13298 Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 39 / Wednesday, February 27, 2013 / Proposed Rules 

additives, Food additives, Pesticides 

and pests, Reporting and recordkeeping 

requirements. 

Dated: February 20, 2013. 

Lois Rossi, 

Director, Registration Division, Office of 

Pesticide Programs. 

[FR Doc. 2013–04594 Filed 2–26–13; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Office of the Secretary 

49 CFR Part 37 

[Docket No. DOT–OST–2013–0014] 

Notice of Retrospective Review of the 

Americans With Disabilities Act 

Regulations for Over-the-Road Bus 

Operators; Request for Comments 

AGENCY: Office of the Secretary (OST), 

U.S. Department of Transportation 

(DOT). 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: The DOT is seeking 

comments to help conduct a review of 

some of the requirements of the 

Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 

(ADA) implementing regulations for 

over-the-road bus (OTRB) operators. The 

DOT will review regulations specified 

in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION

section. Your comments will assist DOT 

with making decisions to modify or 

retain certain requirements found in 

these ADA regulations. 

DATES: Please send your comments by 

April 29, 2013. 

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are 

invited to submit written comments to 

assist in our review of 49 CFR part 37 

subpart H to the Office of General 

Counsel. Mail or hand deliver 

comments to the Docket Management 

Facility, U.S. Department of 

Transportation, 1200 New Jersey 

Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20590; 

submit electronically at http:// 

www.regulations.gov; or fax comments 

to 202–366–9313. All comments should 

include the docket number that appears 

in the heading of this document. All 

comments received will be available for 

examination and copying at the above 

address from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., e.t., 

Monday through Friday, except Federal 

holidays. Those desiring notification of 

receipt of comments must include a selfaddressed, stamped postcard or may 

print the acknowledgment page that 

appears after submitting comments 

electronically. Anyone is able to search 

the electronic form of all comments in 

any one of our dockets by the name of 

the individual submitting the comment 

(or signing the comment, if submitted 

on behalf of an association, business, or 

labor union). You may review DOT’s 

complete Privacy Act Statement in the 

Federal Register published on April 11, 

2000 (65 FR 19477). 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jill 

Laptosky, Attorney–Advisor, Office of 

Regulation and Enforcement (C–50), 

U.S. Department of Transportation, 1200 

New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, 

DC 20590, 202–493–0308 (telephone), 

202–366–9313 (fax), 

jill.laptosky@dot.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On 

September 28, 1998, the U.S. 

Department of Transportation (DOT or 

the Department) issued final 

regulations, in response to the ADA 

(Pub. L. 101–336, 104 Stat. 327, 42 

U.S.C. 225 and 611), which required the 

accessibility of new over-the-road buses 

(OTRBs) and accessible OTRB service. 

An OTRB is defined as ‘‘a bus 

characterized by an elevated passenger 

deck located over a baggage 

compartment.’’ 49 CFR 37.3. The 

regulations require commercial OTRB 

operators to ensure that passengers with 

disabilities have access to OTRB 

transportation. The DOT is required by 

49 CFR 37.215 to review various 

requirements within the ADA 

regulations for OTRB operators. These 

requirements include the following: the 

purchase and lease requirements of new 

OTRBs by operators of fixed-route 

systems (§ 37.183), the fleet accessibility 

requirements for OTRB fixed-route 

systems of large operators (§ 37.185), the 

interline service requirements 

(§ 37.187), the service requirement for 

OTRB demand-responsive systems 

(§ 37.189), the special provision for 

small mixed-service operators 

(§ 37.191), and the interim service 

requirements for fixed-route operators 

(§ 37.193(a)). We are not reviewing any 

other requirements in the ADA 

regulations for OTRB operators at this 

time. 

As part of this review, DOT is 

required to consider certain factors, 

including the percentage of accessible 

OTRBs in the fleets of OTRB operators, 

the success of such operators at meeting 

the requests of passengers with 

disabilities for accessible OTRBs in a 

timely manner, ridership of OTRBs by 

passengers with disabilities, volume of 

complaints by passengers with 

disabilities, and the cost and service 

impacts of these requirements. After the 

review, DOT will decide whether it is 

appropriate to revise the part 37 ADA 

regulations for OTRB operators or retain 

the current regulations without change. 

The DOT will publish a notice, after the 

review is complete, that announces our 

decision and our justification. 

To this end, DOT requests comments 

and information so the Department can 

better review such ADA regulations and 

make an informed decision on whether 

to initiate a rulemaking to propose 

revisions to any of the regulations 

involving OTRBs and, if so, how to 

develop a notice of proposed 

rulemaking. Specifically, comments 

about OTRB fleet accessibility, 

fulfillment of accessible OTRB service 

requests, and ridership and volume of 

complaints by passengers with 

disabilities, would be helpful. The DOT 

welcomes comments from the public, 

including OTRB operators and 

individuals with disabilities, on any 

aspect of this notice. The Department is 

particularly interested in comments 

from OTRB operators, both large and 

small, on the following: 

1. The accessibility of your OTRB 

fleet. How many OTRBs do you own? Of 

the OTRBs that you own, how many are 

accessible? How many OTRBs are termleased longer than 30 days? Of the 

OTRBs that are term-leased, how many 

are accessible? Have you been 

successful at meeting the requests of 

passengers with disabilities for 

accessible OTRBs in a timely manner, 

and what challenges continue to exist in 

meeting these requests? 

2. Accessibility arrangements. If your 

company does not own or lease an 

accessible OTRB, what arrangements 

have you made to meet the requirements 

to provide accessible transportation? For 

example, has your company made 

arrangements with another company 

that operates an accessible OTRB to 

provide accessible OTRB service on 

behalf of your company when a 48-hour 

advance notice request for accessible 

OTRB service is received? 

3. Received requests. Within the 

previous 12 months, have you received 

any of the following inquiries, requests, 

or complaints, and, if so, how many? 

• Inquiries regarding whether your 

company owns or leases an accessible 

OTRB, 

• Inquiries regarding whether your 

company can provide accessible OTRB 

service, 

• Requests for accessible OTRB 

service that were received with a 

minimum of 48-hour advance notice 

and satisfied according to the requested 

provisions, 

• Number of passengers with 

disabilities who have used your 

company’s accessible OTRB service, and 

• Complaints regarding denial of 

accessible OTRB service to an 

individual with a disability. 


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Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 39 / Wednesday, February 27, 2013 / Proposed Rules 13299 

4. Costs and Service Impacts. What 

are your company’s costs of providing 

accessible OTRB service? Please provide 

specific cost data broken down into 

various cost categories (e.g., 

maintenance). What effect does 

accessible transportation compliance 

have on your overall operation? 

5. Other Comments. The Department 

is also interested in your input on 

whether any specific requirement under 

review should be changed and why. 

Please provide supporting information 

for your recommended change, and 

explain whether the recommended 

regulatory change would affect all types 

of OTRB operators or just one type, such 

as large fixed-route, small fixed-route, or 

all demand-responsive operators. 

Your comments will help the 

Department conduct a review of its ADA 

regulations for OTRB operators and 

decide whether to propose any 

regulatory revisions. At this time, there 

are no pending proposed revisions to 

DOT’s ADA regulations for OTRB 

operators. 

Issued in Washington, DC, on February 19, 

2013. 

Robert S. Rivkin, 

General Counsel. 

[FR Doc. 2013–04309 Filed 2–25–13; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–9X–P 


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