Meeting_Body
PLANNING AND PROGRAMMING COMMITTEE
NOVEMBER 16, 2022
Subject
SUBJECT: ACCESS FOR ALL PROGRAM FUNDING OPPORTUNITY FOR THE FISCAL YEAR 2023
Action
ACTION: APPROVE RECOMMENDATION
Heading
RECOMMENDATION
Title
APPROVE the Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 Solicitation for Proposals for up to $7,865,833 in funds available to Metro through the State of California's Access for All Program.
Issue
ISSUE
The State of California's Access for All Program provides funding to increase the availability of on-demand wheelchair accessible vehicle (WAV) service throughout the state. Consistent with Metro's role as the administrator of these funds for Los Angeles County, staff requests Board approval to issue a competitive funding opportunity to potential service providers.
Background
BACKGROUND
Senate Bill (SB) 1376 requires the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), as part of its regulation of Transportation Network Companies (TNCs) such as Uber and Lyft, to establish a program to improve the accessibility of persons with disabilities to on-demand transportation services requested through online-enabled applications or platforms. Through this program, TNCs pay a fee of $0.10 to the CPUC for each passenger trip originating in each county statewide that their providers complete. From the fees collected, the CPUC created an "Access Fund" to deposit the revenue, which is then redistributed to Local Access Fund Administrators (LAFAs) to pay for services of competitively selected Access Providers to operate on-demand WAV service in their counties. The CPUC also approved allowing LAFAs to use up to 15 percent of the amount it allocates to each county each year to cover administrative expenses.
In June 2021, the Metro Board of Directors authorized Metro to serve as the Los Angeles County LAFA. As such, Metro is responsible for the planning, distribution, management, and oversight of funds for each annual funding cycle (until the SB 1376 sunset date in 2027,...
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