Accessible Transit Services for All
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Accessible Transit Services for All DECEMBER 2014 FTA Report No. 0081 Federal Transit Administration PREPARED BY Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund (DREDF) Marilyn Golden In collaboration with: the Collaborative–David Chia KFH Group–Buffy Ellis TranSystems Corporation–Russell Thatcher COVER PHOTO WMATA photo by Larry Levine. DISCLAIMER This document is disseminated under the sponsorship of the U.S. Department of Transportation in the interest of information exchange. The United States Government assumes no liability for its contents or use thereof. The United States Government does not endorse products or manufacturers. Trade or manufacturers’ names appear herein solely because they are considered essential to the objective of this report. Accessible Transit Services for All DECEMBER 2014 FTA Report No. 0081 PREPARED BY Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund (DREDF) 3075 Adeline Street, Suite 210 Berkeley, CA 94703 Marilyn Golden In collaboration with: the Collaborative–David Chia KFH Group–Buffy Ellis TranSystems Corporation–Russell Thatcher SPONSORED BY Federal Transit Administration Office of Research, Demonstration, and Innovation U.S. Department of Transportation 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE Washington, DC 20590 AVAILABLE ONLINE http://www.fta.dot.gov/research FEDERAL TRANSIT ADMINISTRATION i FEDERAL TRANSIT ADMINISTRATION i Metric Conversion Table SYMBOL WHEN YOU KNOW MULTIPLY BY TO FIND SYMBOL LENGTH in inches 25.4 millimeters mm ft feet 0.305 meters m yd yards 0.914 meters m mi miles 1.61 kilometers km VOLUME fl oz fluid ounces 29.57 milliliters mL gal gallons 3.785 liter L ft3 cubic feet 0.028 cubic meters m3 yd3 cubic yards 0.765 cubic meters m3 NOTE: volumes greater than 1000 L shall be shown in m3 MASS oz ounces 28.35 grams g lb pounds 0.454 kilograms kg megagrams T short tons (2000 lb) 0.907 Mg (or “t”) (or “metric ton”) TEMPERATURE (exact degrees) o 5 (F-32)/9 o F Fahrenheit Celsius C or (F-32)/1.8 FEDERAL TRANSIT ADMINISTRATION i FEDERAL TRANSIT ADMINISTRATION ii REPORT DOCUMENTATION PAGE Form Approved OMB No. 0704-0188 Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 1 hour per response, including the time for reviewing instruc- tions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden, to Washington Headquarters Services, Directorate for Information Operations and Reports, 1215 Jefferson Davis Highway, Suite 1204, Arlington, VA 22202-4302, and to the Office of Management and Budget, Paperwork Reduction Project (0704-0188), Washington, DC 20503. 1. AGENCY USE ONLY 2. REPORT DATE 3. REPORT TYPE AND DATES COVERED December 2014 December 2011 – November 2014 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE 5. FUNDING NUMBERS Accessible Transit Services for All CA-26-7085 6. AUTHOR(S) Marilyn Golden, David Chia, Buffy Ellis, Russell Thatcher 7. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION NAME(S) AND ADDRESSE(ES) 8. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION REPORT NUMBER Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund (DREDF) 3075 Adeline Street, Suite 210 FTA Report No. 0081 Berkeley, CA 94703 In collaboration with: The Collaborative, KFH Group, TranSystems Corporation 9. SPONSORING/MONITORING AGENCY NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES) 10. SPONSORING/MONITORING AGENCY REPORT U.S. Department of Transportation NUMBER Federal Transit Administration Office of Research, Demonstration and Innovation FTA Report No. 0081 East Building 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE Washington, DC 20590 11. SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES [http://www.fta.dot.gov/research] 12A. DISTRIBUTION/AVAILABILITY STATEMENT 12B. DISTRIBUTION CODE Available from: National Technical Information Service (NTIS), Springfield, VA 22161. Phone 703.605.6000, Fax 703.605.6900, email [[email protected]] TRI-20 13. ABSTRACT Ensuring the provision of accessible transit services for all requires that both accessible fixed-route transit services and ADA comple- mentary paratransit services be provided. Significant progress has been made on both since the passage of the ADA in 1990. Some challenges remain, including the provision of high-quality, cost-effective, and sustainable ADA paratransit. Between 1999 and 2012, demand for ADA paratransit increased from 68 million trips per year to 106 million trips per year, and the average nationwide cost per trip increased from $13.76 to $32.74. This report presents successful strategies for providing high-quality, cost-effective, and sustainable ADA paratransit service and describes examples of inclusive service designs that can be used to effectively meet the transit needs of all riders. A nationwide survey of transit agencies was conducted to identify strategies and service designs. Twelve in-depth case studies were conducted to gather information about implementation and effectiveness. The disability community was involved to identify and select service strategies, designs, and case studies. 