SCTA provides public fixed route transportation services to ALL individuals and will grant equal access to public transportation for people with disabilities. It further recognizes that since the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act, provisions have evolved which dictate the operations of its transit service. SCTA is committed to adhering to all ADA regulations.  A mutual understanding of responsibilities should exist between SCTA and all passengers. The policies stated below apply to any and all fixed route passengers and may be enforced against any passenger, regardless of whether they fall within the definitions set forth in the ADA. The information provided below outlines each participant’s role in providing for a safe and enjoyable trip.

Drivers Must

  • Provide rides to customers with disabilities.
  • Treat ALL passengers with dignity and respect.
  • Offer assistance, but not lifting, with boarding and/or deboarding.  Such assistance is limited to ensuring that the passenger can have access to transportation.
  • Not assume an escort, medical personnel or family members will provide boarding assistance.
  • Charge the same fare for a trip whether or not the customer has a disability or requires assistance.
  • Not deny service because a disability is annoying, inconvenient or offensive to the driver or other customers.
  • Not deny transportation to a rider whose wheelchair or mobility device is difficult to secure.
  • Allow service animals to accompany their owners.
  • Provide audible announcements of major stops and transfer points.

Passenger Responsibilities

  • Know whether or not your mobility aid is within ADA requirements.
  • Know the size and weight of your mobility device with yourself in it because the maximum size and weight capabilities of lifts vary.  SCTA’s lift platforms measure 34” wide and 51” long.  While SCTA may have some vehicles that are rated at more than 600 lbs., SCTA cannot guarantee a specific vehicle for your route; therefore, if you and your mobility device combined weigh more than 600 lbs, then SCTA cannot guarantee your ride on certain vehicles.  Other vehicles may have ramps and/or lifts that can carry up to 800 lbs. Therefore, in the event you and your wheelchair combined exceed 800 lbs., SCTA will not be able to accommodate you and you will have to make other transportation arrangements.
  • Know how to contact SCTA and receive service route schedules and information.
  • Arrive at the bus stop at the correct time.
  • Pay the proper fare.
  • Just like all passengers on SCTA vehicles, riders shall maintain appropriate, reasonable personal hygiene.  If riders have open or seeping sores or are leaking bodily fluids, for health and safety reasons, SCTA may refuse service until the situation has been contained or corrected.
  • Keep service animals under control. This means that your animal must be properly leashed and/or harnessed and under the control of their handlers at all times.  You are responsible for any damages or soiling by your animal.  An animal may be prohibited from boarding an SCTA vehicle if that animal causes a particular threat to the driver or other passengers.  Service animals are not permitted on vehicle seats.  (Updated 10/1/18)
  • Comply with SCTA’s policy of securing ALL wheelchairs and mobility devices.
  • Request lap/shoulder belts and securement for your wheelchair, if desired.
  • Signal or ask the driver to stop the bus at the designated stop before you get there.
  • Treat the driver and other passengers with courtesy and respect.

Additional SCTA Policies

  • Visual signage of the bus route will be displayed on the front and side of each bus
  • Equipment and devices, such as oxygen, may be transported but must be under the care of the passenger.
  • Aides riding the public fixed route must pay the correct fare
  • In the event that all wheelchair securement positions are filled, SCTA will require that any wheelchair passengers may be denied service until the next available vehicle on the route.
  • SCTA drivers will ask non-ADA passengers to vacate preferred seating in order to accommodate an ADA passenger; however, if the passenger refuses to move, then SCTA’s drivers shall not be compelled to move the other passenger.
  • Drivers are not permitted to assist passengers in using portable life-saving equipment such as portable oxygen equipment or portable respirators.
  • All mobility devices MUST be secured and face forward.  Sideways or backward facing shall not be permitted. SCTA prefers that ALL passengers being secured in a mobility device be secured with seatbelt restraints as well; however, upon notice that a person’s condition makes a lap belt more dangerous due to a passenger’s condition, and then the seatbelt requirement may be waived.
  • So long as it is deemed safe, passengers with disabilities may request a reasonable accommodation from the driver, so long as the request does not undertake a fundamental alteration of service such as arranging specific vehicles for certain passengers.
  • All SCTA employees will be trained on ADA service policies.
  • If a lift is inoperable, SCTA will hold the vehicle until it is deemed safe and operable by the maintenance department.  Should the lift be inoperable and out of service for a long period of time (5+ days) and the agency is facing challenging circumstances delivering service, SCTA has the right to put the vehicle in service with an inoperable lift. If a person with a disability is in need of the lift, SCTA will find an alternative method of transportation.

