Paratransit Emergency Preparedness and Operations Handbook (2013)

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T R A N S I T C O O P E R A T I V E R E S E A R C H P R O G R A M TCRP REPORT 160 TRANSPORTAT ION RESEARCH BOARD WASHINGTON, D.C. 2013 www.TRB.org Research sponsored by the Federal Transit Administration in cooperation with the Transit Development Corporation Subscriber Categories Public Transportation • Security and Emergencies Paratransit Emergency Preparedness and Operations Handbook Annabelle Boyd Ream Lazaro Dain Pankratz Valerie Lazaro Boyd, Caton & Grant transportation Group, inC. Earlysville, VA I n A s s o c i a t i o n W i t h Gary Gleason Adrian Moy Jim Chesnutt June Isaacson Kailes nusura, inC. Lakewood, CO

TCRP REPORT 160 Project A-37 ISSN 1073-4872 ISBN 978-0-309-25885-2 Library of Congress Control Number 2012956444 © 2013 National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved. COPYRIGHT INFORMATION Authors herein are responsible for the authenticity of their materials and for obtaining written permissions from publishers or persons who own the copyright to any previously published or copyrighted material used herein. Cooperative Research Programs (CRP) grants permission to reproduce material in this publication for classroom and not-for-profit purposes. Permission is given with the understanding that none of the material will be used to imply TRB, AASHTO, FAA, FHWA, FMCSA, FTA, or Transit Development Corporation endorsement of a particular product, method, or practice. It is expected that those reproducing the material in this document for educational and not-for-profit uses will give appropriate acknowledgment of the source of any reprinted or reproduced material. For other uses of the material, request permission from CRP. NOTICE The project that is the subject of this report was a part of the Transit Cooperative Research Program, conducted by the Transportation Research Board with the approval of the Governing Board of the National Research Council. The members of the technical panel selected to monitor this project and to review this report were chosen for their special competencies and with regard for appropriate balance. The report was reviewed by the technical panel and accepted for publication according to procedures established and overseen by the Transportation Research Board and approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council. The opinions and conclusions expressed or implied in this report are those of the researchers who performed the research and are not necessarily those of the Transportation Research Board, the National Research Council, or the program sponsors. The Transportation Research Board of the National Academies, the National Research Council, and the sponsors of the Transit Cooperative Research Program do not endorse products or manufacturers. Trade or manufacturers’ names appear herein solely because they are considered essential to the object of the report. TRANSIT COOPERATIVE RESEARCH PROGRAM The nation’s growth and the need to meet mobility, environmental, and energy objectives place demands on public transit systems. Current systems, some of which are old and in need of upgrading, must expand service area, increase service frequency, and improve efficiency to serve these demands. Research is necessary to solve operating problems, to adapt appropriate new technologies from other industries, and to intro- duce innovations into the transit industry. The Transit Cooperative Research Program (TCRP) serves as one of the principal means by which the transit industry can develop innovative near-term solutions to meet demands placed on it. The need for TCRP was originally identified in TRB Special Report 213—Research for Public Transit: New Directions, published in 1987 and based on a study sponsored by the Urban Mass Transportation Administration—now the Federal Transit Admin istration (FTA). A report by the American Public Transportation Association (APTA), Transportation 2000, also recognized the need for local, problem- solving research. TCRP, modeled after the longstanding and success- ful National Cooperative Highway Research Program, undertakes research and other technical activities in response to the needs of tran- sit service providers. The scope of TCRP includes a variety of transit research fields including planning, service configuration, equipment, facilities, operations, human resources, maintenance, policy, and administrative practices. TCRP was established under FTA sponsorship in July 1992. Pro- posed by the U.S. Department of Transportation, TCRP was autho- rized as part of the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 (ISTEA). On May 13, 1992, a memorandum agreement out- lining TCRP operating procedures was executed by the three cooper- ating organizations: FTA, the National Academies, acting through the Transportation Research Board (TRB); and the Transit Development Corporation, Inc. (TDC), a nonprofit educational and research orga- nization established by APTA. TDC is responsible for forming the independent governing board, designated as the TCRP Oversight and Project Selection (TOPS) Committee. Research problem statements for TCRP are solicited periodically but may be submitted to TRB by anyone at any time. It is the responsibility of the TOPS Committee to formulate the research program by identi- fying the highest priority projects. As part of the evaluation, the TOPS Committee defines funding levels and expected products. Once selected, each project is assigned to an expert panel, appointed by the Transportation Research Board. The panels prepare project state- ments (requests for proposals), select contractors, and provide techni- cal guidance and counsel throughout the life of the project. The process for developing research problem statements and selecting research agencies has been used by TRB in managing cooperative research pro- grams since 1962. As in other TRB activ ities, TCRP project panels serve voluntarily without com pensation. Because research cannot have the desired impact if products fail to reach the intended audience, special emphasis is placed on dissemi- nating TCRP results to the intended end users of the research: tran- sit agencies, service providers, and suppliers. TRB provides a series of research reports, syntheses of transit practice, and other support- ing material developed by TCRP research. APTA will arrange for workshops, training aids, field visits, and other activities to ensure that results are implemented by urban and rural transit industry practitioners. The TCRP provides a forum where transit agencies can cooperatively address common operational problems. The TCRP results support and complement other ongoing transit research and training programs. Published reports of the TRANSIT COOPERATIVE RESEARCH PROGRAM are available from: Transportation Research Board Business Office 500 Fifth Street, NW Washington, DC 20001 and can be ordered through the Internet at http://www.national-academies.org/trb/bookstore Printed in the United States of America

