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

Capacity Constraints

This provision specifically prohibits two common mechanisms that limit use of a paratransit system so as to constrain demand on its capacity. The first is a waiting list. Tyically [sic], a waiting list involves a determination by a provider that it can provide service only to a given number of eligible persons. Other eligible persons are not able to receive service until one of the people being served moves away or otherwise no longer uses the service. Then the persons on the waiting list can move up. The process is analogous to the wait that persons in some cities have to endure to be able to buy season tickets to a sold-out slate of professional football games.

The second mechanism specifically mentioned is a number limit on the trips a passenger can take in a given period of time. It is a kind of rationing in which, for example, if one has taken his quota of 30 trips this month, he cannot take further trips for the rest of the month.

In addition, this paragraph prohibits any operational pattern or practice that significantly limits the availability of service of ADA paratransit eligible persons. As discussed under §37.125 in the context of missed trips by passengers, a “pattern or practice” involves, regular, or repeated actions, not isolated, accidental, or singular incidents. A missed trip, late arrival, or trip denial now and then does not trigger this provision.

Operational problems outside the control of the entity do not count as part of a pattern or practice under this provision. For example, if the vehicle has an accident on the way to pick up a passenger, the late arrival would not count as part of a pattern or practice. If something that could not have been anticipated at the time the trip was scheduled (e.g., a snowstorm, an accident or hazardous materials incident that traps the paratransit vehicle, like all traffic on a certain highway, for hours), the resulting missed trip would not count as part of a pattern or practice. On the other hand, if the entity regularly does not maintain its vehicles well, such that frequent mechanical breakdowns result in missed trips or late arrivals, a pattern or practice may exist. This is also true in a situation in which scheduling practices fail to take into account regularly occurring traffic conditions (e.g., rush hour traffic jams), resulting in frequent late arrivals.

The rule mentions three specific examples of operational patterns or practices that would violate this provision. The first is a pattern or practice of substantial numbers of significantly untimely pickups (either for initial or return trips). To violate this provision, there must be both a substantial number of late arrivals and the late arrivals in question must be significant in length. For example, a DOT Inspector General's (IG) report on one city's paratransit system disclosed that around 30 percent of trips were between one and five hours late. Such a situation would trigger this provision. On the other hand, only a few instances of trips one to five hours late, or many instances of trips a few minutes late, would not trigger this provision.

The second example is substantial numbers of trip denials or missed trips. For example, if on a regular basis the reservation phone lines open at 5 a.m. and callers after 7 a.m. are all told that they cannot travel, or the phone lines shut down after 7 a.m. and a recorded message says to call back the next day, or the phone lines are always so busy that no one can get through, this provision would be triggered. (Practices of this kind would probably violate the response time criterion as well.) Also, if, on a regular basis, the entity misses a substantial number of trips (e.g., a trip is scheduled, the passenger is waiting, but the vehicle never comes, goes to the wrong address, is extremely late, etc.), it would violate this provision.

The third example is substantial numbers of trips with excessive trip lengths. Since paratransit is a shared ride service, paratransit rides between Point A and Point B will usually take longer, and involve more intermediate stops, than a taxi ride between the same two points. However, when the number of intermediate stops and the total trip time for a given passenger grows so large as to make use of the system prohibitively inconvenient, then this provision would be triggered. For example, the IG report referred to above mentioned a situation in which 9 percent of riders had one way trips averaging between two and four hours, with an average of 16 intermediate stops. Such a situation would probably trigger this provision.

Though these three examples probably cover the most frequently cited problems in paratransit operations that directly or indirectly limit the provision of service that is theoretically available to eligible persons, the list is not exhaustive. Other patterns or practices could trigger this provision. For example, the Department has heard about a situation in which an entity's paratransit contractor was paid on a per-trip basis, regardless of the length of the trip. The contractor therefore had an economic incentive to provide as many trips as possible. As a result, the contractor accepted short trips and routinely denied longer trips. This would be a pattern or practice contrary to this provision (and contrary to the service area provision as well).