Transportation is vital in maintaining independence and mobility for people with disabilities, linking them to employment, health care, and participation in the community. The President’s New Freedom initiative seeks to create a more accessible public transportation system for individuals with disabilities. The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act limits the time a person can receive welfare benefits, and generally requires recipients to participate in job and training activities.  For many of these people, access to transportation is the key to making a transition from welfare to work.  Public transit helps connect our lower income population to employment.

Performance Goal:

Increase public transit systems’ accessibility to those with disabilities.

Increase public transportation systems’ ability to provide access to job sites.

Performance measures:

(r) Revised. # Preliminary estimate; * Does not reflect stations under a time extension as discussed below; @ Corrected; N/A. Not available.

External Factors: As the population ages, more people will require accessible public transit. States and local agencies decide how to best allocate federally provided resources to ensure ADA compliance.

Strategies and Initiatives to Achieve 2004 Target: DOT resources attributable to this performance goal are depicted below:

 

FTA Capital, Formula, planning and research, and Job Access and Reverse Commute grants help local transit operators meet the requirements of Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and assess compliance at rail stations, which are then self-certified as ADA-compliant.  FHWA, FTA and other DOT organizations also work to improve the accessibility of other modes of transportation.  FTA also provides grants to State and local governments and non-profit organizations representing the disabled, Native Americans, migrant workers, welfare recipients, and low-income individuals to create new and expanded transit services.  The services are intended to move people from their homes to employment sites and other employment-related services, such as child-care and job training.  Grants also support services that provide access to suburban employment sites.

FHWA administers $1.5 billion in Congestion Management and Air Quality (CMAQ) funding, which is the major source of federal highway funds transferred to FTA for transit subsidies and other transit programs. Surface Transportation Program funds may also be used for transit purposes.

RSPA will guarantee critical and timely transportation services during natural and man-made disasters and national security crises.

Specific FTA initiatives include the following

▪          the President's New Freedom initiative will provide transportation alternatives for Americans with disabilities -- $145 million in competitive matching grants to promote alternative transportation methods and help disables Americans overcome transportation barriers;

▪          Special Needs of Elderly Individuals and Individuals with Disabilities grants will help meet transportation needs of the elderly and persons with disabilities when regular transportation services are unavailable, insufficient, or inappropriate to meeting their needs. ($87 million);

▪          Formula Grants will help transit agencies make their bus fleets more accessible;

▪          Transit Planning and Research provides $4.5 million to improve public transportation system accessibility.  Project ACTION will conduct research, develop technology, and provide technical assistance to transit operators providing accessible service;

▪          Rural Transportation Accessibility Incentive Program helps over-the-road bus operators finance American with Disabilities Act compliance costs for over-the-road buses; ($6.95 million) and

▪          Job Access and Reverse Commute grants help establish new transportation services and continue existing service linking welfare recipients to jobs.  ($150 million)

Other Federal Programs with Common Outcomes: DOT develops transportation strategies to meet the needs of elderly and disabled people, and the Department of Health and Human Services ensures that its services are accessible to its clients.  Helping people move from welfare to work is a goal shared by the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s “Bridges to Work” program, the Department of Labor’s Welfare to Work (WTW) program, and HHS’s Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) programs.  Federal funds from these Departments may be used as part of the local match to DOT’s Job Access grants and other non-DOT Federal aid.  DOL and HHS have increased the scope and flexibility with which both WTW and TANF funds can be used for transportation purposes.  Not only may these funds be used to fund clients’ trips, but also these funds may now be used to fund new and expanded transportation services similar to the Job Access and Reverse Commute Program.  Individual family reporting requirements and benefit time limits do not apply when WTW and TANF funds are used for new and expanded transportation service development.