Answer:

Yes. The ADA applies regardless of whether there is federal funding involved. The applicable requirements may depend upon the nature of the project and the service that will result, such as fixed route, general public demand responsive, or ADA paratransit. A transit operator entering an arrangement with a ridesourcing entity to provide fixed-route service using only local funds would be required to ensure that any vehicle used on the system is accessible to and usable by persons with disabilities, including wheelchair users, and ensure that paratransit is provided as a complement to such routes.

Answer:

If the term "non-ADA transportation" is being used to refer to transportation services that are not ADA complementary paratransit, such services would be covered by the requirements for fixed-route or demand-responsive service for the general public, not by the ADA complementary paratransit service criteria.
It should be noted that the term "non-ADA transportation" is a misnomer; all modes of transportation, other than by aircraft, are covered by DOT ADA regulations.

Answer:

An EEO Program that meets FHWA’s requirements do not necessarily meet FTA’s requirements, and therefore, it may not be acceptable. However, a State DOT may submit the same EEO Program to FHWA and FTA as long as the program includes all components and information required under FTA’s EEO Circular. Additionally, some State DOT’s may be required to submit an EEO Program to FHWA but not be required to submit to FTA. A State DOT must submit an FTA EEO Program if it meets the two-prong threshold in Circular Section 1.4. State DOT-specific EEO requirements are discussed in FTA EEO Circular Section 1.5. All of the components required in an FTA EEO Program are explained in FTA EEO Circular Chapter 2.

Answer:

When a transit agency or State DOT crosses either the 100 transit-related employee two-prong threshold or the 50 transit-related employee two-prong threshold, both noted in Circular Section 1.4, the agency must self-report to FTA that it has crossed the threshold.

If the entity crosses the 50 transit-related employee threshold and meets the monetary threshold, the entity will be required to prepare and maintain, but not submit to FTA except upon request, a new abbreviated EEO Program within 90 days. Within 180 days, the entity will be required to implement its new EEO Program. FTA will follow up with the entity during its next oversight opportunity.

If the entity crosses the 100 transit-related employee threshold and meets the monetary threshold, the entity will be required to maintain its abbreviated EEO Program until FTA assigns an EEO Program Submission date to the entity and places the entity on a schedule to submit full EEO programs every four years. At the next EEO Program Submission date, the entity will be required to submit a full EEO Program as required under the updated Circular.

Answer:

FTA’s EEO Circular outlines the requirements of an FTA EEO Program submission, which includes transit-focused information that is unlikely to be provided in submissions to other agencies. However, if the EEO Program submitted to the other government agency fulfills all the requirements of Circular 4704.1A, then a transit agency can use the same program.

Answer:

The requirements for public entities would apply.
The public entity remains responsible for ensuring that the service provided is in compliance with DOT ADA regulations. This can be accomplished by ensuring that the private entity has sufficient accessible vehicles in its own fleet to provide equivalent service; by contracting with a separate entity to provide equivalent service, or by employing accessible vehicles from its own fleet.

Answer:

If real-time service is provided to eligible ADA paratransit passengers, it must be provided to all eligible ADA paratransit riders, including wheelchair users. This can be accomplished by ensuring that the ridesourcing entity has sufficient accessible vehicles available to provide equivalent service; by contracting with a separate entity to provide accessible vehicles; or most easily by simply incorporating your own accessible paratransit vehicles into the service to be provided by the ridesourcing entity.

Answer:

Such service would most likely be regarded as demand-responsive service to the general public. The service, though not necessarily the ridesourcing vehicles themselves, would have to be accessible to and usable by persons with disabilities, including those who use wheelchairs. For the service to be considered accessible, some vehicles, whether provided by the ridesourcing entity, the transit agency, or another contractor, must be accessible to passengers who use wheelchairs, such that the service to passengers with disabilities is equivalent to that provided to passengers without disabilities.
A transit system partnering with a ridesourcing entity to provide service to and from a commuter rail station, for example, could dispatch accessible vehicles from its own paratransit fleet via the ridesourcing entity’s smartphone app to accommodate wheelchair users.

Answer:

The EEOC requires EEO-4 information from state and local government entities, and therefore, it is likely that all State DOTs, transit agencies, and subrecipients who submit or compile information for the EEOC use EEO-4 forms. All transit agencies and State DOTs that meet the two-prong threshold in Circular Section 1.4 are required to submit Utilization analyses with EEO-4 data to FTA. However, if a subrecipient or contractor uses EEO-1 forms, it must ask its direct recipient whether it prefers the information to be submitted with EEO-1 or EEO-4 categories. If the direct recipient prefers EEO-4 categories, the contractor must transfer the EEO-1 data to EEO-4 categories.

