Planning and Programming for the Elderly & Disabled

 

 

Introduction and Overview

 

Federal policy directed at providing transportation service to elderly and disabled people requires that public transportation be made available to such people. In 1990 major civil rights legislation was passed -- the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990 -- which instituted sweeping new requirements for accessibility improvements on all transportation services provided to the public. CDTA worked with a special committee (Capital District Committee for Accessible Transportation) created by New York State legislation to develop a plan for implementation of the Americans with Disabilities Act requirements. The plan, containing recommendations concerning the paratransit, main line, and rural services operated by CDTA, was submitted to FTA and NYSDOT on January 22, 1992. As required by the ADA final rule, CDTC certified on March 19, 1992 that it had reviewed the plan and the plan is in conformance with the region's transportation plan developed under the joint FTA/FHWA planning regulations. CDTA submitted an Annual Update to the Compliance Plan to FTA and NYSDOT in January 1993, 1994, 1995 and 1996. As required by the ADA final rule, the CDTC Policy Board reviewed the updates to the plan at the March meetings of those years. Full compliance to the ADA was required and achieved as of January 26, 1997. CDTA is no longer required to submit annual progress reports to the plan as long as the transit system continues to meet all service criteria of the ADA.

 

In response to this federal and state policy, and local community goals articulated through the planning process, the following special services and efforts will be progressed during the 1999-00 program year:

 

  1. STAR (Special Transit Service Available by Request) Service: CDTA's special transit service began operation in the summer of 1982. The service was designed for use by any Capital District resident that because of a disability, was unable to utilize CDTA's fixed route bus service. STAR service was modified in January 1993 to comply with the guidelines set forth in the ADA. The changes affected eligibility, service area and fares. Additional changes to STAR service were instituted in January 1994 to comply with ADA milestones. "Next day" service became available in 1994; CDTA began to process requests for paratransit service up to 14 days in advance of the trip in 1994 as well. During 1995, CDTA installed a state of the art computer system to better manage the STAR service requests and routing. During 1998, CDTA refined the eligibility requirements for STAR access in an attempt to curb clientele growth and to encourage use of the accessible fixed route system. In Spring 1999, CDTA installed the Windows-based version of the STAR scheduling software which allows for faster turnaround times, automated cancellation and verification of trips and is a faster system overall. CDTA will continue to review and refine the STAR reservation system during 1999-00.
  2.  

    The STAR fleet now consists of 30 heavy-duty vehicles and two mini-vans. Ten replacement vehicles are on order and will be received by October 1999. $0.250M is programmed in 2001-02 and $1.0M is programmed in 2002-03 of TIP project T6B for the purchase of up to six additional STAR heavy-duty vehicles. These vehicles will be used to replace existing STAR vehicles.

     

    Almost 130,000 elderly and/or handicapped people were provided specialized transportation service during the 1998 calendar year. This is an increase of 3.1 percent over the previous year's total of 126,000.

     

  3. STAR "Town Meetings": CDTA conducts "town meetings" to gather feedback from users of the STAR service on a biannual basis. The last two meetings were held in October 1998 and May 1999. The sessions are designed to serve as a mechanism by which information regarding changes in STAR service can be disseminated. Also, the meetings provide an opportunity for STAR users to comment on how the Authority can better serve the disabled community. CDTA plans to conduct two STAR town meetings during the 1999-00 fiscal year.
  4.  

  5. Fare Policy: Federal regulations mandate that transit fares for elderly and disabled riders during off-peak hours be no more than one-half the base peak-hour fare. The cost of this fare reduction policy during the 1997-98 fiscal year was nearly $1,000,000.
  6.  

  7. Other Special Efforts: During 1987, CDTA adopted the policy that all future purchases of fixed route, mainline buses be handicapped accessible. In concert with this policy, CDTA replaced 16 nonlift-equipped fixed route vehicles with 16 lift-equipped vehicles in June 1988. During 1990, these buses were retrofitted with large wheelchair clamps to make it easier for people using wheelchairs to use the bus. An additional ten lift equipped vehicles were received in May 1991, four in 1992-93 and seventeen in 1994. Eighty-two low-floor buses were put in service during 1997 and 1998. These low-floor buses were deployed first on the highest volume CDTA routes, including routes 1; 12; 13; 17, 32; 55; 86, and 90. Over half of the CDTA fixed route fleet was accessible by September 1998. During 1998, an additional 77 low-floor buses were ordered. Production problems have slowed delivery of this order, but these buses will be delivered by the end of 1999. As the low-floor buses are delivered, they will be deployed first on inter-city routes, then on routes serving major transportation and educational centers, then on routes to shopping malls and entertainment centers and lastly on routes serving hospitals. CDTA's fleet will be 98% accessible when these buses are put in service. CDTA anticipates that the fixed route mainline fleet will be entirely accessible by the end of the year 2000.
  8.  

    During 1997 and 1998, CDTA worked on improving bus stop amenities and accessibility and worked cooperatively with area municipalities to improve pedestrian amenities. Work on pedestrian access will continue throughout 1999.

