36 CFR Part 1192 Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Accessibility Guidelines for Transportation Vehicles (2016 Non-Rail Vehicle Guidelines) - Preamble

T215 Communication Features

The scoping provisions for communication features address a number of different areas, including: signs or markers for priority seats, identification of wheelchair spaces and doorways that provide accessible means of boarding and alighting with the International Symbol of Accessibility, provision of exterior route or destination signs, and automated announcement systems on large non-rail vehicles that operate in fixed route service with multiple designated stops.

In the 2010 NPRM, the scoping requirements for communication features were scattered throughout Chapter 2. In the 2016 Non-Rail Vehicle Guidelines, all scoping requirements related to communication features have been reorganized and consolidated under a single section, T215. Other than this reorganization and some minor editorial changes to the text of certain provisions to improve clarity, the scoping provisions in the 2016 Non-Rail Vehicle Guidelines for communication features are the same as in the proposed rule.

With respect to signage for priority seats, the 2010 NPRM proposed that priority seats for passengers with disabilities be identified by signs informing other passengers to make such seats available for passengers with disabilities. These signs would be required to comply with the technical requirements in T702. (Section T702, in turn, addresses such matters as character style and height, line spacing, and contrast.) See 2010 NPRM, Sections T203.10.2, T702. No commenters expressed disagreement with these scoping provisions. However, several persons with disabilities noted their frustration that priority seats on buses are often occupied by passengers who may not need them or filled with other passengers’ personal belongings (such as packages or strollers), and urged the Access Board to address this issue in the final rule.

While the Board acknowledges that ensuring the availability of priority seats for passengers with disabilities is a frequent problem, resolution lies beyond this final rule. This is a programmatic and service issue that falls outside the Access Board’s jurisdiction and, in any event, is a matter best left to DOT and transit operators. Disabilities are not always visible or apparent, and it can be difficult to discern whether a passenger has priority to use a designated seat. The requirement for signage at priority seats is aimed at helping to ensure that people with disabilities have priority use of these seats. However, there is nothing in the 2016 Non-Rail Vehicle Guidelines (or, for that matter, current DOT regulations) requiring other passengers to make the seats available, or mandating that vehicle operators make passengers move from priority seats when, in their view, such passengers do not need them. Nonetheless, transit operators are encouraged to make efforts, as appropriate for their systems and localities, to ensure that priority seats are available for passengers with disabilities when needed.

Section T215 in the 2016 Non-Rail Vehicle Guidelines also establishes several new communication-related scoping requirements for OTRBs. These new provisions, as applied to OTRBs, relate to: identification of priority seats (with signs) and wheelchair spaces and accessible doorways (with the International Symbol of Accessibility) (T215.2.1, T215.2.2, and T215.2.3); exterior route or destination signs (T215.2.4); public address systems (T215.3.1); and stop request systems (T215.3.3). While these requirements are new to OTRBs, they have all been in effect for buses and vans since the existing guidelines were first promulgated in 1991. No comments were received on these scoping provisions as newly applied for OTRBs. The expected costs for these new OTRB requirements are discussed below in Section V.A (Regulatory Process Matters - Final Regulatory Assessment (EO 12866)).

Lastly, T215.3 in the 2016 Non-Rail Vehicle Guidelines sets forth scoping requirements for announcement systems on large non-rail vehicles operating in fixed route service that stop at multiple designated stops. These requirements address: public address systems, stop request systems, and automated route identification and stop announcement systems. The Access Board received a substantial number of comments relating to the issue of whether large transit agencies should be required to equip their large fixed route buses with automated announcement systems, and these comments are addressed above in Section III (Major Issues). Several other commenters sought clarification on how this requirement would apply in particular settings. These comments are discussed below.

First, a large transit agency, while noting that its fixed route bus fleet was already equipped with automated announcement systems, nonetheless expressed concern about the cost of complying with the automated announcement system requirement to the extent it would apply to its small fleet of large paratransit vehicles, which do not have such equipment installed. This commenter urged the Access Board to expressly exempt paratransit vehicles from the automated announcement system requirement. The Board declines to adopt this suggestion because no such exception is needed. By its terms, the automated announcement system requirement applies only to large non-rail vehicles operating in fixed route service with multiple designated stops. See T215.3, T215.3.2, and T215.4. Fixed route service, in turn, is defined as “[o]peration of a non-rail vehicle along a prescribed route according to a fixed schedule.” T103. Paratransit service, by nature, does not operate on either prescribed routes or fixed schedules. Accordingly, paratransit service does not qualify as “fixed route service,” and, therefore, is not subject to the automated announcement system requirement.

Second, a state-wide association of transit managers asked the Access Board to clarify how the VOMS 100 threshold applies to contractors that provide fixed route bus service for public transit agencies. “Large transit entity,” which is a newly defined term in T103, refers to providers of public transportation services that “operat[e] . . . 100 or more buses in annual maximum service for all fixed route service bus modes collectively, through either direct operation or purchased transportation.” Thus, for purposes of determining whether a transit operator is a “large transit entity” subject to the automated announcement system requirement, both directly operated and purchased (i.e., contracted) transportation services “count” towards the VOMS 100 threshold. This approach is consistent with DOT’s current accessibility standards for ADA-covered transportation vehicles, which specify that public entities entering into contractual arrangements with private entities for provision of fixed route service must ensure that the private entity satisfies the same accessibility requirements that would be applicable as if the public entity directly provided that same service. See 49 CFR 37.23; see also 49 CFR 37.3 (defining the term “operates” to include both directly operated and purchased transportation services).

Third, a number of commenters, including APTA and several transit agencies, sought clarification concerning application of the automated announcement system requirement to existing buses. APTA stressed that restricting the scope of this requirement to new (or newly acquired) buses was important to ensure that large transit agencies that do not yet have automated announcement systems would be able to acquire needed equipment through their regular procurement cycles, and smaller transit agencies nearing the VOMS 100 threshold were not inadvertently limited from expanding their fixed route service.

As discussed at the outset of this section (see T201 Scope), determining whether (or to what extent) the automated announcement system requirement will apply to existing buses falls within the purview of DOT, not the Access Board. The 2016 Non-Rail Vehicle Guidelines, as with our existing guidelines, establish minimum accessibility guidelines for buses, OTRBs, and vans acquired or remanufactured by entities covered by the ADA. See T101.1, T201.1. These revised guidelines, however, only become enforceable standards upon adoption by the Department of Transportation (DOT). Whether DOT elects to make its regulations applicable to then-existing ADA-covered transportation vehicles, and, if so, to what extent, remains within its sole discretionary authority. Consequently, views on the application of the automated announcement system requirement to existing buses are best directed to DOT, once it commences its own rulemaking to adopt the 2016 Non-Rail Vehicle Guidelines as enforceable accessibility standards. Regulated entities will not be required to comply with the 2016 Non-Rail Vehicle Guidelines until DOT completes its rulemaking efforts.