Anderson v. Rochester-Genesee Regional Trans. Auth., 00-CV-6275L (W.D.N.Y. 8/14/2001)
| Decision Date | 14 August 2001 |
| Docket Number | 00-CV-6275L. |
| Parties | DEBORAH ANDERSON, et al., Plaintiffs, v. ROCHESTER-GENESEE REGIONAL TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY, et al., Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Western District of New York |
This is an action against the Rochester-Genesee Regional Transportation Authority ("RGRTA"), as well as a corporate subsidiary of RGRTA, Lift-Line, Inc., and two individual officers of those entities, alleging that defendants have systematically violated the Americans with Disabilities Act ("ADA" or "the Act"), 42 U.S.C. § 12101 et seq., because they have failed to provide the necessary transportation services to the disabled that are comparable to the services provided to the greater public. Although it appears that defendants' efforts in this regard have been well-intentioned, the record nevertheless demonstrates that those efforts have fallen short of what is required under the ADA and related federal regulations. Defendants can and must do better. The current system clearly discriminates against individuals with disabilities, and it must be rectified.
The action was commenced by twelve individual plaintiffs and the Center for Disability Rights ("CDR"), alleging claims under the ADA and 42 U.S.C. § 1983. The individual plaintiffs, all of whom are disabled within the meaning of the ADA, seek to enforce their right to comparable service, referred to as "paratransit services" under the Act. Paratransit services are defined by regulations promulgated by the Secretary of Transportation ("the Secretary") as "comparable transportation service required by the ADA for individuals with disabilities who are unable to use fixed route transportation systems." 49 C.F.R. § 37.3.
The complaint names four defendants: RGRTA and its Chief Executive Officer, Donald Riley; and Lift Line, Inc., and its director, Debie Himmelsbach. RGRTA is a state-created entity providing public transportation services in the Rochester, New York area. Lift Line is a wholly-owned subsidiary of RGRTA that provides paratransit services within the geographical area served by RGRTA. Plaintiffs allege that defendants have violated the ADA in a number of respects, all of which relate in some way to not proving adequate paratransit services. Plaintiffs request declaratory and injunctive relief.
Defendants, who have not yet answered the complaint, have moved for summary judgment. In short, they claim that the undisputed evidence shows that they are in compliance with the ADA.
Plaintiffs have cross-moved for summary judgment on three of their four claims for relief, or in the alternative for a preliminary injunction.
In order to understand and consider plaintiffs' allegations and claims, some familiarity with the relevant statutes and regulations is necessary. The particular statutory provisions at issue in this case are part of the ADA, which was enacted in 1990 to remedy various shortcomings in the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, 29 U.S.C. § 794. See Helen L. v. DiDario, 46 F.3d 325, 330-31 (3d Cir.) examining history of the two acts, and noting that Rehabilitation Act's weaknesses include, inter alia, limited coverage and inadequate enforcement mechanisms), cert. denied, 516 U.S. 813 (1995).
Finding the then-existing laws to be "inadequate" to combat "the pervasive problems of discrimination that people with disabilities are facing," S.Rep. No. 116, 101st Cong., 1st Sess. 18 (1989); H.R.Rep. No. 485(II), 101st Cong., 2d Sess. 47 (1990), Congress recognized a need for "omnibus civil rights legislation" that would "finally set in place the necessary civil rights protections for people with disabilities." S.Rep. No. 116, 101st Cong., 1st Sess. 19 (1989); H.R.Rep. No. 485(II), 101st Cong., 2d Sess. 40 (1990). In reaching that determination, Congress concluded:
[T]here is a compelling need to provide a clear and comprehensive national mandate for the elimination of discrimination against individuals with disabilities and for the integration of persons with disabilities into the economic and social mainstream of American life. Further, there is a need to provide clear, strong, consistent, enforceable standards addressing discrimination against individuals with disabilities.
S.Rep. No. 116, 20; H.R.Rep. No. 485(II), 50. See also 42 U.S.C. § 12101(b) ().