     

  9. Northway Commuter Services: Upstate Transit’s fleet of 15 commuter buses is fully accessible to the disabled. $900,000 is programmed in the annual element of the 1999-04 TIP in project SA134 for three accessible buses to replace three buses that will be at the end of their useful life by the year 2000. Three additional buses are scheduled to be replaced in 2003-04. $1.20M of CMAQ funds is programmed in the fifth year of the 1999-04 TIP for these replacements.

 

Ongoing and New Initiatives

 

In 1981, CDTC completed a study which identified the transportation problems and needs of handicapped people residing in the Capital District. The findings of this study were documented in the CDTC report entitled, Elderly and Handicapped Transportation Study. In the spring of 1988, a re-survey of service providers was conducted. Results from this survey were summarized and two reports were written using the information collected from the survey. In December 1990, the 1989 Directory of Human Service Agencies Providing Transportation in the Capital District was published. The Directory is intended to serve two purposes: to increase public awareness of transportation service offerings throughout the Capital District and to encourage the development of cooperative efforts involving public and private agencies. In February 1991, the 1990 Human Service Agency Study was published. The 1990 report contains an inventory of transportation services and transportation needs of the elderly and handicapped in the Capital District. Comparisons between 1976 and 1988 service characteristics are also contained in this report.

 

During the 1993-94 fiscal year, CDTC, as part of the New Visions process, formed a task force to develop a plan that addresses special transportation needs through 2010. This task force met through November 1996. Findings of the task force were published in December 1996.

 

CDTC was involved with the Committee for Accessible Transportation (CAT) between January 1992 and February 1996. The CAT was established in the Capital District pursuant to the ADA. The committee was comprised of three transit disabled people, a representative of CDTA, a designee of the State Advocate for the Disabled, one designee of the Commissioner of NYSDOT and a representative from Blue Cross. The CAT met quarterly to monitor the implementation of the 1992 ADA Compliance Plan for CDTA. A member of the CDTC Staff attended the meetings. The CAT voted itself out of formal existence on February 14, 1996, the date that CDTA became fully compliant with the requirements of the ADA. CDTA and some members of the CAT, however, volunteered to reconstitute an advisory committee to CDTA (regarding accessibility issues) as an informal body. This group meets quarterly at the CDTA headquarters in Albany. CDTC is a member of this group.

 

CDTC staff continues to work on UPWP Task 4.07 -- Human Service Agency Transportation Options. Under this task, during 1996, 1997 and 1998, CDTC participated in the Statewide Coordinated Transportation Study (SCOTS). CDTA was the recipient of a demonstration grant under SCOTS. The purpose of SCOTS was to encourage the coordination of transportation provided by human service agencies. In this regard, CDTA and CDTC worked with human service agencies located in Albany, Rensselaer, Saratoga and Schenectady counties to initiate discussions about coordination and consolidation strategies. CDTA hired a consultant from the Community Association of America to aid in this task. Several coordination agreements resulted from this effort. An advisory group comprised of representatives from the four counties was also established to advise CDTA on funding of coordination proposals. The SCOTS demonstration program will come to an end at the end of March 1999.

 

The SCOTS program resulted in a major accomplishment in coordination for the Capital District -- ACCESS Transit, a subsidiary of CDTA was created in late 1997 for the purpose of "brokering" medical trips for Medicaid clients. Prior to the creation of ACCESS Transit, CDTA and CDTC staff conducted a number of meetings with representatives from the county departments of social services and the New York State Department of Health to determine the requirements and constraints of delivering transportation for Medicaid recipients. County representatives became interested in the brokerage concept primarily because it would save the counties money and relieve their burden of finding reliable transportation for their clients. $750,000 under project T56 was programmed in the annual element of the 1997-02 TIP to provide seed money for the brokerage. A portion of these monies were used to acquire office space, office equipment, a state of the art computer system and phone system and help cover salaries and benefits until the brokerage became operational. $200,000 of these monies is in the committed column of the 1999-04 TIP and a total of $400,000 for capital expenses is programmed for the first two years of the 1999-04 TIP.

 

ACCESS Transit began brokering trips for Rensselaer County on September 8, 1998, and began serving clients from Schenectady County in October 1998. Albany County clients were accommodated by the end of November. Now that the brokerage is in place, people requiring non-emergency transportation for medical trips (under Medicaid) call one central phone number to arrange trips. ACCESS Transit arranges transportation for the client, bundles trips for maximum efficiency and reimburses transportation providers for services rendered (within 30 days). ACCESS Transit is accountable to the counties and regularly monitors service quality and speed of delivery. ACCESS Transit brokered over 6,700 trips in January 1999 and processes over 200 requests per day.

