§12142 Public Entities Operating Fixed Route Systems

Summary

Public transit agencies that run fixed routes must not buy or lease new buses, light-rail or rapid-rail cars, or other new vehicles after 30 days from July 26, 1990, unless those vehicles are easy to use for people with disabilities, including people who use wheelchairs. If they buy or lease a used vehicle after that date, they must show they tried in good faith to get a used vehicle that is accessible; otherwise it counts as discrimination. Agencies may not remanufacture a vehicle to extend its useful life by 5 years or more, or buy a vehicle that was remanufactured to extend its life by 5 years or more, if that work begins or the purchase happens after 30 days from July 26, 1990—unless the vehicle is a historic-type vehicle used only on a route listed on the National Register of Historic Places. If making a historic vehicle accessible would seriously change its historic look, the agency only has to make the accessibility changes that are needed and that do not seriously alter the vehicle’s historic character. The federal rules will define what counts as a vehicle of historic character.