 37.189 without change; or

(ii) Modify the requirements of § 37.189 for large and/or small demand-responsive operators.