Transportation for Individuals With Disabilities

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY OF TRANSPORTATION DOCKET NO. OST?2006-23985, RIN 2105-AD54: Transportation for Individuals with Disabilities Comments of the Bus Industry Safety Council (BISC) and the American Bus Association (ABA) On the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking of February 27, 2006 The Bus Industry Safety Council (BISC) and the American Bus Association (ABA) appreciate the opportunity to comment on the Office of the Secretary?s (?OST?) Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (?NPRM?) in the above titled proceeding. The ABA is the premier private bus industry trade association. The ABA is home to some 3500-member companies and organizations and approximately 800 bus operator companies. The bus operator members provide all manner of transportation services to the public including: fixed route scheduled service, charter and tour, airport shuttle and commuter services. The ABA bus operator membership is primarily composed of small businessmen and women. The average ABA operator owns eight motorcoaches, yet this industry transports over seven hundred million passengers each year . The Bus Industry Safety Council (BISC) is an ABA supported organization composed of the safety, security and operations chiefs of private bus carriers and organizations in the United States. Each organization has serious concerns about the OST?s proposal to amend current over-the-road bus accessibility standards as suggested by questions 6 and 7 of the NPRM section entitled ?Request for Comment on Other Issues?. With respect question 6 of the NPRM section entitled ?Request for Comment on Other Issues? ABA and BISC believes the following: First, any modification to the existing definition of the ?common wheelchair? needs to be very carefully analyzed for its effect on individual transportation sectors, including the intercity (over-the-road) bus industry. Starting shortly after the ADA was signed into law, the U.S. Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board (Access Board) issued accessibility design and performance guidelines for over-the road buses. These design standards were subsequently incorporated into 49 CFR Part 38. The 1998 DOT over-the-road bus (OTRB) accessibility rules (1998 rules) are incorporated in both 49 CFR Part 37 and 38. Shortly thereafter the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) issued a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM), which proposed changing the Access Board standards for lighting and wheelchair lift performance. The industry appealed to the DOT Secretary to hold off on any changes until after the end of the ADA implementation period (2000 ? 2012). The industry believed, and continues to believe, that changing the rules during the ADA implementation period will cause a chilling effect on the federally-mandated accessibility schedule within industry and could harm the very individuals that the Department is striving to serve. Specifically, any change in the rules would require massive and costly changes in the manufacture, sales and service of over-the-road buses (OTRB). Moreover, such changes would increase the cost of buses to bus operators and ultimately to the public. In addition to the added cost of the buses, operators would be required to spend considerably more money servicing equipment and training personnel in their use. The 1998 rules call for intercity bus operators to report on their accessibility progress and consumer calls for accessible service to DOT on an annual basis. In turn, this year (2006) the Department is tasked with reviewing the number of calls for service and the industry?s progress in serving the disabled to determine whether the 1998 rules were excessively stringent and reporting those results to Congress. To ABA?s knowledge this review has not been undertaken. The industry?s review of the accessibility complaint filings with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), plus a review of annual repor…