Disruptive Passenger Policy:

SCTA may refuse service to any individual with a disability who engages in violent, seriously disruptive or illegal conduct or acts as a direct threat to the health or safety to others, using the same standards for exclusion that would apply to any other person who acted in such an inappropriate way SCTA will not refuse to provide service to an individual with disabilities solely because the individual’s disability results in appearance or involuntary behavior that may offend, annoy, or inconvenience employees of the entity or other persons.

In the event that a passenger violates this disruptive passenger policy, they shall be immediately asked to stop or correct the offending behavior.  Police assistance may be sought if necessary. In the event that the customer refuses to cease the behavior, then they will be issued a letter detailing the incident. The letter will also outline SCTA’s “refusal to provide service” information. In the event the passenger has a guardian or service provider, then a copy of said letter will be provided to that person as well.  Any such letter may be appealed pursuant to the process outlined in this policy.

Examples of such behavior may include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • Failing to appropriately exit the vehicle at the appropriate stop or destination.
  • Disrupting the driver when he/she is driving the vehicle.
  • Making physical or verbal threats to drivers or other passengers.
  • Damaging or destroying vehicle equipment or any employee’s or passenger’s property.
  • Unfastening their wheelchair or mobility device while the vehicle is operating.
  • Swearing, name calling and/or abusive language.
  • Personal hygiene conditions that result in a public health hazard or discomfort to other passengers.

ADA Complementary Paratransit Services

Title VI Policy Statement

The Schuylkill County Transportation Authority, also known as SCTA, assures the U.S. Department of Transportation and the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation that no person shall on the basis of race, color, and national origin as provided by Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 as amended.  In addition to Title VI, there are other nondiscrimination statues that afford legal protection such as Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Civil Rights Act of 1987, the Civil Rights Restoration Act of 1987, E.O. 12898, and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefit of, or be otherwise subjected to discrimination or retaliation under any program or activity.

Title VI Reporting Procedures

SCTA’s Title VI Complaint Procedure is written to specify the process employed by SCTA to investigate complaints, while ensuring due process for complainants and respondents.  The process does not preclude SCTA from attempting to informally resolve complaints.  When known to SCTA, it will make every effort to investigate complaints of discrimination.

This procedure applies to all external complaints relating to any program or activity administered by SCTA and/or its sub-recipients, consultants and contractors, filed under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 as amended, (including Disadvantage Business Enterprise and Equal Opportunity components), as well as other related laws that prohibit discrimination on the basis of race, color, disability, sex, age, low income, nationality or Limited English Proficiency.  Additional statues include, but not limited to, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Civil Rights Restoration Act of 1987, and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.

Process

Any individual or his or her representative, who believes that he or she has been subject to discrimination or retaliation prohibited by Title VI and other nondiscrimination provisions, has the right to file a complaint.  Complaints need to be filed within 180 calendar days of alleged occurrence, when the alleged discrimination became known to the Complainant, or when there has been a continuing course of conduct, the date on which the conduct was discontinued or latest instance of the conduct.

Individuals can file a formal complaint by completing the Title VI Discrimination Form. The form is available on-line at www.go-sts.com and at the SCTA Office located at 252 Industrial Park Road St. Clair, Pa. 17970.  The form must be signed by the complainant.

As an investigation moves forward, additional information may be required.

If SCTA receives a complaint, the SCTA will acknowledge receipt of the complainant by written notification and will immediately transmit the complaint to the proper federal agency.

SCTA will maintain a log of all Title VI complaints received.