completion of the appeal process, the entity shall provide paratransit service from that time until and unless a decision to deny the appeal is issued.

(h) The entity may establish an administrative process to suspend, for a reasonable period of time, the provision of complementary paratransit service to ADA eligible individuals who establish a pattern or practice of missing scheduled trips.

(1) Trips missed by the individual for reasons beyond his or her control (including, but not limited to, trips which are missed due to operator error) shall not be a basis for determining that such a pattern or practice exists.

(2) Before suspending service, the entity shall take the following steps:

(i) Notify the individual in writing that the entity proposes to suspend service, citing with specificity the basis of the proposed suspension and setting forth the proposed sanction.

(ii) Provide the individual an opportunity to be heard and to present information and arguments;

(iii) Provide the individual with written notification of the decision and the reasons for it.

(3) The appeals process of paragraph (g) of this section is available to an individual on whom sanctions have been imposed under this paragraph. The sanction is stayed pending the outcome of the appeal.

(i) In applications for ADA paratransit eligibility, the entity may require the applicant to indicate whether or not he or she travels with a personal care attendant.

§ 37.127 Complementary paratransit service for visitors.

(a) Each public entity required to provide complementary paratransit service under § 37.121 of this part shall make the service available to visitors as provided in this section.

(b) For purposes of this section, a visitor is an individual with disabilities who does not reside in the jurisdiction(s) served by the public entity or other entities with which the public entity provides coordinated complementary paratransit service within a region.

(c) Each public entity shall treat as eligible for its complementary paratransit service all visitors who present documentation that they are ADA paratransit eligible, under the criteria of § 37.125 of this part, in the jurisdiction in which they reside.

(d) With respect to visitors with disabilities who do not present such documentation, the public entity may require the documentation of the individual's place of residence and, if the individual's disability is not apparent, of his or her disability. The entity shall provide paratransit service to individuals with disabilities who qualify as visitors under paragraph (b) of this section. The entity shall accept a certification by such individuals that they are unable to use fixed route transit.

(e) A public entity is not required to provide service to a visitor for more than 21 days from the date of the first paratransit trip used by the visitor. The entity may require that such an individual, in order to receive service beyond this period, apply for eligibility under the process provided for in § 37.125 of this part.

§ 37.129 Types of service.

(a) Except as provided in this section, complementary paratransit service for ADA paratransit eligible persons shall be origin-to-destination service.

(b) Complementary paratransit service for ADA paratransit eligible persons described in § 37.123(e)(2) of this part may also be provided by on-call bus service or paratransit feeder service to an accessible fixed route, where such service enables the individual to use the fixed route bus system for his or her trip.

(c) Complementary paratransit service for ADA eligible persons described in § 37.123(e)(3) of this part also may be provided by paratransit feeder service to and/or from an accessible fixed route.

(a) Service Area-(1) Bus. (i) The entity shall provide complementary paratransit service to origins and destinations within corridors with a width of three-fourths of a mile on each side of each fixed route. The corridor shall include an area with a three-fourths of a mile radius at the ends of each fixed route.

(ii) Within the core service area, the entity also shall provide service to small areas not inside any of the corridors but which are surrounded by corridors.

(iii) Outside the core service area, the entity may designate corridors with widths from three fourths of a mile up to one and one half miles on each side of a fixed route, based on local circumstances.

(iv) For purposes of this paragraph, the core service area is that area in which corridors with a width of threefourths of a mile on each side of each fixed route merge together such that, with few and small exceptions, all origins and destinations within the area would be served.

(2) Rail. (i) For rail systems, the service area shall consist of a circle with a radius of 4 of a mile around each station.

(ii) At end stations and other stations in outlying areas, the entity may designate circles with radii of up to 11⁄2 miles as part of its service area, based on local circumstances.

(3) Jurisdictional Boundaries. Notwithstanding any other provision of this paragraph, an entity is not required to provide paratransit service in an area outside the boundaries of the jurisdiction(s) in which it operates, if the entity does not have legal authority to operate in that area. The entity shall take all practicable steps to provide paratransit service to any part of its service area.

(b) Response Time. The entity shall schedule and provide paratransit service to any ADA paratransit eligible person at any requested time on a particular day in response to a request for service made the previous day. Reservations may be taken by reservation agents or by mechanical means.

(1) The entity shall make reservation service available during at least all normal business hours of the enti

ty's administrative offices, as well as during times, comparable to normal business hours, on a day when the entity's offices are not open before a service day.

(2) The entity may negotiate pickup times with the individual, but the entity shall not require an ADA paratransit eligible individual to schedule a trip to begin more than one hour before or after the individual's desired departure time.

(3) The entity may use real-time scheduling in providing complementary paratransit service.

(4) The entity shall permit advance reservations to be made up to 14 days in advance of an ADA paratransit eligible individual's desired trip.