Answer:

In accordance with the answer to the previous question, if a portion of funds are awarded for a project component that must be undertaken by an intercity passenger rail operator, those funds may be transferred to FRA for administration. If such a proposal is submitted as a single project, the applicant must clearly identify the portion of the project proposed to be administered by the intercity rail operator.

Answer:

In general, responses to the evaluation criteria should be concise enough to fit within the space provided on the supplemental form. Additional files may be submitted if necessary for documentation or backup, however, the supplemental form must still contain a complete summary of your response to the criteria. If additional documents are required (e.g. letters of funding commitment, excerpts from plans or studies, engineering documents), these should be referenced specifically in the response to the relevant evaluation criterion.

Answer:

In most instances, FTA's eligibility criteria are more flexible than FEMAs. We recommend that grantees first pursue FTA funding. However, if an expense is not eligible under the FTA program, grantees are free to pursue FEMA funds. FTA and FEMA have developed open lines of communication to ensure that project reimbursements are not duplicated and will assist grantees with identifying the proper source for reimbursement to the extent possible.

Answer:

Yes. Under Department of Transportation (DOT) Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) regulations at 49 C.F.R. Section 37.127, each public entity required to provide complementary paratransit service must make the service available to visitors as provided under the section. The transit entity must provide service to visitors who present documentation that they are ADA paratransit eligible in the jurisdiction in which they reside, under the criteria of 49 C.F.R. Section 37.125. If a visitor with a disability does not present such documentation, the transit entity may require documentation of the individual’s place of residence and of his or her disability, if the disability is not apparent. A transit operator is not required to provide service to a visitor for more than 21 days during any 365-day period; after that, the visitor may be required to apply for eligibility through the same processes established for residents under 49 C.F.R. Section 37.125.

Answer:

If funding is withdrawn from a resilience project to the extent that a viable resilience project with independent utility will not be completed, costs incurred under pre-award authority for that project will not be eligible for reimbursement. 

Answer:

Regardless of the results of the risk assessment, FTA expects the recipient to complete the scope of the Resilience project applied for without expectation of additional Hurricane Sandy funding. FTA may require the recipient to identify additional funding sources if necessary.Regardless of the results of the risk assessment, FTA expects the recipient to complete the scope of the Resilience project applied for without expectation of additional Hurricane Sandy funding. FTA may require the recipient to identify additional funding sources if necessary.

Answer:

Costs incurred for recovery that do not involve substantial changes to the location, capacity, or function of the transit asset do not need to be programmed in the TIP/STIP to be reimbursed.  However, FTA recommends that such projects undertaken more than a year after a disaster be programmed in the TIP/STIP to ensure that projects are planned and funded alongside non-emergency transportation projects within the State and/or metropolitan planning region. Recovery projects that include changes to the location, capacity, or function of the transit asset must be in the TIP/STIP prior to incurring costs.  As of November 1, 2013, resilience expenses must be programmed in the TIP/STIP prior to being incurred.

Answer:

Any provider of public transportation service is eligible to apply. If your agency is not an active recipient of FTA funding, you must apply in coordination with a current recipient that is willing to receive and administer the award on your behalf. If funds are awarded, you would need to be a subrecipient of the award under the administration of the current FTA recipient. For such cases, applicants should simply provide a letter from a current recipient indicating their willingness to pass the award through to you as a subrecipient. If you are unsure of who can serve as a direct recipient of FTA funds, please contact your regional FTA office. In addition to larger transit operators, this could include State departments of transportation.

Answer:

No. If the project is funded with research dollars, the law permits the Secretary to prescribe terms and conditions for the grant award. FTA has determined the drug and alcohol rules do not apply to these funds, even if the recipient of Public Transportation Innovation (§ 5312) research funds is also a recipient of Urbanized Area (§ 5307), Capital Investment Grant (§ 5309) or Rural Area (§ 5311) funds.

Answer:

Yes, however FTA will only participate in the scope of the project that was funded in the award announcement. In most cases, this scope corresponds with a proposed “scaled” option for the project. Other sources of funding would be required for the other elements of the project. If you are unsure what elements of the project are included in the award, please contact your regional office for additional guidance.

Answer:

Yes.  The prohibition on FTA funds being used to pay for the incremental costs of incorporating art or non-functional landscaping into facilities, including the costs of an artist on a design team, applies only to grants (including full funding grant agreements) entered into on or after December 4, 2015, regardless of the year the funds were made available. This prohibition also includes grant amendments; open grants may not be amended to include these prohibited costs. A grant that includes these costs may be amended for other purposes consistent with FTA policy, such as to add incremental funding to a full funding grant agreement, but the grant or agreement may not be amended to add or amend these prohibited costs.