What's happening
The bill requires accessible buses to be available within one and a half miles of any bus line of the authority and its subsidiaries.
Why it matters
Expands the guaranteed geographic reach of accessible buses. , meaning people with disabilities will have a bus with accessibility features available within 1.5 miles of any bus line—not just at scattered locations—helping to fill service gaps for those who live near, but not directly on, a bus route.
May drive transit agencies to adjust routes, deploy new vehicles, or expand paratransit coverage. to ensure compliance, potentially leading to more frequent or flexible service options for riders who rely on accessible transportation.
Raises the standard for transit equity and inclusion. , ensuring that transportation disabled persons are not left out due to the physical layout of bus networks, which is especially important in suburban, rural, or newly developed areas where traditional coverage may be sparse.
Could require new investments in fleet upgrades and infrastructure. , with possible implications for transit budgets, planning, and timelines as agencies work to meet the new accessibility radius requirement.
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Who cares
Headline styles
Expand Paratransit Service Area
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
History
- Referred to transportation
- Reported and committed to finance
- Referred to transportation
Full text
2 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
510
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE (Prefiled)
January 9, 2019
Introduced by Sen. KENNEDY -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Transportation
AN ACT to amend the transportation law, in relation to the service area for paratransit transportation
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Subdivision 4 of section 15-b of the transportation law, as amended by chapter 385 of the laws of 1985, is amended to read as follows:
4. Accessible buses. The system shall include access by transportation disabled persons, including persons in wheelchairs, to not less than sixty-five percent of buses in the regularly operated fleet of the authority, which shall be properly operated and maintained to facilitate their use by transportation disabled persons. To meet this sixty-five percent requirement, all buses purchased, leased, or otherwise brought newly into service on the bus lines of the authority and its subsidiaries, except buses leased or otherwise put into service to relieve temporary, unplanned shortages of buses in service, shall be accessible to transportation disabled persons until the sixty-five percent requirement is met. Accessible buses shall be available within a service area measuring one and a half miles from any bus line of the authority and its subsidiaries.
§ 2. Subdivision 4 of section 15-c of the transportation law, as added by chapter 61 of the laws of 1990, is amended to read as follows:
4. Required level of fixed-route accessibility. a. Each transportation provider shall provide access to one hundred percent of its regularlyoperated buses that provide local, fixed-route service. To implement this requirement on and after the effective date of this section, all buses purchased, leased or otherwise brought into service on the bus lines of each transportation provider shall be lift-equipped except any
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD02688-01-9
S. 510 2
bus which a provider has under contract of purchase on July first, nineteen hundred ninety for delivery after that date. Such lift-equipped buses shall be properly operated and maintained to facilitate their use by transit-disabled persons.
b. The provisions of paragraph a of this subdivision shall not apply to buses that are purchased, leased or otherwise brought into service that have a useful life of six years or less.
c. Accessible buses shall be available within a service area measuring one and a half miles from any bus line of the authority and its subsidiaries.
§ 3. This act shall take effect on the thirtieth day after it shall have become a law.
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the transportation law, in relation to the service area for paratransit transportation
Purpose
To provide people with disabilities the ability to be more integrated in the communities in which they live and conduct their daily activities.
Subdivision 4 section 15-b and 15-c of the transportation law is amended to make accessible buses available within a service area measuring one and a half miles from any bus line of the authority and its subsid- iaries.
Justification
"Though people with disabilities live in every community, our transpor- tation policy has undermined the Americans with Disabilities Act's (ADA) promise of equal opportunity in transportation for people with disabili- ties, resulting in isolation from jobs, housing, health care, and educa- tion. As political leaders we must take into consideration the needs of people with disabilities. People with disabilities make up about 6 million (40 percent) of the almost 15 million people in this country who have difficulties getting the transportation they need. Because many people with disabilities do not have the option to drive cars, lack of access to other modes of transportation disproportionately harms them. About 560,000 people with disabilities never leave home because of transportation difficulties."
http://www.civilrightsdocs.info/pdf/transportation/transportation-and disabilities-v%205-2.pdf
The stated goal of the Supreme Court's decision in Olmstead v. L.C., 527 U.S. 581 (1999), is to integrate people with disabilities into the community. More restrictive transportation policies and restrictions on routes of serve for people with disabilities affects their ability to become fully integrated in the community.
This bill is a significant step in complying with the provisions of Olmstead and helping many people who are marginalized and restricted in their ability to interact with services and members of the community. This bill will help make a difference to increase health care access and reduce isolation for adults and children in the broader community.
Legislative history
S6027 of 2018 - Referred to Senate Transportation Committee
Fiscal implications
None
Effective date
Immediately after the bill has become law.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.