(c) Fares. The fare for a trip charged to an ADA paratransit eligible user of the complementary paratransit service shall not exceed twice the fare that would be charged to an individual paying full fare (i.e., without regard to discounts) for a trip of similar length, at a similar time of day, on the entity's fixed route system.

(1) In calculating the full fare that would be paid by an individual using the fixed route system, the entity may include transfer and premium charges applicable to a trip of similar length, at a similar time of day, on the fixed route system.

(2) The fares for individuals accompanying ADA paratransit eligible individuals, who are provided service under § 37.123 (f) of this part, shall be the same as for the ADA paratransit eligible individuals they are accompanying.

(3) A personal care attendant shall not be charged for complementary paratransit service.

(4) The entity may charge a fare higher than otherwise permitted by this paragraph to a social service agency or other organization for agency trips (i.e., trips guaranteed to the organization).

(d) Trip Purpose Restrictions. The entity shall not impose restrictions or priorities based on trip purpose.

(e) Hours and Days of Service. The complementary paratransit service shall be available throughout the same hours and days as the entity's fixed route service.

(f) Capacity Constraints. The entity shall not limit the availability of complementary paratransit service to ADA paratransit eligible individuals by any of the following:

(1) Restrictions on the number of trips an individual will be provided;

(2) Waiting lists for access to the service; or

(3) Any operational pattern or practice that significantly limits the availability of service to ADA paratransit eligible persons.

(i) Such patterns or practices inIclude, but are not limited to, the following:

(A) Substantial numbers of significantly untimely pickups for initial or return trips;

(B) Substantial numbers of trip denials or missed trips;

(C) Substantial numbers of trips with excessive trip lengths.

(ii) Operational problems attributable to causes beyond the control of the entity (including, but not limited to, weather or traffic conditions affecting all vehicular traffic that were not anticipated at the time a trip was scheduled) shall not be a basis for determining that such a pattern or practice exists.

(g) Additional Service. Public entities may provide complementary paratransit service to ADA paratransit eligible individuals exceeding that provided for in this section. However, only the cost of service provided for in this section may be considered in a public entity's request for an undue financial burden waiver under §§ 37.151-37.155 of this part.

§ 37.133 Subscription service.

(a) This part does not prohibit the use of subscription service by public entities as part of a complementary paratransit system, subject to the limitations in this section.

(b) Subscription service may not absorb more than fifty percent of the number of trips available at a given time of day, unless there is non-subscription capacity.

(c) Notwithstanding any other provision of this part, the entity may establish waiting lists or other capacity constraints and trip purpose restrictions

or priorities for participation in the subscription service only.

§ 37.135 Submission of paratransit plan.

(a) General. Each public entity operating fixed route transportation service, which is required by § 37.121 to provide complementary paratransit service, shall develop a paratransit plan.

(b) Initial Submission. Except as provided in § 37.141 of this part, each entity shall submit its initial plan for compliance with the complementary paratransit service provision by January 26, 1992, to the appropriate location identified in paragraph (f) of this section.

(c) Annual Updates. Each entity shall submit an annual update to the plan on January 26 of each succeeding year.

(d) Phase-in of Implementation. Each plan shall provide full compliance by no later than January 26, 1997, unless the entity has received a waiver based on undue financial burden. If the date for full compliance specified in the plan is after January 26, 1993, the plan shall include milestones, providing for measured, proportional progress toward full compli

ance.

Implementation.

(e) Plan Each entity shall begin implementation of its plan on January 26, 1992.

(f) Submission Locations. An entity shall submit its plan to one of the following offices, as appropriate:

(1) The individual state administering agency, if it is

(i) A section 18 recipient;

(ii) A small urbanized area recipient of section 9 funds administered by the State;

(iii) A participant in a coordinated plan, in which all of the participating entities are eligible to submit their plans to the State; or

(2) The UMTA Regional Office (as listed in Appendix B to this part) for all other entities required to submit a paratransit plan. This includes an UMTA recipient under section 9 of the UMT Act; entities submitting a joint plan (unless they meet the requirements of paragraph (f)(1)(iii) of this

section), and a public entity not an UMT Act recipient.

§ 37.137 Paratransit plan development.

(a) Survey of existing services. Each submitting entity shall survey the area to be covered by the plan to identify any person or entity (public or private) which provides a paratransit or other special transportation service for ADA paratransit eligible individuals in the service area to which the plan applies.

