Mr. LIPINSKI. Of these stations that you have on your rapid transit line, these stations that you have made accessible, have there been any of these stations that are elevated stations? Mr. DOWNEY. Yes. Mr. LIPINSKI. How many have there been? Mr. DOWNEY. Of the ones that are completed to date, I believe two or three are elevated stations. Mr. LIPINSKI. Do you know what the cost has been in regards to those? Mr. DOWNEY. I could provide that for the record. Mr. LIPINSKI. I would appreciate it. Mr. DOWNEY. They were within that range of the $2 million to $5 million. We had to put elevators up direct from the street. One of those is at 125th Street and Lexington Avenue in Harlem. Mr. LIPINSKI. If this legislation passes in the form that it is in at the present time, and you have 465 stations, total, and you have probably got 450, we will say, left to make accessible, do you think you can do that in twenty years? Mr. DOWNEY. It would not be our expectation that all 465 or any number like that would be made accessible. We would continue the process, we believe, at the pace we have been undertaking it. We are heartened by the comments in the report on the Senate bill as well as the Administration's view that the current program we are undertaking, in their judgment, would satisfy the goals of this legislation. Mr. LIPINSKI. Do you have a paratransit operating in New York City, also? Mr. DOWNEY. It is not our system, but under the same legislation, the state required that a Transportation Disabled Committee be set up including representation from the city, from ourselves, from the state and from the disabled community. They have managed the process of implementing a city-sponsored paratransit system. It has been operating on a pilot basis in the borough of Manhattan and, within a few weeks, will begin on a city-wide basis. As I said, it is run by the city. Under the legislation, they diverted some of the taxes that otherwise would have gone to us to fund this system. Their budget is somewhere in the neighborhood of $10 million a year to provide this paratransit service. Mr. LIPINSKI. The system, could you give me a little more detail on how it operates? Mr. DOWNEY. It would be a contracted system with private operators. It would provide trips on a subscription basis for regular uses and on a reservation basis for occasional users. There would be some limitation on time. It would operate eight to twelve hours per day, would have approximately 130 vehicles, and would charge fares comparable to the fares charged for regular users, $1.00 to $2.00 for a trip. Mr. LIPINSKI. Do you have any figures on the pilot program, in Manhattan? Mr. DOWNEY. I don't. I have figures estimated by the city that their expectation is that this aggregate of four burroughs would serve about 500,000 trips a year on a budget of $10 million, which works out something like $20 per trip. Mr. LIPINSKI. That would take in four burroughs. Mr. DOWNEY. That would cover four burroughs. Later on, Staten Island would be added. I think the plan is to add them early next year. Mr. LIPINSKI. Thank you very much. Mr. MINETA. Thank you very much, Mr. Downey and Mr. Louwerse. I appreciate your appearing here and look forward to working with you on this. Mr. LOUWERSE. Thank you. Mr. DOWNEY. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. [Mr. Downey's prepared statement follows:] STATEMENT OF THE AMERICAN PUBLIC TRANSIT ASSOCIATION BEFORE THE SUBCOMMITTEE ON SURFACE TRANSPORTATION OF THE PUBLIC WORKS AND TRANSPORTATION COMMITTEE U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES HONORABLE NORMAN Y. MINETA, CHAIRMAN SEPTEMBER 20, 1989 2167 RAYBURN HOUSE OFFICE BUILDING American Public Transit Association 1201 New York Avenue, N.W. Suite 400 Washington, D.C. 20005 APTA WITNESS TEAM 'SUBMITTING STATEMENT ON H.R. 2273, AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT Mortimer Downey Chairman, APTA Legislative Subcommittee on Executive Director and Chief Financial Chairman, APTA Board of Governors Legislative Committee; Former APTA Chairman of Associate Member Board of Governors STATEMENT OF THE AMERICAN PUBLIC TRANSIT ASSOCIATION BEFORE THE PUBLIC WORKS AND TRANSPORTATION SUBCOMMITTEE ON SURFACE TRANSPORTATION OF THE U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES GOOD AFTERNOON CHAIRMAN MINETA, MR. SHUSTER, AND DISTINGUISHED MEMBERS OF THE SUBCOMMITTEE. MY NAME IS MORT I'D LIKE DOWNEY. I AM CHAIRMAN OF THE AMERICAN PUBLIC TRANSIT APTA IS A NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION REPRESENTING LOCAL MASS TRANSIT SYSTEMS. APTA REPRESENTS MORE THAN 400 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE TRANSIT SYSTEMS, AND MORE THAN 430 MANUFACTURERS, CONSULTANTS, ACADEMIC INSTITUTIONS, AND GOVERNMENT AGENCIES INVOLVED WITH MASS TRANSPORTATION. THE TRANSIT INDUSTRY HAS ACHIEVED SUBSTANTIAL PROGRESS IN MEETING AND SERVING THE NEEDS OF PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES AND |