37.33 Airport transportation systems
(a) Transportation systems operated by public airport operators, which provide
designated public transportation and connect parking lots and terminals or
provide transportation among terminals, are subject to the requirements of
this Part for fixed route or demand responsive systems, as applicable, operated
by public entities. Public airports which operate fixed route transportation
systems are subject to the requirements of this Part for commuter bus service
operated by public entities. The provision by an airport of additional
accommodations (e.g., parking spaces in a close-in lot) is not a substitute
for meeting the requirements of this Part.
(b) Fixed-route transportation systems operated by public airport operators
between the airport and a limited number of destinations in the area it serves
are subject to the provisions of this Part for commuter bus systems operated
by public entities.
Fixed route transportation systems operated by public airports
are regarded by this section as fixed route commuter bus systems. As
such, shuttles among terminals and parking lots, connector systems among
the airport and a limited number of other local destinations must acquire
accessible buses, but are not subject to complementary paratransit requirements.
(If a public airport operates a demand responsive system for the general
public, it would be subject to the rules for demand responsive systems for
the general public.)
It should be noted that this section applies only to transportation services
that are operated by public airports themselves (or by private contractors
who stand in their shoes). When a regular urban mass transit system
serves the airport, the airport is simply one portion of its service area,
treated for purposes of this rule like the rest of its service area.
(c) Private jitney or shuttle services that provide transportation between
an airport and destinations in the area it serves in a route-deviation or
other variable mode are subject to the requirements of this Part for private
entities primarily engaged in the business of transporting people which provide
demand responsive service. They may meet equivalency requirements by
such means as sharing or pooling accessible vehicles among operators, in
a way that ensures the provision of equivalent service.
Virtually all airports are served by taxi companies, who are
subject to §37.29 at airports as elsewhere. In addition, many
airports are served by jitney or shuttle systems. Typically, these
systems operate in a route-deviation or similar variable mode in which there
are passenger-initiated decisions concerning destinations. We view
such systems as demand responsive transportation operated by private entities
primarily engaged in the business of transporting people.
Since many of these operators are small businesses, it may be difficult for
them to meet equivalency requirements on their own without eventually having
all or nearly all accessible vehicles, which could pose economic problems.
One suggested solution to this problem is for the operators serving a given
airport to form a pool or consortium arrangement, in which a number of shared
accessible vehicles would meet the transportations of individuals with disabilities.
As in other forms of transportation, such an arrangement would have to provide
service in a nondiscriminatory way (e.g., in an integrated setting, no higher
fares for accessible service).