(b) Public participation. Each submitting entity shall ensure public participation in the development of its paratransit plan, including at least the following:

(1) Outreach. Each submitting entity shall solicit participation in the development of its plan by the widest range of persons anticipated to use its paratransit service. Each entity shall develop contacts, mailing lists and other appropriate means for notification of opportunities to participate in the development of the paratransit plan;

(2) Consultation with individuals with disabilities. Each entity shall contact individuals with disabilities and groups representing them in the community. Consultation shall begin at an early stage in the plan development and should involve persons with disabilities in all phases of plan development. All documents and other information concerning the planning procedure and the provision of service shall be available, upon request, to members of the public, except where disclosure would be an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy;

(3) Opportunity for public comment. The submitting entity shall make its plan available for review before the plan is finalized. In making the plan available for public review, the entity shall ensure that the plan is available upon request in accessible formats;

(4) Public hearing. The entity shall sponsor at a minimum one public hearing and shall provide adequate notice of the hearing, including advertisement in appropriate media, such as newspapers of general and special interest circulation and radio announcements; and

(5) Special requirements. If the entity intends to phase-in its paratran

sit service over a multi-year period, or request a waiver based on undue financial burden, the public hearing shall afford the opportunity for interested citizens to express their views concerning the phase-in, the request, and which service criteria may be delayed in implementation.

(c) Ongoing requirement. The entity shall create an ongoing mechanism for the participation of individuals with disabilities in the continued development and assessment of services to persons with disabilities. This includes, but is not limited to, the development of the initial plan, any request for an undue financial burden waiver, and each annual submission.

§ 37.139 Plan contents.

Each plan shall contain the following information:

(a) Identification of the entity or entities submitting the plan, specifying for each

(1) Name and address; and

(2) Contact person for the plan, with telephone number and facsimile telephone number (FAX), if applicable.

(b) A description of the fixed route system as of January 26, 1992 (or subsequent year for annual updates), including

(1) A description of the service area, route structure, days and hours of service, fare structure, and population served. This includes maps and tables, if appropriate;

(2) The total number of vehicles (bus, van, or rail) operated in fixed route service (including contracted service), and percentage of accessible vehicles and percentage of routes accessible to and usable by persons with disabilities, including persons who use wheelchairs;

(3) Any other information about the fixed route service that is relevant to establishing the basis for comparability of fixed route and paratransit service.

(c) A description of existing paratransit services, including:

(1) An inventory of service provided by the public entity submitting the plan;

(2) An inventory of service provided by other agencies or organizations,

which may in whole or in part be used to meet the requirement for complementary paratransit service; and

(3) A description of the available paratransit services in paragraphs (c)(2) and (c)(3) of this section as they relate to the service criteria described in § 37.131 of this part of service area, response time, fares, restrictions on trip purpose, hours and days of service, and capacity constraints; and to the requirements of ADA paratransit eligibility.

(d) A description of the plan to provide comparable paratransit, including:

(1) An estimate of demand for comparable paratransit service by ADA eligible individuals and a brief description of the demand estimation methodology used;

(2) An analysis of differences between the paratransit service currently provided and what is required under this part by the entity(ies) submitting the plan and other entities, as described in paragraph (c) of this section;

(3) A brief description of planned modifications to existing paratransit and fixed route service and the new paratransit service planned to comply with the ADA paratransit service criteria;

(4) A description of the planned comparable paratransit service as it relates to each of the service criteria described in § 37.131 of this part-service area, absence of restrictions or priorities based on trip purpose, response time, fares, hours and days of service, and lack of capacity constraints. If the paratransit plan is to be phased in, this paragraph shall be coordinated with the information being provided in paragraphs (d)(5) and (d)(6) of this paragraph;

(5) A timetable for implementing comparable paratransit service, with a specific date indicating when the planned service will be completely operational. In no case may full implementation be completed later than January 26, 1997. The plan shall include milestones for implementing phases of the plan, with progress that can be objectively measured yearly;

(6) A budget for comparable paratransit service, including capital and operating expenditures over five years.

(e) A description of the process used to certify individuals with disabilities as ADA paratransit eligible. At a minimum, this must include

(1) A description of the application and certification process, including

(i) The availability of information about the process and application materials inaccessible formats;

(ii) The process for determining eligibility according to the provisions of §§ 37.123-37.125 of this part and notifying individuals of the determination made;

(iii) The entity's system and timetable for processing applications and allowing presumptive eligibility; and

(iv) The documentation given to eligible individuals.

(2) A description of the administrative appeals process for individuals denied eligibility.

(3) A policy for visitors, consistent with § 37.127 of this part.

(f) Description of the public participation process including

(1) Notice given of opportunity for public comment, the date(s) of completed public hearing(s), availability of the plan in accessible formats, outreach efforts, and consultation with persons with disabilities.

(2) A summary of significant issues raised during the public comment period, along with a response to significant comments and discussion of how the issues were resolved.

(g) Efforts to coordinate service with other entities subject to the complementary paratransit requirements of this part which have overlapping or contiguous service areas or jurisdictions.

(h) The following endorsements or certifications:

(1) A resolution adopted by the board of the entity authorizing the plan, as submitted. If more than one entity is submitting the plan there must be an authorizing resolution from each board. If the entity does not function with a board, a statement shall be submitted by the entity's chief executive;

(2) In urbanized areas, certification by the Metropolitan Planning Organi