119-hr4116

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4116 Introduced in House

    (IH) ]

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119th CONGRESS
 1st Session
 H. R. 4116

 To establish programs and issue regulations to increase accessible 
 transportation for individuals with disabilities, and for other 
 purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

 June 24, 2025

Ms. Titus (for herself and Mr. Van Drew) introduced the following bill; 
 which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and 
 Infrastructure

_______________________________________________________________________

 A BILL

 To establish programs and issue regulations to increase accessible 
 transportation for individuals with disabilities, and for other 
 purposes.

 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

 This Act may be cited as the ``Disability Access to Transportation 
Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

 Congress finds the following:

    (1) According to the Centers for Disease Control and 
 Prevention, 1 in 4 U.S. adults has a disability.

    (2) Section 2

    (b) of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 
 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12101) recognized that individuals with 
 disabilities face discrimination when using transportation 
 services and sought to provide ``a clear and comprehensive 
 national mandate for the elimination of discrimination against 
 individuals with disabilities''.

    (3) Thirty-five years after the enactment of the Americans 
 with Disabilities Act, individuals with disabilities continue 
 to face systemic discrimination and a lack of accessible 
 transportation options.

    (4) Transportation is a core component of independent 
 living; without the ability to easily move from one location to 
 another, especially to drop a child off at day care, arrive at 
 work on time, or run basic errands, true community living is 
 impossible.

    (5) Technology is changing the way the transportation 
 industry provides services.

    (6) Paratransit services often use outdated methods for 
 dispatch and routing. Paratransit riders are not able to track 
 the status of their rides and are often given 30 minute or 
 longer pick-up windows before or after the rider's desired 
 departure time. Lengthy pick-up windows result in uncertainty 
 about driver arrival times.

    (7) The majority of paratransit services do not allow 
 riders to book day-of services. In such cases, riders are 
 required to book trips at least 1 day prior. Without a same-day 
 service solution, riders have no way to address urgent 
 healthcare, employment or other needs that arise. Adding this 
 capability to paratransit services would be hugely impactful to 
 riders.

    (8) As technology continues to change the way people move 
 from one place to another, the transportation sector, including 
 Federal agencies, local transit systems, and private entities 
 must innovate and provide services in a way that increases 
 access to these services and empowers individuals with 
 disabilities to travel independently in their communities.

SEC. 3. ONE-STOP PARATRANSIT PILOT PROGRAM.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 6 months after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Transportation shall establish 
a one-stop paratransit pilot program.

    (b) 

=== Purpose ===
-The purpose of the pilot program under this section 
is to develop or expand paratransit programs carried out pursuant to 
the ADA to provide for at least 1 stop of at least 15 minutes outside 
of the vehicle during a paratransit trip to prevent long wait times 
between multiple trips that unduly limit an individual's ability to 
complete essential tasks.
            (c) Eligible Entities.--

    (1) In general.--An entity eligible to participate in the 
 pilot program is a transit agency that agrees to use the 
 existing operator of the paratransit service and its workforce, 
 such workforce to be directly employed by the eligible entity 
 or its contractor, to implement the pilot program and to track 
 and share information as the Secretary requires, including--
        (A) number of ADA paratransit trips conducted each 
 year;
        (B) requested time of each paratransit trip;
            (C) scheduled time of each paratransit trip;
            (D) actual pickup time for each paratransit trip;
        (E) average length of a stop in the middle of a 
 ride as allowed by this section;
        (F) any complaints received from a paratransit 
 rider;
        (G) rider satisfaction with paratransit services; 
 and
        (H) after the completion of the pilot program, an 
 assessment by the eligible entity of its capacity to 
 continue a one-stop program independently.

    (2) Preference.--The Secretary shall give preference to 
 entities that--
        (A) have comparable data for the year prior to 
 implementation of the pilot program that can be used by 
 the Secretary and other organizations, such as 
 nonprofit organizations and advocacy organizations, for 
 research purposes;
        (B) plan to use the existing operator of the 
 paratransit service and its workforce, such workforce 
 to be directly employed by the eligible entity or its 
 contractor, to implement the pilot program; and
            (C) plan to use technology innovation to improve 
 the rider experience and cost-effectiveness of ADA 
 paratransit services, including--
            (i) dynamic routing;
            (ii) real-time tracking; and
            (iii) scheduling same-day rides with on-
 demand capabilities.
            (d) Application.--To be eligible to participate in the pilot 
program, an eligible entity shall submit to the Secretary an 
application at such time, in such manner, and containing such 
information as the Secretary may require, including information on--

    (1) methodology for informing the public of the pilot 
 program;

    (2) vehicles, personnel, and other resources that will be 
 used to implement the pilot program; and

    (3) if the applicant does not intend the pilot program to 
 apply to the full area under the jurisdiction of the applicant, 
 a required description of the geographic area in which the 
 applicant intends the pilot program to apply.

