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

Section 37.135 Submission of Paratransit Plans

This section contains the general requirements concerning the submission of paratransit plans. Each public entity operating fixed route service is required to develop and submit a plan for paratransit service. Where you send your plans depends on the type of entity you are. There are two categories of entities which should submit their plans to states—(1) FTA recipients and (2) entities who are administered by the state on behalf of FTA.

These FTA grantees submit their plans to the states because the agency would like the benefit of the states' expertise before final review. The states' role is as a commenter, not as a reviewer.

This section also specifies annual progress reports concerning the meeting of previously approved milestones, any slippage (with the reasons for it and plans to catch up), and any significant changes in the operator's environment, such as the withdrawal from the marketplace of a private paratransit provider or whose service the entity has relied upon to provide part of its paratransit service.

Paragraph (d) of this section specifies a maximum time period for the phase-in of the implementation of paratransit plans. The Department recognizes that it is not reasonable to expect paratransit systems to spring into existence fully formed, like Athena from the head of Zeus. Under this paragraph, all entities must be in full compliance with all paratransit provisions by January 26, 1997, unless the entity has received a waiver from FTA based on undue financial burden (which applies only to the service criteria of §37.131, not to eligibility requirements or other paratransit provisions).

While the rule assumes that most entities will take a year to fully implement these provisions, longer than a year requires the paratransit plans to submit milestones that are susceptible to objective verification. Not all plans will be approved with a five-year lead-in period. Consistent with the proposed rule, the Department intends to look at each plan individually to see what is required for implementation in each case. DOT may approve only a shorter phase-in period in a given case.