Resource Guide for Commingling ADA and Non-ADA Paratransit Riders (2011)

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TRANSPORTAT ION RESEARCH BOARD WASHINGTON, D.C. 2011 www.TRB.org T R A N S I T C O O P E R A T I V E R E S E A R C H P R O G R A M TCRP REPORT 143 Research sponsored by the Federal Transit Administration in cooperation with the Transit Development Corporation Subscriber Categories Public Transportation Resource Guide for Commingling ADA and Non-ADA Paratransit Riders Rosemary B. Gerty TRANSYSTEMS CORP. Chicago, IL Thomas F. Procopio Caroline R. Ferris TRANSYSTEMS CORP. Boston, MA A N D Elizabeth (Buffy) Ellis Sue Knapp THE KFH GROUP Bethesda, MD

TCRP REPORT 143 Project B-34 ISSN 1073-4872 ISBN 978-0-309-15522-9 Library of Congress Control Number 2010940343 © 2011 National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved. COPYRIGHT INFORMATION Authors herein are responsible for the authenticity of their materials and for obtaining written permissions from publishers or persons who own the copyright to any previously published or copyrighted material used herein. Cooperative Research Programs (CRP) grants permission to reproduce material in this publication for classroom and not-for-profit purposes. Permission is given with the understanding that none of the material will be used to imply TRB, AASHTO, FAA, FHWA, FMCSA, FTA, or Transit Development Corporation endorsement of a particular product, method, or practice. It is expected that those reproducing the material in this document for educational and not-for-profit uses will give appropriate acknowledgment of the source of any reprinted or reproduced material. For other uses of the material, request permission from CRP. NOTICE The project that is the subject of this report was a part of the Transit Cooperative Research Program, conducted by the Transportation Research Board with the approval of the Governing Board of the National Research Council. The members of the technical panel selected to monitor this project and to review this report were chosen for their special competencies and with regard for appropriate balance. The report was reviewed by the technical panel and accepted for publication according to procedures established and overseen by the Transportation Research Board and approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council. The opinions and conclusions expressed or implied in this report are those of the researchers who performed the research and are not necessarily those of the Transportation Research Board, the National Research Council, or the program sponsors. The Transportation Research Board of the National Academies, the National Research Council, and the sponsors of the Transit Cooperative Research Program do not endorse products or manufacturers. Trade or manufacturers’ names appear herein solely because they are considered essential to the object of the report. TRANSIT COOPERATIVE RESEARCH PROGRAM The nation’s growth and the need to meet mobility, environmental, and energy objectives place demands on public transit systems. Current systems, some of which are old and in need of upgrading, must expand service area, increase service frequency, and improve efficiency to serve these demands. Research is necessary to solve operating problems, to adapt appropriate new technologies from other industries, and to intro- duce innovations into the transit industry. The Transit Cooperative Research Program (TCRP) serves as one of the principal means by which the transit industry can develop innovative near-term solutions to meet demands placed on it. The need for TCRP was originally identified in TRB Special Report 213—Research for Public Transit: New Directions, published in 1987 and based on a study sponsored by the Urban Mass Transportation Administration—now the Federal Transit Administration (FTA). A report by the American Public Transportation Association (APTA), Transportation 2000, also recognized the need for local, problem- solving research. TCRP, modeled after the longstanding and success- ful National Cooperative Highway Research Program, undertakes research and other technical activities in response to the needs of tran- sit service providers. The scope of TCRP includes a variety of transit research fields including planning, service configuration, equipment, facilities, operations, human resources, maintenance, policy, and administrative practices. TCRP was established under FTA sponsorship in July 1992. Pro- posed by the U.S. Department of Transportation, TCRP was autho- rized as part of the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 (ISTEA). On May 13, 1992, a memorandum agreement out- lining TCRP operating procedures was executed by the three cooper- ating organizations: FTA, the National Academies, acting through the Transportation Research Board (TRB); and the Transit Development Corporation, Inc. (TDC), a nonprofit educational and research orga- nization established by APTA. TDC is responsible for forming the independent governing board, designated as the TCRP Oversight and Project Selection (TOPS) Committee. Research problem statements for TCRP are solicited periodically but may be submitted to TRB by anyone at any time. It is the responsibility of the TOPS Committee to formulate the research program by identi- fying the highest priority projects. As part of the evaluation, the TOPS Committee defines funding levels and expected products. Once selected, each project is assigned to an expert panel, appointed by the Transportation Research Board. The panels prepare project state- ments (requests for proposals), select contractors, and provide techni- cal guidance and counsel throughout the life of the project. The process for developing research problem statements and selecting research agencies has been used by TRB in managing cooperative research pro- grams since 1962. As in other TRB activities, TCRP project panels serve voluntarily without compensation. Because research cannot have the desired impact if products fail to reach the intended audience, special emphasis is placed on dissemi- nating TCRP results to the intended end users of the research: tran- sit agencies, service providers, and suppliers. TRB provides a series of research reports, syntheses of transit practice, and other support- ing material developed by TCRP research. APTA will arrange for workshops, training aids, field visits, and other activities to ensure that results are implemented by urban and rural transit industry practitioners. The TCRP provides a forum where transit agencies can cooperatively address common operational problems. The TCRP results support and complement other ongoing transit research and training programs. Published reports of the TRANSIT COOPERATIVE RESEARCH PROGRAM are available from: Transportation Research Board Business Office 500 Fifth Street, NW Washington, DC 20001 and can be ordered through the Internet at http://www.national-academies.org/trb/bookstore Printed in the United States of America

