The US DOT issued a Final Rule under the American Disability Act (ADA) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 which takes effect on July 13, 2015, and can be found at http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2015-03-13/pdf/2015-05646.pdf. Per this final rule, StarTran is required to make reasonable modifications or accommodations to policies, practices and procedures to ensure individuals with disabilities have equal access to its transit programs and services (fixed-route service and Paratransit). “The real-world effect will be that the nature of an individuals’ disability cannot preclude a public transit entity from providing full access to their service unless some exception applies.”
Therefore, StarTran will consider requests for reasonable modifications so that individuals with disabilities can have equal access to our fixed route and Paratransit services as follows:
Modification Requests Submittals: The individual requesting the modification will describe what they need in order to use StarTran’s fixed route or Paratransit service. Individuals should state their impending trip date within their request, if possible. StarTran can take up to 21 days to process ADA applications and any ADA Reasonable Accommodation requests.
Designated Responsible Employee: StarTran Assistant Transit Manager, Carla Cosier is the designated responsible employee to approve/deny pending reasonable modification requests.
Carla Cosier StarTran Assistant Transit Manager 710 J Street Lincoln, NE 68508 ccosier@lincoln.ne.gov 402-441-7075
StarTran is committed to providing public transit service to all the general public including those individuals with disabilities. If you are an individual with a disability and believe an accommodation or modification in StarTran’s services, policies or programs would allow you to access StarTran’s transit services, please contact StarTran Assistant Transit Manager, Carla Cosier above via phone, letter or email and describe what is needed to be modified in order for you to utilize StarTran services.
Requests In Advance: Whenever feasible, requests for modifications will be made and determined in advance, before StarTran is expected to provide the modified service. Individuals should state their impending trip date within their request. However, this determination prior to service may not always be possible.
Depending on the complexity of the request and if any financial assistance is needed to grant the request, additional StarTran administrative/operational staff (fixed-route or Paratransit) could also be involved in providing more information for any modification approval/denial determinations.
Grounds For Denial: Requests for modifications of policies and practices may be denied only on one or more of the following grounds:
Other Actions Prior to Official Denial: In any case in which StarTran denies a request for a reasonable modification as requested by the passenger, StarTran will take, to the maximum extent possible, any other actions (that would not result in a direct threat or fundamental alteration) to ensure that the individual with a disability receives the services or benefits provided by StarTran.
Any request for accommodation that is denied prior to the trip would be confirmed with StarTran’s Assistant Transit Manager or StarTran’s Transit Manager to ensure no other accommodations could be made to ensure the individual received transit service or benefits.
Reasonable Modification Denials: Any denials for reasonable accommodation by StarTran and/or its subcontractor will be promptly communicated via written letter and/or e-mail to the individual requesting the accommodation including the reasons for the denial.
All denials, including reasoning, will be logged/maintained for federal reporting purposes. StarTran’s paratransit subcontractor will forward any reasonable accommodation denials regarding StarTran’s Paratransit service, along with the reason for the denial, to Carla Cosier, StarTran Assistant Transit Manager at ccosier@lincoln.ne.gov
More Information