5908966 Taxicab Commission, DC - Notice of Final Rulemaking - Chapters 8 and 99 - Wheelchair Securement

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA TAXICAB COMMISSION

 

NOTICE OF FINAL RULEMAKING

 

The District of Columbia Taxicab Commission (“Commission”), pursuant to the authority set forth in Sections 8(c) (3), (4), and (19), 14, and 20f of the District of Columbia Taxicab Commission Establishment Act of 1985 (“Establishment Act”), effective March 25, 1986 (D.C. Law 6-97; D.C. Official Code §§ 50-307(c) (3), (4), and  (19), 50-313, and 50-525 (2014 Repl. & 2015 Supp.), hereby gives notice of its intent to adopt amendments to Chapter 8 (Operating Rules for Public Vehicles-for-Hire) and Chapter 99 (Definitions) of Title 31 (Taxicabs and Public Vehicles For Hire) of the District of Columbia Municipal Regulations (DCMR). 

 

This final rulemaking amends Chapter 8 to establish requirements to safely secure wheelchairs and other mobility equipment in wheelchair accessible vehicles.  The amendments to Chapter 99 would add a necessary definition for “wheelchair securement system”.

 

An emergency and proposed rulemaking was adopted by the Commission on October 14, 2015 and published in the D.C. Register on December 11, 2015 at 62 DCR 015944.  The emergency rules remained in effect for one hundred and twenty (120) days after the date of adoption (expiring February 11, 2016). The Commission did not receive any comments during the comment period, which expired on January 10, 2016, and no substantial changes have been made.

 

The Commission voted to adopt these rules as final on January 20, 2016, and they will become effective upon publication in the D.C. Register.

 

Chapter 8, OPERATING RULES FOR PUBLIC VEHICLES-FOR-HIRE, of Title 31 DCMR, TAXICABS AND PUBLIC VEHICLES FOR HIRE, is amended as follows:

 

Section 819, CONSUMER SERVICE AND PASSENGER RELATIONS, is amended as follows:

 

A new Subsection 819.11 is added to read as follows:

 

819.11             Each operator of a wheelchair accessible vehicle shall ensure that wheelchair passengers are properly secured using the vehicle’s wheelchair securement system, by providing assistance as necessary or if requested by the passenger.  Notwithstanding the provisions of § 819.10, no operator shall be required to transport a wheelchair passenger who refuses to be properly secured by the vehicle’s wheelchair securement system.

 

Chapter 99, DEFINITIONS, is amended as follows:

 

Section 9901, DEFINITIONS, is amended as follows:

 

Subsection 9901.1, is amended to add a new definition as follows:

 

“Wheelchair securement system” – a system which meets the requirements of 49 C.F.R. Part 38 § 38.23(d) to safely secure a wheelchair in a wheelchair accessible vehicle.