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
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 2005-10 program years:
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 unable
to utilize CDTA's fixed route bus service because of
a disability. STAR service was modified
in January 1993 to comply with the guidelines set forth in the
The STAR fleet now consists of 24 heavy-duty
vehicles, sixteen (16) cutaways, and two low-floor Elf buses. $0.640M
per year is programmed in the 2005-2010
Approximately,
106,200 elderly and/or handicapped people were provided specialized trips
during the 2003-04 state fiscal year.
2. 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 May 2004 and December 2004. The
sessions 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 CDTA can
better serve the disabled community.
CDTA will continue to conduct STAR town meetings during the 2005-06
fiscal year.
3. 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. In fiscal year 2004,
CDTA sold 6765 half-fare SWIPER cards.
Over 269,000 half-fare cash rides were also recorded on the fixed route
system between April 2003 and March 2004.
The cost of this fare reduction policy was nearly $400,000.
In April 2005, CDTA changed its fare structure and policy in the following ways:
simplify the structure, eliminate free transfers, and introduce a $3 day pass. Together with these changes, CDTA will expand
half-fare applicability to all day (not just off peak), every day.
4. 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 its entire fixed route fleet between
1998 and 2003 with low floor buses, making it 100% accessible. Approximately 600 to a high of 1500 people in
wheelchairs access the fixed route system in a given month. This high variability is partially explained
by the policy of granting seasonal eligibility for paratransit
services. Wheelchair boardings
on the fixed route system are consistently higher in the summer months.
Over the
past several years, CDTA has worked on improving bus stop amenities and
accessibility and has worked cooperatively with area municipalities to improve
pedestrian amenities. Work on pedestrian
access, including issues related to the elderly and mobility disabled
population, will continue throughout 2005-06.
5. Northway Commuter Services: Upstate
Transit’s fleet of 15 commuter buses is fully accessible to the disabled. $1.350M of CMAQ funds are programmed in the
fifth year of the 2005-10
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
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
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
(NYSDOH) to determine the requirements and constraints of delivering
transportation for Medicaid recipients.
County representatives became interested in the brokerage concept
primarily because it could 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
ACCESS Transit began brokering
trips for
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. Since ACCESS’s inception, area
transportation providers have improved their performance and quality standards.
Consumer satisfaction of the system is measured and is constantly rated high.
During 1998, CDTA
submitted two grant applications requesting 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. The task force consisted of members from the
Albany County Department of Social Services (DSS), the Rensselaer County DSS,
the Schenectady County DSS, representatives from job training agencies, the
workforce development board, CDTA, CDTC and others. 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 19 months) and the Federal
Transit Administration's Access to Jobs (JARC) Grant ($497,000 over one
year). As specified by federal
guidelines, the Access to Jobs monies appeared in the 1999-04
In September 2000, CDTA
submitted a grant application to the New York State Department of Labor for
welfare to work monies under the Community Solutions for Transportation (CST)
program. Under this program, CDTA submitted
an application on behalf of the four counties (
CDTA also applied for a
second year JARC grant for $497,000 under the JARC 2000 program. CDTA was not awarded monies under this
program, but was provided an earmark of $250,000 under the JARC 2001 program (
During
2004, the US Department of Transportation, with its partners at the US
Departments of Health and Human Services, Labor and Education, launched United
We Ride, a five-part initiative, to break down the barriers between programs
and set the stage for local partnerships that generate common sense solutions
and deliver A-plus performance for everyone who needs transportation. During
2004, NYSDOT developed a partnership with
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 evaluation
process.
In May 2003, four area human
service agencies applied for funding under the FFY 2004 Section 5310
program. The CDTC staff evaluated the
four applications and presented the evaluations to the Planning Committee in June
2003. The evaluations were approved and
forwarded to the State Interagency Review Committee.
In October 2003, CDTC was
notified that all four FFY 2004 applications were recommended for funding (for
eight vehicles). Table
6 contains a list and description
of these projects. From Table 6, it can be seen that a total of $347,520
($278,016 federal) was recommended for funding by the Interagency Review
Committee under the FFY 2004 Section 5310 program.
Eight agencies applied
for 17 vehicles under the FFY 2005 Section 5310 program. In December 2004, seven of the eight agencies
were notified that they were approved for funding for the purchase of 15
vehicles (one agency applied for four vehicles but was approved for three
vehicles, the maximum allotment). Table 7 contains a list and description of
the projects that were approved. From
Table 7, it can be seen that $739,735 ($591,788 federal) was allocated to the
Capital District human service agencies under the FFY 2005 Section 5310
program. The figure of $739,735 appears
in the 2005-06 committed column of
A total of $6.3M
(federal share) has been awarded to Capital District Human Service Agencies
through this program since FFY 1982.
Table
6
FFY 2004 Section 5310 Approved Projects
County |
Applicant |
Vehicles |
Total Cost |
|
Cerebral |
Two 24-passenger
wheelchair accessible buses |
$ 96,120 |
|
Colonie Senior Service Centers |
One
12-passenger bus |
32,800 |
|
|
One 24-passenger
wheelchair accessible bus One 40-passenger
wheelchair accessible bus |
122,480 |
|
|
Two 24 passenger
wheelchair accessible buses |
96,120 |
Approval Subtotal |
|
|
$ 347,520 |
Table 7
FFY 2005 Section 5310 Approved Projects
County |
Applicant |
Vehicles |
Total Cost |
|
|
Two 24-passenger
wheelchair accessible buses |
$ 90,406 |
|
Colonie Senior Service Centers |
One 12-passenger van
wheelchair accessible |
31,761 |
|
Cerebral |
Three 24-passenger
wheelchair accessible buses |
134,325 |
|
|
One 24-passenger
wheelchair accessible bus One 40-passenger
wheelchair accessible bus |
145,633 |
|
Catholic Charities Of |
Two 12 passenger
wheelchair accessible vans |
70,198 |
|
|
Two 24-passenger
wheelchair accessible buses One 40-passenger
wheelchair accessible bus |
196,856 |
|
Senior Care Connection |
Two 12-passenger
wheelchair accessible vans |
70,558 |
Approval Subtotal |
|
|
$739,735 |
[1] This agency applied for three 24-passenger accessible vehicles and one 40-passenger vehicle, but funding was received for one 24-passenger vehicle and one 40-passenger vehicle.