49 CFR Parts 37 & 38 - Department of Transportation (DOT) ADA Regulations

Subpart D—Acquisition of Accessible Vehicles by Public Entities

Section 37.71 Purchase or Lease of New Non-Rail Vehicles by Public Entities Operating Fixed Route Systems

This section generally sets out the basic acquisition requirements for a public entity purchasing a new vehicle. The section requires any public entity that purchases or leases a new vehicle to acquire an accessible vehicle.

In addition, the waiver request must include copies of advertisements in trade publications and inquiries to trade associations seeking lifts for the buses. The public entity also must include a full justification for the assertion that a delay in the bus procurement sufficient to obtain a lift-equipped bus would significantly impair transportation services in the community. There is no length of time that would be a per se delay constituting a “significant impairment”. It will be more difficult to obtain a waiver if a relatively short rather than relatively lengthy delay is involved. A showing of timetables, absent a showing of significant impairment of actual transit services, would not form a basis for granting a waiver.

Any waiver granted by the Department under this provision will be a conditional waiver. The conditions are intended to ensure that the waiver provision does not create a loophole in the accessible vehicle acquisition requirement that Congress intended to impose. The ADA requires a waiver to be limited in duration and the rule requires a termination date to be included. The date will be established on the basis of the information the Department receives concerning the availability of lifts in the waiver request and elsewhere. In addition, so that a waiver does not become open-ended, it will apply only to a particular procurement. If a transit agency wants a waiver for a subsequent delivery of buses in the procurement, or another procurement entirely, it will have to make a separate waiver request.

For example, if a particular order of buses is delivered over a period of time, each delivery would be the potential subject of a waiver request. First, the entity would request a waiver for the first shipment of buses. If all of the conditions are met, the waiver would be granted, with a date specified to coincide with the due date of the lifts. When the lifts become available those buses would have to be retrofitted with the lifts. A subsequent delivery of buses—on the same order—would have to receive its own waiver, subject to the same conditions and specifications of the first waiver.

The purpose of the waiver, as the Department construes it, is to address a situation in which (because of a sudden increase in the number of lift-equipped buses requested) lift manufacturers are unable to produce enough lifts to meet the demand in a timely fashion.

Section 37.73 Purchase or Lease of Used Non-Rail Vehicles by Public Entities Operating a Fixed Route System

The basic rule is that an acquisition of a used vehicle would have to be for an accessible vehicle.

There is an exception, however, for situations in which the transit provider makes a good faith effort to obtain accessible used vehicles but does not succeed in finding them. The ADA requires transit agencies to purchase accessible used vehicles, providing a “demonstrated good faith efforts” exception to the requirement. The reports of the Senate Committee on Labor and Human Resources and the House Committee on Education and Labor offered the following guidance on what “good faith efforts” involve:

The phrase “demonstrated good faith efforts” is intended to require a nationwide search and not a search limited to a particular region. For instance, it would not be enough for a transit operator to contact only the manufacturer where the transit authority usually does business to see if there are accessible used buses. It involves the transit authority advertising in a trade magazine, i.e., Passenger Transport, or contacting the transit trade association, American Public Transit Association (APTA), to determine whether accessible used vehicles are available. It is the Committee's expectation that as the number of buses with lifts increases, the burden on the transit authority to demonstrate its inability to purchase accessible vehicles despite good faith efforts will become more and more difficult to satisfy. S. Rept. 101-116 at 49; H. Rept. 101-485 at 90.

Consistent with this guidance, this section requires that good faith efforts include specifying accessible vehicles in bid solicitations. The section also requires that the entity retain for two years documentation of that effort, and that the information be available to FTA and the public.

It does not meet the good faith efforts requirement to purchase inaccessible, rather than accessible, used buses, just because the former are less expensive, particularly if the difference is a difference attributable to the presence of a lift. There may be situations in which good faith efforts involve buying fewer accessible buses in preference to more inaccessible buses.

The public participation requirements involved in the development of the paratransit plans for all fixed route operators requires an ongoing relationship, including extensive outreach, to the community likely to be using its accessible service. We believe that it will be difficult to comply with the public participation requirements and not involve the affected community in the decisions concerning the purchase or lease of used accessible vehicles.

There is an exception to these requirements for donated vehicles. Not all “zero dollar” transfers are donations, however. The legislative history to this provision provides insight.

It is not the Committee's intent to make the vehicle accessibility provisions of this title applicable to vehicles donated to a public entity. The Committee understands that it is not usual to donate vehicles to a public entity. However, there could be instances where someone could conceivably donate a bus to a public transit operator in a will. In such a case, the transit operators should not be prevented from accepting a gift.

The Committee does not intend that this limited exemption for donated vehicles be used to circumvent the intent of the ADA. For example, a local transit authority could not arrange to be the recipient of donated inaccessible buses. This would be a violation of the ADA. S. Rpt. 101-116, at 46; H. Rpt. 101-486, at 87.

Entities interested in accepting donated vehicles must submit a request to FTA to verify that the transaction is a donation.