    (e) Selection.--The Secretary shall seek to achieve diversity of 
participants in the pilot program by selecting a range of eligible 
entities that includes at least 5 of each of the following:

    (1) An eligible entity that serves an area with a 
 population of 200,000 people or fewer.

    (2) An eligible entity that serves an area with a 
 population of over 200,000 people.

    (3) An eligible entity that provides transportation for 
 rural communities.

    (f) Report.--Not later than 6 months after the conclusion of the 
first 15 pilot projects carried out under this section, the Secretary 
shall submit to Congress a report on the results of the program, 
including the feasibility of developing and implementing one-stop 
programs for all ADA paratransit services.

    (g) Funding.--

    (1) Federal share.--The Federal share of the total cost of 
 a project carried out under this section may not exceed 80 
 percent.

    (2) Authorization of appropriations.--There are authorized 
 to be appropriated to carry out this section $75,000,000 for 
 each of fiscal years 2025 through 2029.

SEC. 4. PEDESTRIAN FACILITIES IN THE PUBLIC RIGHT-OF-WAY.

 Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, 
the Attorney General shall issue such regulations as are necessary to 
adopt enforceable standards for new construction and alterations of 
pedestrian facilities in the public right-of-way that comply with the 
guidance issued by the Architectural and Transportation Barriers 
Compliance Board, pursuant to 

section 502

    (b)

    (3) of the Rehabilitation 
Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 792

    (b)

    (3) ), under part 1190 of title 36, Code of 
Federal Regulations.

SEC. 5. REPORTING ACCESSIBILITY COMPLAINTS.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary of Transportation shall ensure that 
an individual who believes that he or she or a specific class of 
individuals has been subjected to discrimination on the basis of 
disability by a public entity may, by himself or herself or by an 
authorized representative, easily file a complaint with the Department 
of Transportation.

    (b) Procedures.--Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 
of this Act, the Secretary shall implement procedures that allow an 
individual to submit a complaint described in subsection

    (a) by phone, 
by mail-in form, and online through the website of the Office of Civil 
Rights of the Federal Transit Administration.
            (c) Notice to Individuals With Disabilities.--Not later than 18 
months after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall 
require that each public transit provider and contractor providing 
paratransit services shall include on a publicly available website of 
the service provider, any related mobile device application, and online 
service--

    (1) the telephone number, or a comparable electronic means 
 of communication, for the disability assistance hotline of the 
 Office of Civil Rights of the Federal Transit Administration;

    (2) notice that a consumer can file a disability-related 
 complaint with the Office of Civil Rights of the Federal 
 Transit Administration;

    (3) an active link to the website of the Office of Civil 
 Rights of the Federal Transit Administration for an individual 
 to file a disability-related complaint; and

    (4) notice that an individual can file a disability-related 
 complaint with the local transit agency and the process and any 
 timelines for filing such a complaint.
            (d) Investigation of Complaints.--Not later than 60 days after the 
last day of each fiscal year the Secretary shall publish a report that 
lists the disposition of complaints described in subsection

    (a) , 
including--

    (1) the number and type of complaints filed with Department 
 of Transportation;

    (2) the number of complaints investigated by the 
 Department;

    (3) the result of the complaints that were investigated by 
 the Department including whether the complaint was resolved--
        (A) informally;
        (B) by issuing a violation through a noncompliance 
 Letter of Findings; or
            (C) by other means, which shall be described in 
 detail; and

    (4) if a violation was issued for a complaint, whether the 
 Department resolved the noncompliance by--
        (A) reaching a voluntary compliance agreement with 
 the entity;
        (B) referring the matter to the Attorney General; 
 or
            (C) by other means, which shall be described in 
 detail.

    (e) Report.--Upon implementation of this section, the Secretary 
shall, to the extent practicable, issue a report composed of the 
information collected under this section for the preceding 5 years.

SEC. 6. ACCESSIBILITY DATA PILOT PROGRAM.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 
of this Act, the Secretary shall establish an accessibility data pilot 
program.