Congress's findings and intentions in this regard extended to many aspects of American life, transportation among them. The Act itself sets forth Congress's finding that discrimination against individuals with disabilities persisted in a number of "critical areas," including transportation. 42 U.S.C. § 12101(a)(3).
The legislative history of the ADA indicates that transportation was in fact an area of particular concern to Congress in passing the Act. The House Committee on Education and Labor, for example, described transportation as "the linchpin which enables people with disabilities to be integrated and mainstreamed into society." H.R.Rep. No. 485(II) at 37, (1990), reprinted in 1990 U.S.C.C.A.N. 303, 319. Similarly, the House Committee on Energy and Commerce stated that transportation "is a veritable lifeline to the economic and social benefits that our Nation offers its citizens . . . For this reason, the National Council on Disability has declared that `accessible transportation is a critical component of a national policy that promotes self-reliance and self-sufficiency of people with disabilities.'" H.R.Rep. No. 485(IV) at 25, (1990), reprinted in 1990 U.S.C.C.A.N. 512, 514.
Plainly, then, Congress firmly intended to see to it that the disabled be free from discrimination in the area of transportation, in order to enable them to be fully integrated into the fabric of society at all levels. It is against this backdrop that the court must examine the particular provisions at issue in the case at bar.
Section 12143(a) of Title 42 requires any public entity that maintains a public transit system to provide "paratransit and other special transportation services to individuals with disabilities . . . that are sufficient to provide to such individuals a level of service (1) which is comparable to the level of designated public transportation services provided to individuals without disabilities using such system; or (2) in the case of response time, which is comparable, to the extent practicable, to the level of designated public transportation services provided to individuals without disabilities using such system."
Section 12143(c)(7) requires the public entity annually to submit to the Secretary a plan for providing paratransit services which meet the requirements of the Act. Federal regulations promulgated by the Secretary pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 12134 permit the entity, once it has submitted a plan, to submit an annual certification of continued compliance in lieu of a full-blown updated plan. 49 C.F.R. § 37.135(c)(1).
The regulations also contain certain provisions concerning responses to requests for service, and in particular the timing of service following a request. These provisions are of central importance to the case at bar:
(b) Response time. The entity shall schedule and provide paratransit service to any ADA paratransit eligible person at any requested time on a particular day in response to a request for service made the previous day. Reservations may be taken by reservation agents or by mechanical means.
(1) The entity shall make reservation service available during at least all normal business hours of the entity's administrative offices, as well as during times, comparable to normal business hours, on a day when the entity's offices are not open before a service day.
(2) The entity may negotiate pickup times with the individual, but the entity shall not require an ADA paratransit eligible individual to schedule a trip to begin more than one hour before or after the individual's desired departure time.
(3) The entity may use real-time scheduling in providing complementary paratransit service.
(4) The entity may permit advance reservations to be made up to 14 days in advance of an ADA paratransit eligible individual's desired trips. When an entity proposes to change its reservations system, it shall comply with the public participation requirements equivalent to those of § 37.131(b) and (c).
In addition, the regulations place certain restrictions on the ability of a public entity to limit the availability of paratransit service, and the acceptable reasons why it may deny such service:
(f) Capacity constraints. The entity shall not limit the availability of complementary paratransit service to ADA paratransit eligible individuals by any of the following:
(1) Restrictions on the number of trips an individual will be provided;
(2) Waiting lists for access to the service; or
(3) Any operational pattern or practice that significantly limits the availability of service to ADA paratransit eligible persons.
(i) Such patterns or practices include, but are not limited to, the following:
(A) Substantial numbers of significantly untimely pickups for initial or return trips;
(B) Substantial numbers of trip denials or missed trips;
(C) Substantial numbers of trips with excessive trip lengths.
(ii) Operational problems attributable to causes beyond the control of the entity (including, but not limited to, weather or traffic conditions affecting all vehicular traffic that were not anticipated at the time a trip was scheduled) shall not be a basis for determining that such a pattern or practice exists.
The...
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