Liberty Resources, Inc. v. Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority, CIVIL ACTION NO. 99-4837 (E.D. Pa. 1/4/2001), CIVIL ACTION NO. 99-4837.

• Decision Date: 04 January 2001
• Docket Number: CIVIL ACTION NO. 99-4837.
• Parties: LIBERTY RESOURCES, INC. and CONSUMER CONNECTION, Plaintiffs v. SOUTHEASTERN PENNSYLVANIA TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY, Defendant.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Eastern District of Pennsylvania

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LIBERTY RESOURCES, INC. and CONSUMER CONNECTION, Plaintiffs v. SOUTHEASTERN PENNSYLVANIA TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY, Defendant.

CIVIL ACTION NO. 99-4837.

United States District Court, E.D. Pennsylvania.

January 4, 2001.

MEMORANDUM

REED, Senior Judge.

Presently before this Court are the cross-motions of plaintiffs Liberty Resources, Inc. ("LRI") and Consumer Connection (Document No. 9) and defendant Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority ("Septa") (Document No. 10), for summary judgment pursuant to Rule 56 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, and the responses thereto. The gravamen of this law suit is plaintiffs' claim that the number and nature of trip denials issued by Septa to disabled persons constitutes a violation of Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, 104 Stat. 337, 42 U.S.C. § 12132, and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, 87 Stat. 394, 29 U.S.C. § 794. Plaintiffs request equitable and declaratory relief. Pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 42(b), I will bifurcate this law suit and rule today only on the issue of liability. Accordingly, upon consideration of the cross-motions for summary judgment, I will grant plaintiffs' motion with respect to liability and deny without prejudice plaintiffs' motion with respect to remedies and will deny defendant's motion.¹

BACKGROUND²

Defendant Septa is a state-created instrumentality that provides public transportation services to individuals in Southeastern Pennsylvania. Septa receives federal monies from the Federal Transit Administration of the United States Department of Transportation. Septa operates a fixed route public transportation system that includes bus lines and rail services and runs according to fixed schedules. In addition, pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 12143, Septa operates a paratransit system in Philadelphia and several surrounding counties.³

Plaintiff LRI is a non-profit corporation located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. LRI is a designated center for independent living ("CIL"). CILs are community-based organizations established under the Rehabilitation Act, 29 U.S.C. § 796f-1-796f-4, to advocate for the civil rights of individuals with disabilities and improve their lives to enable them to live with greater independence. LRI receives federal and state funding, as well as grants and donations from private sources, to provide its services. One of LRI's missions is to eliminate transportation barriers for Philadelphia-area residents with disabilities. In addition to this effort, LRI works on the following issues on behalf of the disabled: advocating for affordable and accessible housing, providing personal assistance (attendant care), transitioning individuals from nursing facility care to community programs, advocating for community services and for the rights of those disabled persons living in nursing facilities, as well as providing information and referral, outreach and educational services.

Plaintiff Consumer Connection has about 75-80 members who are individuals with disabilities in the Philadelphia area. Plaintiffs describe Consumer Connection as an "unincorporated association" (Pls.' Mem. of Law in Opp'n. to Def.'s Mot. for Summ. J. and Reply in Supp. of Pls.' Mot. for Summ. J. ("Pls.' Mem. II") at 4) that advocates on issues that affect individuals with disabilities, including transportation, housing, health care, and personal assistance services.

Plaintiffs filed this law suit alleging that Septa fails to provide paratransit services as mandated by Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 ("ADA") and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 ("Section 504"). (Compl. at ¶ 1.) The parties have stipulated to the data regarding the number of paratransit rides that are denied to individuals with disabilities. These denials are commonly referred to as "trip denials." The crux of the parties' dispute for the purposes of this motion is whether or not the number and nature of trip denials constitutes a violation of either the ADA or Section 504.

In Philadelphia, Septa provides paratransit services to "ADA-eligible riders." These are riders with disabilities who are eligible for paratransit services under the ADA and Section 504. See 49 C.F.R. § 37.123. In Philadelphia, Septa also voluntarily provides paratransit services through its Shared Ride Program ("SRP") to individuals who are 65 or older. Septa is not obligated by statute to provide paratransit services to SRP patrons. Of the total paratransit rides provided by Septa, 50-55% are for SRP riders and 45-50% are for ADA-eligible riders.

