5116573 Transportation, District Department of - Notice of Proposed Rulemaking - To Incorporate Public Input in Circulator Service Adjustments

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

 

NOTICE OF PROPOSED RULEMAKING

 

The Director of the District Department of Transportation, pursuant to the authority of Sections 3(b), 5(2)(L), 11b(1) and 11e(a) of the Department of Transportation Establishment Act of 2002, effective May 21, 2002 (D.C. Law 14-137; D.C. Official Code §§ 50-921.02(b) (2012 Repl. & 2014 Supp.) and §§ 50-921.04(2)(L), 50-921.32(1) and 50-921.35(a) (2012 Repl.)); and Mayor’s Order 2009-43, dated March 26, 2009, hereby gives notice of this proposed action to adopt rules that will modify Chapter 15 (DC Circulator) of Title 18 (Vehicles and Traffic) of the District of Columbia Municipal Regulations (DCMR). 

 

The proposed regulations will establish new procedures for soliciting and evaluating public comment before any adjustments are made to Circulator fares, routes or hours of operation.  The proposed regulations will also clarify fare categories to be consistent with District law codified at D.C. Official Code § 35-233, which establishes a separate fare category for students, and with WMATA bus fare categories. 

 

Final rulemaking action shall not be taken in less than thirty (30) days after the date of publication of this notice in the D.C. Register.

 

Title 18, VEHICLES AND TRAFFIC, of the DCMR is amended as follows:

 

Chapter 15, DC CIRCULATOR, is amended as follows:

 

Section 1502 is amended to read as follows:

 

1502                FARES

 

1502.1             The fares to board a DC Circulator bus shall be as follows:

 

(a)        Persons between the ages of five (5) and sixty-four (64): One dollar ($1.00);

 

(b)        Persons sixty-five (65) years of age and older, upon presenting the DC Circulator bus driver or fare collector with valid photo identification or a valid Medicare card: Fifty cents (50¢) (Half-fare);

 

(c)        Persons who present a valid Metro Access card: Free of charge;

 

(d)       Persons with disabilities who present a valid Metro Disability Identification Card or a valid Medicare card with a photo identification card: Fifty cents (50¢) (Half-fare);

 

(e)        Attendant of a Person with disability meeting the standards set forth in §1502.1 (d): Fifty cents (50¢) (Half-fare);

 

(f)        Up to three persons under the age of five (5), accompanied by a paying adult: Free of charge; and

 

(g)        Persons between the ages of five (5) and twenty-two (22) who attend kindergarten through 12^th grade in the District, with a valid DC One Student Card, Monday through Friday from 5:30 a.m. to 9 a.m. and from 2 p.m. until 8 p.m. when school is in session: Free of charge.

 

1502.2             Passes that permit unlimited daily, three-day, weekly, monthly, or yearly use of the DC Circulator may be sold as follows:

 

(a)                Daily Pass                               $ 3.00

 

(b)               Three-Day Pass                       $ 7.00

 

(c)                WMATA 7-Day Pass              $ 11.00

 

(d)               Monthly Pass                          $ 40.00

 

(e)                Yearly Pass                             $ 450.00

 

1502.3             Except for children under the age of five (5) years old no person shall board a DC Circulator bus without:

 

(a)        Depositing the applicable fare into the bus fare box;

 

(b)        Touching the target point of the bus fare reader with a funded rechargeable fare card;

 

(c)        Presenting a valid DC Circulator pass;

 

(d)       Displaying a valid Metro Access Card or DC One Student Card; or

 

(e)        Displaying a transfer from a bus, train, or other vehicle upon the execution of an agreement between the Department and the owner or operator of such vehicle regarding the use of transfers.

 

(f)        [REPEALED]

 

A new Section 1503 is added to read as follows:

 

1503                FARE ADJUSTMENTS, SERVICE ADJUSTMENTS, AND PUBLIC PARTICIPATION

 

1503.1             DDOT shall adjust the Circulator fare (fare adjustment) or Circulator routes or hours of operation (service adjustment) pursuant to the process set forth in this section.

 

1503.2             Before implementing a fare adjustment or service adjustment, DDOT shall:

 

(a)                Prepare a fare adjustment or service adjustment plan, which shall include:

 

(1)        A summary of the proposed fare adjustment or service adjustment;

 

(2)        A proposed timeline for the implementation of the fare adjustment or service adjustment;

 

(3)        An equity analysis illustrating any disparate impact of the proposed fare adjustment or service adjustment on populations protected under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964; and

 

(4)        An explanation of the necessity of the fare adjustment or service adjustment and description of alternative fare or service scenarios examined.

 

(b)               Publish a notice of proposed rulemaking to amend the Circulator fares set forth in § 1502, or routes and hours of operation set forth in § 1501 along with the fare adjustment or service adjustment plan or a website link to the plan in the D.C. Register, and post notification of the fare adjustment or service adjustment plan along with a website link to the plan on Circulator buses.  Both the notice and notification shall set the date of the hearing required by paragraph (c) of this subsection, which date shall be not fewer than fifteen (15) days after the date the notice is published or the notification is posted and shall establish a public comment period, which shall be not fewer than thirty (30) days from publication of the notice;

 

(c)                Hold at least one (1) public hearing on the fare adjustment or service adjustment plan; and

 

(d)               If, after the public hearing and consideration of the comments received, DDOT determines to implement the proposed fare adjustment or service adjustment:

 

(1)        Prepare an implementation plan outlining the agency’s final timeline and plan of action to begin implementing the adjusted fare or service, which shall be published on the DDOT and Circulator websites.  The implementation plan shall include a summary of the public comments received and DDOT’s responses to the comments;

 

(2)        Issue a notice of final rulemaking amending § 1502 or § 1501 and setting forth the revised fares, routes, or hours of operation; and

 

(3)        Place notices of the adjusted fare or service on Circulator buses at least ten (10) business days before the fare adjustment or service adjustment is implemented.  

 

 

All persons interested in commenting on the subject matter in this proposed rulemaking may file comments in writing, not later than thirty (30) days after the publication of this notice in the D.C. Register, with Samuel D. Zimbabwe, Associate Director, District Department of Transportation, 55 M Street, S.E., 5th Floor, Washington, D.C. 20003.  An interested person may also send comments electronically to [e-mail].  Copies of this proposed rulemaking are available, at cost, by writing to the above address, and are also available electronically, at no cost, on the District Department of Transportation’s website at www.ddot.dc.gov.