    (b) 

=== Purpose ===
-In carrying out the pilot program, the Secretary 
shall develop or procure an accessibility data set and make that data 
set available to each eligible entity selected to participate in the 
pilot program to improve the transportation planning of such eligible 
entities by--

    (1) measuring the level of access by multiple 
 transportation modes, including transportation network 
 companies, to desired destinations, which may include 
 connections between modes, including connections to--
        (A) high-quality transit or rail service;
        (B) safe bicycling corridors; and
            (C) safe sidewalks that achieve compliance with 
 applicable requirements of the ADA;

    (2) disaggregating the level of access by multiple 
 transportation modes by a variety of population categories, 
 which shall include--
        (A) low-income populations;
        (B) minority populations;
            (C) age;
            (D) disability such as sensory, cognitive, and 
 physical, including wheelchair users; and
        (E) geographical location; and

    (3) assessing the change in accessibility that would result 
 from new transportation investments.
            (c) Eligible Entities.--An entity eligible to participate in the 
pilot program is--

    (1) a State;

    (2) a metropolitan planning organization; or

    (3) a rural transportation planning organization.
            (d) Application.--To be eligible to participate in the pilot 
program, an entity shall submit to the Secretary an application at such 
time, in such manner, and containing such information as the Secretary 
may require, including information relating to--

    (1) previous experience of the eligible entity measuring 
 transportation access or other performance management 
 experience;

    (2) the types of important destinations to which the 
 eligible entity intends to measure access;

    (3) the types of data disaggregation the eligible entity 
 intends to pursue;

    (4) a general description of the methodology the eligible 
 entity intends to apply; and

    (5) if the applicant does not intend the pilot program to 
 apply to the full area under the jurisdiction of the applicant, 
 a description of the geographic area in which the applicant 
 intends the pilot program to apply.

    (e) Selection.--

    (1) In general.--The Secretary shall seek to achieve 
 diversity of participants in the pilot program by selecting a 
 range of eligible entities that shall include--
        (A) States;
        (B) metropolitan planning organizations that serve 
 an area with a population of 200,000 people or fewer;
            (C) metropolitan planning organizations that serve 
 an area with a population of over 200,000 people; and
            (D) rural transportation planning organizations.

    (2) Inclusions.--The Secretary shall seek to ensure that, 
 among the eligible entities selected under paragraph

    (1) program participants represent--
        (A) a range of capacity and previous experience 
 with measuring transportation access; and
        (B) a variety of proposed methodologies and focus 
 areas for measuring level of access.

    (f) Duties.--For each eligible entity participating in the pilot 
program, the Secretary shall--

    (1) develop or acquire an accessibility data set described 
 in subsection

    (b) ; and

    (2) submit the data set to the eligible entity.

    (g) Methodology.--In calculating the measures for the data set 
under the pilot program, the Secretary shall ensure that methodology is 
open source.

    (h) Availability.--The Secretary shall make an accessibility data 
set under the pilot program available to--

    (1) units of local government within the jurisdiction of 
 the eligible entity participating in the pilot program; and

    (2) researchers.
            (i) Report.--Not later than 120 days after the last date on which 
the Secretary submits data sets to the eligible entity under subsection

    (f) , the Secretary shall submit to Congress a report on the results of 
the program, including the feasibility of developing and providing 
periodic accessibility data sets for all States, regions, and 
localities.

    (j) Funding.--The Secretary shall carry out the pilot program using 
amounts made available to the Secretary for administrative expenses to 
carry out programs under the authority of the Secretary.

    (k) Sunset.--The pilot program shall terminate on the date that is 
8 years after the date on which the pilot program is implemented.

SEC. 7. DEFINITIONS.

 In this Act:

    (1) ADA.--The term ``ADA'' means the Americans with 
 Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq.).

    (2) State.--The term ``State'' means each of the several 
 States, the District of Columbia, and any commonwealth, 
 territory, or possession of the United States.

    (3) Transportation network company.--The term 
 ``transportation network company''--
        (A) means a corporation, partnership, sole 
 proprietorship, or other entity, that uses an online-
 enabled application or digital network to connect 
 riders to drivers affiliated with the entity in order 
 for the driver to transport the rider using a vehicle 
 owned, leased, or otherwise authorized for use by the 
 driver to a point chosen by the rider; and
        (B) does not include a shared-expense carpool or 
 vanpool arrangement that is not intended to generate 
 profit for the driver.
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