The paratransit system provides rides twenty-four hours per day, seven days per week. The centralized reservation system is open Monday through Friday from 7:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Paratransit service is provided on a first-come, first-serve basis to both ADA-eligible and SRP riders. There are two types of ride requests. First, patrons can request a "standing order" which refers to a request for paratransit service that a rider needs on known and regularly repeated times on an ongoing basis. A rider need only call once for such a request. Second, patrons can request a "demand ride" which refers to all other types of trip requests. As mandated by 49 C.F.R. § 37.131(b)(2), Septa is to schedule any requested ride within a two-hour window.⁴ The patron's request for a ride may be made anytime between one day and seven days before the date of the requested ride.

Septa owns and leases 321 vehicles to provide paratransit service in Philadelphia.⁵ On an average day, 278 of the 321 vehicles, which are commonly referred to as "tours," are used to provide rides.⁶ Of the remaining 43, 6 to 30 are not available due to mechanical problems or preventative maintenance.⁷ On Saturdays, approximately 85 vehicles are used; on Sundays, approximately 67 vehicles are used.

Septa provided monthly charts detailing trip denials for the period between May 1999 and May 2000, inclusive. These charts relate only to ADA paratransit service and do not include data regarding SRP paratransit service. During this 397 day period, there were 1,050,770 rides requested.⁸ Of these trip requests, 460,846 consisted of standing orders and 589,924 consisted of demand rides. Over this 13-month period, there were 29,472 "capacity trip denials." These denials occur when an ADA-eligible paratransit rider requests a ride and Septa is unable to schedule that ride within the two-hour window because all of the available seats are taken by persons who have made prior reservations. Because standing orders are pre-arranged, a capacity trip denial can only be for a demand (i.e., non-standing) ride. The 29,472 capacity trip denials translates into on average daily rate of 74 denials. Statistically, 2.8 percent of total trip requests result in capacity trip denials and 5 percent of demand trip requests result in capacity trip denials.⁹

During the thirteen-month period, there were 89,131 next-day trip requests, i.e., trip requests for paratransit rides that are made by ADA-eligible paratransit riders on the day before the day of the requested ride. These requests fall into the demand ride category, not the standing order category. Of these requests, 11,948, or 13.4 percent, resulted in capacity trip denials. That data means that on an average day, 30 next-day rides were denied. During this period, there were 112,334 total weekend trip requests that resulted in 8,517, or 7.6 percent, capacity trip denials. That data means that on an average weekend day, 75 rides were denied. Also during this period, there were 290,092 total peak-service hour demand requests on weekdays which netted 18,569, or 6.4 percent, of capacity trip denials. That data means that on an average day, 66 peak-hour rides were denied.

Septa stipulated to the fact that it would be able to provide more services to ADA-eligible patrons if it had additional vehicles, drivers, and funds to pay for them. Cheryl Y. Spicer ("Spicer"), Septa's Chief Operating Officer, testified at her deposition that there were no forces outside of Septa's control that caused trip denials to be issued. (Dep. Test. of Spicer at 145-46.) Septa has never requested an undue burden waiver from the Department of Transportation.¹⁰ Septa has never conducted a study to determine if reducing the time in which riders may make advance reservations would eliminate capacity trip denials. Nor has Septa determined how much additional funding would be needed in order to meet the full demand for paratransit service. Currently, Septa determines its budget based on the number of trips Septa actually provides. This calculation excludes trip denials.

The Federal Transit Administration ("FTA") of the United States Department of Transportation, after reviewing Septa's paratransit budget and operations in March 2000, recommended that Septa include the number of trip denials when projecting paratransit volume in calculating its budget. Septa will be adjusting its budget request in the upcoming fiscal year; however, it will continue to assume a 2 percent to 3 percent trip denial rate.¹¹ Septa has not requested additional vehicles since Fiscal Year 1997-1998, which ended on June 30, 1998.¹² The budget for Fiscal Year 2000-2001, which began on July 1, 2000, does not include funds to increase the total number of paratransit vehicles. Septa will replace about 60 current vehicles during Fiscal Year 2000-2001.

LEGAL STANDARD FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT

According to Rule 56(c) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, a court may grant summary judgment if ". . .the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law." Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c).

The court must make its determination after...