14. SUBJECT TERMS 15. NUMBER OF PAGES Accessible transportation, ADA paratransit, Inclusive service designs 381 16. PRICE CODE 17. SECURITY CLASSIFICATION 18. SECURITY CLASSIFICATION 19. SECURITY CLASSIFICATION 20. LIMITATION OF ABSTRACT OF REPORT OF THIS PAGE OF ABSTRACT Unclassified Unclassified Unclassified TABLE OF CONTENTS 1 Executive Summary 11 Section 1: Introduction 11 Trends in ADA Paratransit Service Operation and Design 13 Cost Issues 15 Goals of this Research Report 15 Information Sources 18 Summary of Sections 19 Section 2: Service Design 19 Service Design Decisions 22 Common Service Designs 31 Historical Trends in Service Designs 36 Current State of the Practice 39 Factors that Impact Applicability of Common Service Designs 44 Advantages and Challenges of Common Service Designs 50 Centralized Versus Decentralized Reservations, Scheduling and Dispatch 52 Selecting the Right Combination of Service Design, Method of Payment, and Contract Requirements 58 Section 3: Procurement and Contracting 58 Introduction 58 Procurement of Contracted ADA Paratransit Service 59 Procurement Process 65 Major Cost Elements of Contracted Paratransit Service 71 Contracting 76 Strategies and Approaches for Cost-Effective Contracted Services 84 Summary: No Quick-Fix Approach 85 Section 4: Operating Practices and Technology 85 Reservations Practices 88 Scheduling Practices 92 Dispatch Practices 92 No-Show Policies and Practices 98 Fleet Mix 99 Paratransit Technology 109 Section 5: Inclusive Service Design 109 General Public Dial-A-Ride Programs 112 Community Bus Programs 119 Flex-Route Services 127 Accessible Taxis 134 Coordination 141 Endnotes FEDERAL TRANSIT ADMINISTRATION iv A-1 Appendix A: ADA Complementary Paratransit Service Survey and Responses B-1 Appendix B: Inclusive Services Survey and Responses C-1 Appendix C: Summary of Roundtable Meeting D-1 Appendix D: Case Studies E-1 Appendix E: Sample Cost Proposal Forms 361 Glossary of Terms And Acronyms 364 References FEDERAL TRANSIT ADMINISTRATION v LIST OF FIGURES 14 Figure 1-1: Paratransit ridership nationwide, 1999–2012 23 Figure 2-1: In-house operation 24 Figure 2-2: Single turn-key contractor design 25 Figure 2-3: Multiple (two or more) turn-key contractor design 26 Figure 2-4: In-house call/control center with contracted service providers 28 Figure 2-5: Contracted call/control center with contracted service providers 29 Figure 2-6: Administrative brokerage 30 Figure 2-7: Full-service brokerage 31 Figure 2-8: ADA complementary paratransit service timeline 52 Figure 2-9: Balancing service design, payment method, and standards and monitoring 98 Figure 4-1: OUTREACH sedans 101 Figure 4-2: Samtrans dispatcher using scheduling and dispatching software to efficiently manage runs 103 Figure 4-3: Pelivan driver using tablet MDT 110 Figure 5-1: Redicoast vehicle and passenger 112 Figure 5-2: Redicoast ridership, FY2010–FY2012 115 Figure 5-3: Map of community bus routes in Broward County 117 Figure 5-4: Plantation community bus connecting with regional BCT service 119 Figure 5-5: Riders on Margate community bus 121 Figure 5-6: Capital Metro FLEX routes 123 Figure 5-7: Salt Lake County system map showing location of FLEX routes 125 Figure 5-8: UTA FLEX route vehicle 131 Figure 5-9: Super Senior Taxi brochure 136 Figure 5-10: Federal Way–SEATAC–Tukwila Hyde shuttle LIST OF TABLES 13 Table 1-1: U.S. Paratransit Productivity, 1999–2012 20 Table 2-1: Major Service Design Decisions 40 Table 2-2: Factors Affecting Common Service Designs 45 Table 2-3: Advantages and Challenges of Common Service Designs 70 Table 3-1: Goals, Incentives, and Disincentives Used by Transit Agencies t hat Contract 111 Table 5-1: RediCoast Service and Cost Data, FY2010–FY2012 116 Table 5-2: BCT Community Bus Services (January 2013) 118 Table 5-3: BCT Community Bus Program Key Service and Performance Statistics, NTD Reporting Year 2012 FEDERAL TRANSIT ADMINISTRATION vi 121 Table 5-4: Cost and Ridership for Capital Metro Flex Routes 126 Table 5-5: UTA FLEX Route Service and Cost Data, Calendar Year 2012 134 Table 5-6: NAIPTA Taxi Voucher Program Costs 137 Table 5-7: Service Statistics, Hyde Community Shuttles and Program Support Vehicles 138 Table 5-8: Advantage Van and Vanworks Program Service Data and Costs, 2006–2011 FEDERAL TRANSIT ADMINISTRATION vii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This report is a tribute to Michael Winter, who helped develop and guide this project. His distinguished career at the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) capped a lifetime dedicated