The National Academy of Sciences is a private, nonprofit, self-perpetuating society of distinguished scholars engaged in scientific and engineering research, dedicated to the furtherance of science and technology and to their use for the general welfare. On the authority of the charter granted to it by the Congress in 1863, the Academy has a mandate that requires it to advise the federal government on scientific and technical matters. Dr. Ralph J. Cicerone is president of the National Academy of Sciences. The National Academy of Engineering was established in 1964, under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences, as a parallel organization of outstanding engineers. It is autonomous in its administration and in the selection of its members, sharing with the National Academy of Sciences the responsibility for advising the federal government. The National Academy of Engineering also sponsors engineering programs aimed at meeting national needs, encourages education and research, and recognizes the superior achievements of engineers. Dr. Charles M. Vest is president of the National Academy of Engineering. The Institute of Medicine was established in 1970 by the National Academy of Sciences to secure the services of eminent members of appropriate professions in the examination of policy matters pertaining to the health of the public. The Institute acts under the responsibility given to the National Academy of Sciences by its congressional charter to be an adviser to the federal government and, on its own initiative, to identify issues of medical care, research, and education. Dr. Harvey V. Fineberg is president of the Institute of Medicine. The National Research Council was organized by the National Academy of Sciences in 1916 to associate the broad community of science and technology with the Academy’s purposes of furthering knowledge and advising the federal government. Functioning in accordance with general policies determined by the Academy, the Council has become the principal operating agency of both the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering in providing services to the government, the public, and the scientific and engineering communities. The Council is administered jointly by both Academies and the Institute of Medicine. Dr. Ralph J. Cicerone and Dr. Charles M. Vest are chair and vice chair, respectively, of the National Research Council. The Transportation Research Board is one of six major divisions of the National Research Council. The mission of the Transporta- tion Research Board is to provide leadership in transportation innovation and progress through research and information exchange, conducted within a setting that is objective, interdisciplinary, and multimodal. The Board’s varied activities annually engage about 7,000 engineers, scientists, and other transportation researchers and practitioners from the public and private sectors and academia, all of whom contribute their expertise in the public interest. The program is supported by state transportation departments, federal agencies including the component administrations of the U.S. Department of Transportation, and other organizations and individu- als interested in the development of transportation. www.TRB.org www.national-academies.org

C O O P E R A T I V E R E S E A R C H P R O G R A M S CRP STAFF FOR TCRP REPORT 160 Christopher W. Jenks, Director, Cooperative Research Programs Crawford F. Jencks, Deputy Director, Cooperative Research Programs Stephan A. Parker, Senior Program Officer Megha Khadka, Senior Program Assistant Eileen P. Delaney, Director of Publications Natalie Barnes, Senior Editor TCRP PROJECT A-37 PANEL Field of Operations Andrea V. Busada, Broward County Elderly and Veterans Services Division, Oakland Park, FL (Chair) Madinah Ali, MSA Global Inc., Decatur, GA Richard Devylder, U.S. Department of Transportation, Washington, DC Susan Florentino, Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District, Portland, OR Lex Frieden, University of Texas—Health Sciences, Houston, TX Erik Larson, Jaunt, Inc., Charlottesville, VA Steven F. Ponte, Eastern Contra Costa Transit Authority, Antioch, CA Annette M. Williams, San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, San Francisco, CA Park Woodworth, Portland, OR John R. Day, FTA Liaison Michael Winter, FTA Liaison Cindy Frené, National Rural Transit Assistance Program Liaison David Hahn, APTA Liaison Kristi Ross McLaughlin, Easter Seals Project ACTION Liaison Kelly Shawn, Community Transportation Association of America Liaison Joedy W. Cambridge, TRB Liaison