There is one situation, in which a vehicle has prior use is not treated as a used vehicle. If a vehicle has been remanufactured, and it is within the period of the extension of its useful life, it is not viewed as a used vehicle (see H. Rept. 101-485, Pt 1 at 27). During this period, such a vehicle may be acquired by another entity without going through the good faith efforts process. This is because, at the time of its remanufacture, the bus would have been made as accessible if feasible. When the vehicle has completed its extended useful life (e.g., the beginning of year six when its useful life has extended five years), it becomes subject to used bus requirements.

Section 37.75 Remanufacture of Non-Rail Vehicles and Purchase or Lease of Remanufactured Non-rail Vehicles by Public Entities Operating Fixed Route Systems

This section tracks the statute closely, and contains the following provisions. First, it requires any public entity operating a fixed route system to purchase an accessible vehicle if the acquisition occurs after August 25, 1990, if the vehicle is remanufactured after August 25, 1990, or the entity contracts or undertakes the remanufacture of a vehicle after August 25, 1990. The ADA legislative history makes it clear that remanufacture is to include changes to the structure of the vehicle which extend the useful life of the vehicle for five years. It clearly is not intended to capture things such as engine overhauls and the like.

The term remanufacture, as used in the ADA context, is different from the use of the term in previously issued FTA guidance. The term has a specific meaning under the ADA: there must be structural work done to the vehicle and the work must extend the vehicle's useful life by five years.

The ADA imposes no requirements on what FTA traditionally considers bus rehabilitation. Such work involves rebuilding a bus to original specifications and focuses on mechanical systems and interiors. Often this work includes replacing components. It is less extensive than remanufacture.

The statute, and the rule, includes an exception for the remanufacture of historical vehicles. This exception applies to the remanufacture of or purchase of a remanufactured vehicle that (1) is of historic character; (2) operates solely on a segment of a fixed route system which is on the National Register of Historic Places; and (3) making the vehicle accessible would significantly alter the historic character of the vehicle. The exception only extends to the remanufacture that would alter the historic character of the vehicle. All modifications that can be made without altering the historic character (such as slip resistant flooring) must be done.

Section 37.77 Purchase or Lease of New Non-Rail Vehicles by Public Entities Operating a Demand Responsive System for the General Public

Section 224 of the ADA requires that a public entity operating a demand responsive system purchase or lease accessible new vehicles, for which a solicitation is made after August 25, 1990, unless the system, when viewed in its entirety, provides a level of service to individuals with disabilities, including individuals who use wheelchairs, equivalent to the level of service provided to individuals without disabilities. This section is the same as the October 4, 1990 final rule which promulgated the immediately effective acquisition requirements of the ADA.

The Department has been asked to clarify what “accessible when viewed in its entirety” means in the context of a demand responsive system being allowed to purchase an inaccessible vehicle. First, it is important to note that this exception applies only to demand responsive systems (and not fixed route systems). The term “equivalent service” was discussed during the passage of the ADA. Material from the legislative history indicates that “when viewed in its entirety/equivalent service” means that “when all aspects of a transportation system are analyzed, equal opportunities for each individual with a disability to use the transportation system must exist. (H. Rept. 101-184, Pt. 2, at 95; S. Rept. 101-116 at 54). For example, both reports said that “the time delay between a phone call to access the demand responsive system and pick up the individual is not greater because the individual needs a lift or ramp or other accommodation to access the vehicle.” (Id.)

Consistent with this, the Department has specified certain service criteria that are to be used when determining if the service is equivalent. As in previous rulemakings on this provision, the standards (which include service area, response time, fares, hours and days of service, trip purpose restrictions, information and reservations capability, and other capacity constraints) are not absolute standards. They do not say, for example, that a person with a disability must be picked up in a specified number of hours. The requirement is that there must be equivalent service for all passengers, whether or not they have a disability. If the system provides service to persons without disabilities within four hours of a call for service, then passengers with disabilities must be afforded the same service.

The Department has been asked specifically where an entity should send its “equivalent level of service” certifications. We provide the following: Equivalent level of service certifications should be submitted to the state program office if you are a public entity receiving FTA funds through the state. All other entities should submit their equivalent level of service certifications to the FTA regional office (listed in appendix B of this part). Certifications must be submitted before the acquisition of the vehicles.

Paragraph (e) of this section authorizes a waiver for the unavailability of lifts. Since demand responsive systems need not purchase accessible vehicles if they can certify equivalent service, the Department has been asked what this provision is doing in this section.

Paragraph (e) applies in the case in which an entity operates a demand responsive system, which is not equivalent, and the entity cannot find accessible vehicles to acquire. In this case, the waiver provisions applicable to a fixed route entity purchasing or leasing inaccessible new vehicles applies to the demand responsive operator as well.

Section 37.79 Purchase or Lease of New Rail Vehicles by Public Entities Operating Rapid or Light Rail Systems

This section echoes the requirement of §37.71—all new rail cars must be accessible.

