Federal Transit Administration November 4, 2015 Subject: americans with disabilities act (ada): guidance
Assistance by Transit Agency Personnel
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- Discussion
- 2.5.2Other General Assistance
- 2.6Service Animals
2.5Assistance by Transit Agency Personnel2.5.1Lifts/Ramps and SecurementRequirement“Where necessary or upon request, the entity’s personnel shall assist individuals with disabilities with the use of securement systems, ramps and lifts. If it is necessary for the personnel to leave their seats to provide this assistance, they shall do so” (§ 37.165(f)). DiscussionRequired assistance, which can be provided by vehicle operators, conductors, or station attendants, includes acts such as deploying and stowing lifts and ramps, securing riders’ wheelchairs, and assisting with seat belts and shoulder harnesses. Section 37.165(f) requires personnel to provide this assistance even if it is otherwise not customary for them to leave their seats. Personnel may also need to assist riders who use manual wheelchairs on and off lift platforms, or up and down ramps. Appendix D to § 37.165 gives an example: “On a vehicle which uses a ramp for entry, the driver may have to assist in pushing a manual wheelchair up the ramp (particularly where the ramp slope is relatively steep).” The driver needs to assist an individual with using a ramp, assuming the level of assistance is reasonable and does not constitute a direct threat to the health or safety of the driver. The regulations do not set a minimum or maximum weight for an occupied wheelchair that drivers are obligated to help propel. Transit agencies will need to assess whether a particular level of assistance constitutes a direct threat on a case-by-case basis. 2.5.2Other General AssistanceIt is assumed that transit personnel are prepared to provide a reasonable level of assistance to customers with and without disabilities as part of their routine job of serving the public and in the interest of customer service. In the ADA context, personnel are not required to provide “attendant services” and take on the role typically provided by a PCA. The following examples from Appendix E to Part 37 (Reasonable Modification Requests) (see Circular Section 2.10) provide additional guidance regarding assisting individuals with disabilities: Fare Handling. A passenger’s request for transit personnel (e.g., the driver, station attendant) to handle the fare media when the passenger with a disability cannot pay the fare by the generally established means should be granted on fixed route or paratransit service (e.g., in a situation where a bus passenger cannot reach or insert a fare into the farebox). Transit personnel are not required to reach into pockets or backpacks in order to extract the fare media. Personal Care Attendant (PCA). While PCAs may travel with a passenger with a disability, transportation agencies are not required to provide a personal care attendant or personal care attendant services to meet the needs of passengers with disabilities on paratransit or fixed route trips. For example, a passenger’s request for a transportation entity’s driver to remain with the passenger who, due to his or her disability, cannot be left alone without an attendant upon reaching his or her destination may be denied. It would be a fundamental alteration of the driver’s function to provide PCA services of this kind. Luggage and Packages. A passenger’s request for a fixed route or paratransit driver to assist with luggage or packages may be denied in those instances where it is not the normal policy or practice of the transportation agency to assist with luggage or packages. Such assistance is a matter for the passenger or PCA, and providing this assistance would be a fundamental alteration of the driver’s function. Hand-Carrying. Except in emergency situations, a passenger’s request for a driver to lift the passenger out of his or her mobility device should generally be denied because of the safety, dignity, and privacy issues implicated by hand-carrying a passenger. Hand-carrying a passenger is also a PCA-type service which is outside the scope of driver duties, and hence a fundamental alteration. 2.6Service AnimalsRequirement“The entity shall permit service animals to accompany individuals with disabilities in vehicles and facilities” (§ 37.167(d)). DiscussionPer § 37.3, a service animal is: [A]ny guide dog, signal dog, or other animal individually trained to work or perform tasks for an individual with a disability, including, but not limited to, guiding individuals with impaired vision, alerting individuals with impaired hearing to intruders or sounds, providing minimal protection or rescue work, pulling a wheelchair, or fetching dropped items. The Department of Justice (DOJ) narrowed the definition of a service animal in amendments to its ADA regulations in 2010,7 but the DOT ADA regulations were unaffected. Accordingly, public transit providers must follow the DOT definition in § 37.3 when assessing whether to accommodate a particular animal. While most service animals are dogs, DOT’s definition recognizes the possibility of other animals. Service animals are animals that are “individually trained to work or perform tasks.” This training can be by an organization or by an individual, including the individual with a disability. Transit agencies are not required to transport animals that have not been individually trained to perform specific work or tasks. If an animal’s only function were to provide emotional support or comfort for the rider, for example, that animal would not fall under the regulatory training-based definition of a service animal. Simply providing comfort is something that an animal does passively, by its nature or through the perception of the owner. However, the ADA regulations do not prohibit a transit agency from choosing to accommodate pets and comfort animals, which would be a local decision. (See FTA response to Complaint 15-0117 for an example of how FTA has addressed the issue of defining what constitutes a service animal.) It is important that local policies and practices recognize that some persons with hidden disabilities do use animals that meet the regulatory definition of a service animal. This would include, for example, animals that are trained to alert individuals with seizure disorders to an oncoming seizure or respond to a seizure and animals that are trained to remind persons with depression to take their medication. Transit agencies cannot have a policy requiring riders to provide documentation for their service animal before boarding a bus or train or entering a facility, but personnel may ask riders two questions: (1) is the animal a service animal required because of a disability? and (2) what work or task has the animal been trained to perform? The following guidance also applies to service animals: Transit agencies may refuse to transport service animals that are deemed to pose a direct threat to the health or safety of drivers or other riders, create a seriously disruptive atmosphere, or are otherwise not under the rider’s control. For example, a rider with a service dog is responsible for ensuring the dog does not bite the driver or other riders. Conversely, a dog that barks occasionally would likely not be considered out of the owner’s control. A passenger’s request that the driver take charge of a service animal may be denied. Caring for a service animal is the responsibility of the passenger or a PCA. (See Appendix E to Part 37, Example 15.) Section 37.167(d) does not prescribe limits on the number of service animals that accompany riders on a single trip. Different service animals may provide different services to a rider during trips or at the rider’s destination. On complementary paratransit or other demand responsive services, transit agencies may ask riders for notification of their intent to ride with a service animal in order to help ensure adequate space is available for the animal. (An optional good practice is to keep such information in riders’ files.) Other riders’ or agency personnel’s allergies to dogs or other animals would not be grounds for denying service to a person accompanied by a service animal. The regulations explicitly state that service animals must be allowed to accompany individuals on vehicles and in facilities. Encountering a service animal in the transit or other environment is an expected part of being in public. Directory: sites -> fta.dot.gov -> files -> docs docs -> Federal Transit Administration Safety Advisory 14-1: Right-of-Way Worker Protection docs -> Alternative Fuels and Propulsion Vehicle Incentives docs -> Job Access Reverse Commute (jarc) Program fy 2010 Service Profiles docs -> Review of the new jersey transit corporation docs -> Review of new Jersey Transit Corporation docs -> Review of the jacksonville transportation authority docs -> Jacksonville Transportation Authority Assessment of ada complementary Paratransit Service Capacity Constraints June 8-11, 1999 docs -> Final policy statement docs -> 1200 New Jersey Ave, se washington, dc 20590 Download 1.93 Mb. Share with your friends:
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