TCRP Report 160: Paratransit Emergency Preparedness and Operations Handbook provides paratransit service providers with guidance, strategies, tools, and resources to plan and prepare for, respond to, and recover from a range of emergencies. The guidance has applicability to urban, suburban, rural, and tribal paratransit operating environments. Guidance is directed to in-house paratransit operations and to paratransit services operated under contract. It has relevance for Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) paratransit and general public demand- response operations. The guidance, strategies, and tools in this Handbook are based on an all-hazards approach that has applicability to a wide range of “notice” and “no-notice” emergency events includ- ing accidents and incidents, acts of nature, hazardous materials releases, technological emergencies, criminal activities, and terrorism. A significant focus of this Handbook is providing information that will assist paratransit providers in planning to meet the needs of their customers during local emergencies. The Handbook also addresses (1) the role paratransit could play in responding to community emergencies and (2) the coordination with emergency management, first responders, and other key stakeholders that is required to carry out that role successfully. In the research effort led by Boyd, Caton & Grant Transportation Group, Inc., the research team conducted 60 interviews with over 150 local, state, and national experts in paratransit emergency preparedness and response; the interviews were used to validate the findings of a focused literature review and to identify effective emerging practices that may not be reflected in contemporary literature and planning guidance. The team developed a lessons- learned matrix of key findings, effective practices, and their applicability to urban, sub- urban, rural, and tribal paratransit operations in both notice and no-notice emergencies. Finally, the research team conducted two validation workshops of the draft Handbook— held in Los Angeles, California, and Fargo, North Dakota—to obtain feedback from urban and suburban paratransit managers, transit managers, emergency managers, first responders, and other partner agencies. The resulting Handbook features a field-tested Capabilities Assessment Checklist, which is a self-assessment tool to aid agencies in addressing critical paratransit emergency preparedness and operations issues. This project created four products that are available on the TRB website (http://www. trb.org/Main/Blurbs/168321.aspx): (1) the Handbook, described above; (2) the contractor’s final report, which documents the development of the Handbook, including detailed infor- mation on the interviews; (3) an HTML version of the Handbook; and (4) a PowerPoint presentation describing the entire project. F O R E W O R D By Stephan A. Parker Staff Officer Transportation Research Board

1 Summary 6 Chapter 1 Introduction 9 Chapter 2 Capabilities Assessment 15 Chapter 3 Preparedness 15 3.A Planning 15 3.A.1 Resource Capabilities Assessment 18 3.A.2 Emergency Support Function 1 (ESF-1) Coordination 20 3.A.3 Interagency Coordination 22 3.A.4 Essential Material Supply 24 3.A.5 Duplication of Emergency Service Obligations 26 3.A.6 Safety, Security, and Emergency Preparedness Plans 32 3.A.7 Surge Capacity 36 3.A.8 Contracted Paratransit Services 38 3.B Training 38 3.B.1 National Incident Management System/Incident Command System 39 3.B.2 Emergency Preparedness Training 41 3.B.3 Personal and Family Preparedness 42 3.C Exercises 42 3.C.1 Discussion-Based Exercises 43 3.C.2 Operational Exercises 45 3.C.3 Inclusion of People with Access and Functional Needs 48 Chapter 4 Prevention 48 4.A Risk Assessment 48 4.A.1 Threat and Vulnerability Assessment 50 4.A.2 Interagency Risk-Related Communication 52 4.B Liability Management 52 4.B.1 Insurance Limitations 53 4.B.2 Memoranda of Understanding and Mutual Aid Agreements 56 4.C Education and Outreach 56 4.C.1 Customer Preparedness 57 4.C.2 Adaptive Equipment 59 Chapter 5 Response 59 5.A Communication 59 5.A.1 Interoperability 63 5.A.2 Emergency Communications 65 5.B Coordination 65 5.B.1 Emergency Operations Center 67 5.B.2 Departmental Emergency Operations Center 69 5.B.3 Staging and Pre-positioning C O N T E N T S

70 5.C Operations 70 5.C.1 Service Continuity 73 5.C.2 Emergency Dispatching 75 5.C.3 Individuals Needing Evacuation Assistance 79 5.C.4 Mobilization 81 5.C.5 Pets 83 Chapter 6 Recovery 83 6.A Reconstitution 83 6.A.1 Essential Life-Support Services 85 6.A.2 Restoring Service 87 6.B Reentry 88 6.C Post-Disaster Service Assessment 89 6.D Restitution 89 6.D.1 Post-Crisis Counseling 91 6.D.2 Documenting Damage 93 6.D.3 Reimbursement 95 Appendix Glossary and Acronyms