 

As this system of reservations and delivery of service becomes refined, it is expected that area transportation providers will improve their performance, improve quality standards and competitively bid the cost of transportation. It is anticipated that human service agencies within the Capital District will also join the brokerage. A brokerage is attractive because duplication of service is avoided, unproductive trips and some deadheading can be eliminated, the efficiency of trips is improved (more passengers per trip), and maintenance and driver training practices are standardized. The ultimate goal of the brokerage is to create a "community transportation network" that will take people who have no alternative means of transportation to places that they need to go. This network will become an important element in the community as the Welfare to Work program (T66) gains momentum.

 

CDTA and CDTC staff participated in several regional and state welfare-to-work initiatives during 1998. Staff from both agencies participate in the Private Industry Council's (PIC) Workforce Development Board's Steering Committee meetings and will continue to participate as the PIC is phased out and replaced with a Workforce Investment Board (WIB). CDTA submitted two grant applications that request monies to provide transportation and other services to people transitioning from welfare to work. These were submitted on behalf of a regional task force that was formed to grapple with these issues. CDTA was notified in the Spring of 1999 that they were approved for monies from both the New York State Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) Grant ($900,000 over two years) and the Federal Transit Administration's Access to Jobs Grant ($995,000 over two years). As specified by federal guidelines, the Access to Jobs monies appears in this TIP (Project T66). Work on the transportation piece of welfare-to-work will continue during 1999-00.

In addition to the efforts described above, CDTC has been involved in the process in which area agencies apply for FTA Section 5310 funding (formerly Section 16(b)(2)). As part of this effort, the CDTC staff annually evaluates Section 5310 applications with respect to need, alternatives to funding, and coordination efforts. These evaluations are forwarded to NYSDOT for integration into the State Interagency Review Committee's review process.

 

In April 1997, nine area human service agencies applied for funding under the FFY 1998 Section 5310 program. The CDTC staff evaluated the nine applications and presented the evaluations to the Planning Committee in May 1997. The evaluations were approved and forwarded to the State Interagency Review Committee.

 

In October 1997, CDTC was notified that two of the nine FFY 1998 applications were recommended for funding (for four vehicles) and that two applications were recommended for standby funding. Table 4 contains a list and description of these projects. From Table 4, it can be seen that a total of $337,000 ($269,600 federal) was recommended for funding by the Interagency Review Committee under the FFY 1998 Section 5310 program, and $176,000 ($140,800 federal) was recommended for standby funding. It should be noted that in May 1998, supplemental funds for the Section 5310 program became available and projects on the standby list were funded. As a result, four additional vehicles were purchased with Section 5310 funds, totaling $176,000.

 

Eleven agencies applied for sixteen vehicles under the FFY ‘99 Section 5310 program. Five of these agencies were notified in October 1998 that they were approved for funding for the purchase of seven vehicles (these five agencies applied for a total of eight vehicles) and three agencies were notified that they were placed on the standby list for funding. However, none of the standby projects were subsequently approved for funding. Table 5 contains a list and description of the projects that were approved. From Table 5 it can be seen that $424,358 ($339,486 federal) was allocated to the Capital District human service agencies.

 

Six area agencies applied for eleven vehicles under the FFY2000 Section 5310 Program totaling $743,700 ($594,960 federal). In the fall of 1999, the New York State Department of Transportation will notify CDTC of the status of these projects. The 1999-00 column of Project T6A will be modified once CDTC is notified of the project approvals.

 

 

 

Table 4

FFY 1998 Section 5310 Program Recommendations

(As Recommended by the New York State Interagency Review Committee)

 

 

Projects Recommended For Funding

 

 

County

Applicant

Vehicles

Total Cost

Albany

Cerebral Palsy Center for the Disabled

One 24-passenger wheelchair accessible bus

One 40-passenger wheelchair accessible bus

$ 145,000

Saratoga

Saratoga County ARC

Two 40-passenger wheelchair accessible buses

192,000

Approval Subtotal

   

$ 337,000

 

 

 

Projects On Standby List for Funding and Subsequently Approved

County

Applicant

Vehicles

Total Cost

Schenectady

American Red Cross

Two 20-passenger wheelchair accessible buses

$82,000

Schenectady

Schenectady County ARC

Two 24-passenger wheelchair accessible buses

94,000

Standby Subtotal

   

$176,000

 

TOTAL FUNDED

 

 

$513,000

 

 

Table 5

FFY 1999 Section 5310 Program Recommendations

(As Recommended by the New York State Interagency Review Committee)

 

 

Projects Recommended For Funding

 

 

 

County

Applicant

Vehicles

Total Cost

Albany

The Altamont Program

One 12-passenger wheelchair accessible bus

$ 37,000

Albany

Arbor Hill Community Center

One 20-passenger wheelchair accessible bus

44,000

Albany

Cerebral Palsy Center for the Disabled

One 24-passenger wheelchair accessible bus

One 40-passenger wheelchair accessible bus

153,358

Saratoga

Saratoga County ARC

Two 24-passenger wheelchair accessible buses

96,000

Schenectady

Schenectady County ARC

Two 24-passenger wheelchair accessible buses

94,000

Approval Subtotal

   

$ 424,358