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

T213 Seats

The 2010 NPRM proposed that non-rail vehicles operating in fixed route systems be required to designate at least two seats as priority seats for passengers with disabilities. See 2010 NPRM, Section T203.10.1. The priority seats must be located as near as practicable to a doorway used for boarding and alighting. This is similar to the requirement that wheelchair spaces be located as near as practicable to a doorway used for boarding and alighting. Where aisle-facing seats and forward-facing seats are provided, at least one of the priority seats must be forward facing.

Comments were received from a bus manufacturer and a transit operator seeking clarification whether flip up seats used in wheelchair spaces could also be designated as priority seats. There is nothing in the 2016 Non-Rail Vehicle Guidelines that prohibits such an approach. The same bus manufacturer also sought clarification concerning whether aisle-facing priority seats must be provided, even if none are near a doorway. When there is one or more aisle-facing seats on a fixed route non-rail vehicle, at least one of these seats must be designated as a priority seat. If there is only one aisle-facing seat on a fixed route non-rail vehicle, then that seat must be designated as a priority seat regardless of its location. If, however, a fixed route non-rail vehicle has more than one aisle-facing seat, then the transit operator has the discretion to designate as a priority seat whichever aisle seat it deems “as near as practicable” to a passenger doorway.