New York Codes, Rules and Regulations › Title 17 - DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION › Chapter VI - Transportation Regulations › Subchapter G - Mass Transportation Operating Assistance › Part 980 - Rural Public Transportation Coordination Assistance Program Rules And Regulations › Section 980.5 - Department guidelines

Current through Register Vol. 46, No. 28, July 10, 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.