Open Door and Extended Lift Policy - RTD Access-a-Ride (Paratransit) Policies

Original Presentation to RTD is here:    • RTD Access a Ride and Open Doors and Exten...   Text and files: https://goo.gl/DZGypz Two of the MANY false Perspectives of RTD: 1) RTD expects drivers to provide PCA Services. 2) RTD is not allowed to require that a passenger has a PCA. The first is beyond the point of absurdity and smacks of danger for both driver and passengers and squarely places the driver in an untenable place of severe accountability. If someone is a fall risk, they need compassionate refusal of service before any driver should place themselves and other passengers at risk. The second is a problem because RTD is correct in general, but the context here is a passenger who is violent, seriously disruptive or acting with illegal conduct. The FTA speaks reason to this nonsense RTD espouses: May a transit provider require a rider to travel with a personal care attendant (PCA)? Under Department of Transportation (DOT) Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) regulations at 49 C.F.R. Section 37.5(e), a transit entity is prohibited from requiring that an individual with disabilities be accompanied by a personal care attendant (PCA). Transit entities are also not required to provide PCA services. This provision must be considered in light of the fact that under 49 C.F.R. 37.5(h), an entity may refuse service to someone who engages in violent, seriously disruptive, or illegal conduct. If an entity may legitimately refuse service to someone, it may condition service to him on actions that would mitigate the problem. The entity could require a PCA as a condition of providing service it otherwise had the right to refuse. However, a transit entity cannot refuse to provide service solely because of an individual’s disability results in appearance or involuntary behavior that may offend, annoy, or inconvenience the entity or other persons.