CRP STAFF FOR TCRP REPORT 143 Christopher W. Jenks, Director, Cooperative Research Programs Crawford F. Jencks, Deputy Director, Cooperative Research Programs Dianne Schwager, Senior Program Officer Rachel Kirkland, Senior Program Assistant Eileen P. Delaney, Director of Publications Kami Cabral, Editor TCRP PROJECT B-34 PANEL Field of Service Configuration Rob Andresen, First Transit, Inc., Denver, CO (Chair) Michael Artson, FASTRAN, Fairfax, VA Jon A. Carnegie, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick, NJ Kenneth R. Fischer, McDonald Transit Associates, Inc., South Daytona, FL Robert C. Johnson, Waukesha Metro Transit, Waukesha, WI Sarah B. Lenz, Minnesota DOT, St. Paul, MN Park Woodworth, King County (WA) Metro Transit, Banbridge Island, WA Susan Clark, FTA Liaison Bonnie Graves, FTA Liaison AUTHOR ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The research reported herein was performed by TranSystems Corp. (contractor) and KFH Group (sub- contractor) under TCRP Project B-34, “Guidebook for Commingling ADA-Eligible and Other Passen- gers on ADA-Complementary Paratransit Services.” Rosemary B. Gerty of TranSystems Corp. (Chicago) served as the principal investigator, along with Elizabeth (Buffy) Ellis, AICP, of KFH Group (Bethesda, Maryland). They were assisted by Thomas F. Pro- copio, CCTM, and Caroline R. Ferris of TranSystems Corp. (Boston), along with Sue Knapp of KFH Group. Ms. Gerty is currently the Division Manager, Operations Analysis/Research at the Regional Trans- portation Authority (RTA) in Chicago. This work was guided by the TCRP Project B-34 panel. The research team is grateful for the panel’s insights and support. C O O P E R A T I V E R E S E A R C H P R O G R A M S

TCRP Report 143: Resource Guide for Commingling ADA and Non-ADA Paratransit Riders will be of interest to public transit agencies wishing to explore whether and how to com- mingle ADA paratransit and non-ADA paratransit riders. The core features of the Resource Guide are two decision-making processes: (1) planning and (2) operations. The Resource Guide presents important lessons from transit agencies that have made decisions both to commingle and not to commingle their ADA paratransit and non-ADA paratransit riders. “Commingling” ADA and non-ADA riders is a newly coined term for a practice that has been operating in many communities since transit agencies began operating paratransit ser- vices required by the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA). For this project, “com- mingling” is defined as “routinely transporting ADA eligible paratransit riders with ‘other’ non-ADA paratransit riders on the same vehicles at the same time.” The intent of this Resource Guide is to suggest a roadmap for navigating through the process of planning for commingled services that will feed into the operations of that ser- vice, including development of operating policies and procedures. The decision process regarding the planning for commingling ADA and non-ADA rid- ers presented in the Resource Guide is organized into the following four major components: • Define purpose and objectives for commingling riders • Identify available capacity and funding • Evaluate service compatibility • Consider primary service parameters The operations decision process, which focuses on developing policies, procedures, prac- tices, and performance-monitoring strategies to ensure successful commingling of riders, also includes four major components: • Establish passenger eligibility requirements • Develop operating and cost allocation policies and procedures • Identify reporting requirements and assess technology needs • Develop marketing, education, and monitoring programs Readers of the electronic version of the report (available online at www.trb.org by search- ing for “TCRP Report 143”) will find that the components of the two decision-making flow charts—planning and operations—are color coded, which facilitates their readability and use. F O R E W O R D By Dianne Schwager Staff Officer Transportation Research Board

1 Summary 7 Background 7 Overview 9 ADA Complementary Paratransit Regulatory Requirements 10 Models for Commingling ADA and Non-ADA Paratransit Riders 11 Resource Guide Approach 12 Section 1 Planning Decision Process 14 A. Define Purpose and Objectives for Commingling 17 B. Identify Available Capacity and Funding 26 C. Evaluate Service Compatibility 27 D. Consider Primary Service Parameters 30 Section 2 Operations Decision Process 32 A. Establish Passenger Eligibility Requirements 34 B. Develop Operating and Cost Allocation Policies and Procedures 41 C. Identify Reporting Requirements and Assess Technology Needs 44 D. Develop Marketing, Education, and Monitoring Programs 48 Section 3 Lessons Learned 51 References 52 Abbreviations and Acronyms 54 Appendix A Transit Agency Survey Highlights 68 Appendix B Case Study Summaries 89 Appendix C Additional Resources C O N T E N T S Note: Many of the photographs, figures, and tables in this report have been converted from color to grayscale for printing. The electronic version of the report (posted on the Web at www.trb.org) retains the color versions.