Current through Register Vol. 46, No. 12, March 20, 2024
The Department shall prepare and issue guidelines and other
program materials as it deems necessary or appropriate or as requested by
counties, for the effective administration of the Program. Such guidelines
shall be deemed advisory opinions to assist the counties in their understanding
of the statute of these rules and regulations, and are not to be deemed
regulatory unless they are or become a formal part of these regulations.
(a) Planning guidelines. The Department shall
issue, and periodically update, guidelines for a county Services Coordinator to
use to prepare the county's coordinated public transportation service plan
required by Section
980.7(a)
of this Part. The Department shall base its approval or disapproval of county
plans on whether such plans are complete. Each county's plan shall address,
among other items, the following components:
(1) provision for consultation with existing
transportation providers and purchasers, the county executive, if any, the
county legislature, the general public and other persons interested in the
plan;
(2) a description of the
geographic areas to be served;
(3)
a description of existing transportation services, facilities, equipment, and
usage;
(4) a description of the
sources, purposes and amounts of existing funds that are used by current
providers receiving public funds;
(5) a description of any new funding sources
that are proposed to be included in the coordinated public transportation
service program;
(6) a description
and tabulation of the current administrative and operating costs for passenger
transportation services of current providers receiving public funds;
(7) provision for the retention of existing
levels of human service agency funding for transportation services;
(8) provision for the inclusion of federal
and state public transportation operating assistance;
(9) provision for continuation of existing or
improved levels of transportation service to agency clients and the general
public currently receiving service;
(10) provision of new services for persons in
need of transportation who are not currently served or sponsored by human
service agency or program;
(11)
provision for the increased utilization of publicly funded vehicles which
currently provide passenger transportation services;
(12) procedures for the regular advertising
and marketing of the coordinated public transportation service indicating that
such service is open to the general public, and publication of methods by which
the general public can access and utilize the available coordinated public
transportation service;
(13)
performance, productivity and other measures that shall be used to measure the
effectiveness and efficiency of the coordinated public transportation
service;
(14) uniform definitions
related to record-keeping in order to maintain consistency among
counties;
(15) provision for the
equitable sharing of the coordinated public transportation service's total
operating costs among participating providers, agencies, and program
sources;
(16) provision for a
centralized accounting that provides primary documentation for all revenues and
expenses associated with managing and operating the coordinated public
transportation service in a county;
(17) investment of one person or office with
responsibility for managing the assets, operations and funding of the
coordinated public transportation service in a county;
(18) descriptions of how the coordinated
service will maintain its policies, routes, schedules, fare structures and
budget in a manner that encourages public review, responsiveness to user
concerns, energy conservation and fiscal solvency;
(19) a pre-established basis for determining
success using a specified means of performance measurement; a detailed budget
of the resources available and the assistance necessary for
implementation;
(20) a description
of the potential for the improvement of service to result from a coordinated
public transportation service, and the manner in which the service will promote
more economical, comprehensive or efficient service to the general public and
transportation disadvantaged populations;
(21) a description of the manner in which the
elements of the coordinated public transportation service are to be
consolidated into a single operating entity and the manner and extent to which
that entity will coordinate with any non-participating passenger transportation
services;
(22) a description of the
manner in which the subsequent two-year grants are to be utilized by the county
in its implementation of the plan, including itemized preliminary
budgets;
(23) a description of the
manner and extent to which existing fixed-route operations (if any), such as
those provided by a city government or an inter-county or intercity service,
are included in, or complemented by, the proposed coordinated
service;
(24) a description of the
steps the county will take to ensure that existing levels of funding for
passenger transportation are maintained and directed towards the Coordinated
Service Operator through the purchase of service;
(25) a description of the manner and extent
to which the coordinated public transportation service will meet the
transportation needs of the following:
(i)
persons with disabilities;
(ii)
low-income persons;
(iii) persons
who currently receive transportation through a human service agency
program;
(iv) transportation
disadvantaged persons who do not currently receive transportation;
and
(v) other members of the
general public;
(26) a
description and schedule of specific actions the county government will take to
implement the plan following its adoption.
Existing public transportation services within the county,
which do not choose to participate in the County's coordinated service, shall
be described in the county's plan along with a description of how the
non-participating services will be complemented, and not duplicated, by the
coordinated service. Ineligible transportation services may be included in the
county's plan for informational purposes only.