Section 37.81 Purchase or Lease of Used Rail Vehicles by Public Entities Operating Rapid or Light Rail Systems

This section lays out the requirements for a public entity acquiring a used rail vehicle. The requirements and standards are the same as those specified for non-rail vehicles in §37.73. While we recognize it may create difficulties for entities in some situations, the statute does not include any extension or short-term leases. The Department will consider, in a case-by-case basis, how the good faith efforts requirement would apply in the case of an agreement between rail carriers to permit quick-response, short-term leases of cars over a period of time.

Section 37.83 Remanufacture of Rail Vehicles and Purchase or Lease of Remanufactured Rail Vehicles by Public Entities Operating Rapid or Light Rail System

This section parallels the remanufacturing section for buses, including the exception for historical vehicles. With respect to an entity having a class of historic vehicles that may meet the standards for the historic vehicle exception (e.g., San Francisco cable cars), the Department would not object to a request for application of the exception on a system-wide, as approved to car-by-car, basis.

Section 37.85 Purchase or Lease of New Intercity and Commuter Rail Cars

This section incorporates the statutory requirement that new intercity and commuter rail cars be accessible. The specific accessibility provisions of the statute (for example, there are slightly different requirements for intercity rail cars versus commuter rail cars) are specified in part 38 of this regulation. These standards are adopted from the voluntary guidelines issues by the Access Board. The section basically parallels the acquisition requirements for buses and other vehicles. It should be noted that the definition of commuter rail operator clearly allows for additional operators to qualify as commuter, since the definition describes the functional characteristics of an operator, as well as listing existing commuter rail operators.

We would point out that the ADA applies this requirement to all new vehicles. This includes not only vehicles and systems that currently are being operated in the U.S., but new, experimental, or imported vehicles and systems. The ADA does not stand in the way of new technology, but it does require that new technology, and the benefits it brings, be accessible to all persons, including those with disabilities. This point applies to all vehicle acquisition provisions of this regulation, whether for rail or non-rail, private or public, fixed route or demand responsive vehicles and systems.

Section 37.87 Purchase or Lease of Used Intercity and Commuter Rail Cars

The section also parallels closely the requirements in the ADA for the purchase or lease of accessible used rail vehicles. We acknowledge that, in some situations, the statutory requirement for to make good faith efforts to acquire accessible used vehicles may create difficulties for rail operators attempting to lease rail cars quickly for a short time (e.g., as fill-ins for cars which need repairs). In some cases, it may be possible to mitigate these difficulties through means such as making good faith efforts with respect to an overall agreement between two rail operators to make cars available to one another when needed, rather than each time a car is provided under such an agreement.

Section 37.89 Remanufacture of Intercity and Commuter Rail Cars

This section requires generally that remanufactured cars be made accessible, to the maximum extent feasible. Feasible is defined in paragraph (c) of the section to be “unless an engineering analysis demonstrates that remanufacturing the car to be accessible would have a significant adverse effect on the structural integrity of the car.” Increased cost is not a reason for viewing other sections of this subpart concerning remanufactured vehicles.

In addition, this section differs from the counterpart sections for non-rail vehicles and light and rapid rail vehicles in two ways. First, the extension of useful life needed to trigger the section is ten rather than five years. Second, there is no historic vehicle exception. Both of these differences are statutory.

Remanufacture of vehicles implies work that extends their expected useful life of the vehicle. A mid-life overhaul, not extending the total useful life of the vehicle, would not be viewed as a remanufacture of the vehicle.

Section 37.93 One Car Per Train Rule

This section implements the statutory directive that all rail operators (light, rapid, commuter and intercity) have at least one car per train accessible to persons with disabilities, including individuals who use wheelchairs by July 26, 1995. (See ADA sections 242(a)(1), 242(b)(1), 228(b)(1).) Section 37.93 contains this general requirement. In some cases, entities will meet the one-car-per train rule through the purchase of new cars. In this case, since all new rail vehicles have to be accessible, compliance with this provision is straightforward.

However, certain entities may not be purchasing any new vehicles by July 26, 1995, or may not be purchasing enough vehicles to ensure that one car per train is accessible. In these cases, these entities will have to retrofit existing cars to meet this requirement. What a retrofitted car must look like to meet the requirement has been decided by the Access Board. These standards are contained in part 38 of this rule.

We would point that, consistent with the Access Board standards, a rail system using mini-high platforms or wayside lifts is not required, in most circumstances, to “double-stop” in order to give passengers a chance to board the second or subsequent car in a train at the mini-high platform or way-side lift. The only exception to this would be a situation in which all the wheelchair positions spaces in the first car were occupied. In this case, the train would have to double-stop to allow a wheelchair user to board, rather than passing the person by when there was space available in other than the first car, except where doing is necessary to comply with the provisions of section 37.42 of this part.

Section 37.95 Ferries and Other Passenger Vessels

Although at this time there are no specific requirements for vessels, ferries and other passenger vessels operated by public entities are subject to the requirements of §37.5 of this part and applicable requirements of 28 CFR part 35, the DOJ rule under title II of the ADA.