Richard Devylder
Senior Advisor for
Accessible Transportation
U.S. Department of Transportation
Office of the Secretary
richard.devylder@dot.gov
(202) 366-0129
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We must integrate
access & functional
needs elements &
resources into all
aspects of emergency
response
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Essential Concerns
 Identify Need
 Integrate Resources
 Accessibility of Vehicles
 Accessibility of Facilities
 Adaptive Equipment
 Pets/Service Animals
 Forced transportation
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Special Needs
Population
Total
% of U.S. total
population
(281,421,906)
Children, age 15 & under
64,272,779
22.84
Elderly, age 65 & over
34,991,753
12.43
Speak English “not well”,
age 18-64
5,703,904
2.03
Speak English “not at all”,
age 18-64
2,575,154
0.92
33,153,211
11.78
140,696,801
49.99
Non-institutionalized
population with a disability,
age 16-64
Total Special Needs Population
Data Source. U.S. Census Bureau, Census 2000 Summary File 1: table P1, total population; table PCT12, total population sex by age. Summary File 3: table P19, age by language spoken at home by ability to speak
English for the population 5 years; over and table P42, sex by age by disability status for the civilian noninstitutionalized population age 5 years and over.
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Transportation
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Research supported by grant #H133B030501, NIDRR, U.S. Dept. of Education. Prepared by Enders and Brandt, copyright RTC: Rural, 2006.
51.44%
if added to entire
institutionalized
population
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Special Needs
Doesn't work because it
doesn’t provide guidance
to operationalize the tasks
needed.
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Who in addition
to traditional
stakeholders are
at the planning
table?
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 Centers for
Independent Living
 Service centers for
people with
developmental
disabilities
 Deaf/hard of
hearing
 Blind/low vision
 Mental health
 Multiple Sclerosis
Society
 In Home
Supportive
Services/home
health
 Alzheimer’s
Association
 Area Agencies on
Aging
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Utilizing Service Systems
 In-Home
 Transportation
Supportive
service providers
Services/personal  Centers for
assistance services
Independent Living
 Home health
 Services for people
 Meals-on-Wheels
with
developmental
 Community based
disabilities
organizations
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Accessible
Communications
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Early-Warning Notification
Systems
 Ability to send text messages to wireless
devices (in multiple languages)
 Ability to send messages to TTY’s, Pagers,
Video Relays, etc.
 System which is frequently tested
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Emergency Alert Systems
 Accessible Messaging
Captioned?
Reading of scrolled messages?
Is the information provided, easy to
understand (not higher than 3rd Grade
Reading Level)?
Messages are tested with end users
(children, cognitive disabilities, LEP)?
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Press Conferences
• Sign-language interpreting
provided
• Television broadcasts include
interpreter on the screen
• Real-time captioning provided
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Rural Response
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Messaging
 Needs to be
 Neighbors helping each other
(car, radio, generator)
 Developing survival kits for no
less than 14-days
 Establish expectation as when
and how government may assist
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Rural/Remote Resources
 Identify people willing and
able to transport neighbors to
safety.
 Are community partners able
to safely provide food and
shelter, & for what duration of
time?
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 How many citizens have health
care experience & can provide
assistance?
 How many can use a chain saw
or other equipment to clear
roads & exits from homes?
 Who knows alternative back
roads & escape routes?
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• Who has all terrain
vehicles to negotiate
these routes?
• Who knows where
vehicles and its keys are
actually at?
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Del Mar Shelter
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Potential Transportation Resources





Paratransit
Public transit
Non-profit orgs
Area Agencies on Aging
Centers serving people
w/disabilities
 Taxi systems
 Non-medical emergency
services
 School district
transportation systems
 Adult Day Health Care
(ADHC)
 Airport shuttle buses
 Airport rental car shuttle
buses
 Senior centers
 Health care centers
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Community Care Facilities
 Should be pre-identified
 Evacuation plans must be in place
 Includes facilities housing
 People with mental illness
 People with developmental disabilities
 Seniors
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Mutual Aid
Mutual aid resources may also have
transportation concerns:
 Equipment/Supplies (wheelchairs,
shower chairs, canes, hearing aid
batteries, diabetes resources,
catheters, adult diapers)
 Shelter Personnel (familiar with people
with access and functional needs)
 Personal Assistance Service Providers
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Transportation MOUs
 Public Entities Include
ADA mandated paratransit
Dial-a-ride
Fixed-route buses
 Private Entities Include
Community partners vehicles
Shuttle (car rental, transit hubs)
Rental car buses
Taxis
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Recovery
Transitioning Back to
Community
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Transportation
Guidance for
Recovery
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A community's public
transportation system is a
crucial resource that directly
impacts activities across areas
of employment, education,
recreation, social services,
health care, and general civic
participation.
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USDOT recognize that, depending on
circumstances, it can take a while to
restart public transportation services,
including those accessible to people
with disabilities, but there is no
“disaster exception” to the Americans
with Disabilities Act (ADA). As services
are restarted, accessible services need
to start up on approximately the same
timetable.
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Applicable regulatory provisions
underlying this guidance can be found
in 49 CFR part 37, Transportation
Services for Individuals with
Disabilities, which can be accessed at:
http://www.fta.dot.gov/civilrights/ada
/civil_rights_3906.html.
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Transportation
 Coordination of Services
 Transit Authority
 ADA Mandated Paratransit
 Other Community Based Services
 Eligibility Policies
 Scheduling Policies
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Updating Plans
1. What evacuation plans currently
exist?
2. Are multiple entities dependent on
same evacuation resources?
3. Do your response plans account for
movement of individuals from
schools, neighborhoods, medical
facilities and nursing facilities?
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Updating Plans
4. Are transportation service providers
incorporated into evacuation plans
including aging and disability
transportation providers?
5. Have community care facilities been
identified/mapped?
6. Do community care facilities have
evacuation plans?
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Updating Plans
7. Do evacuation plans address areas of
the community not served by transit?
8. Do you know where people with
access and functional needs
frequently get on your transit system?
9. Can neighboring transportation
jurisdictions assist in emergencies?
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Updating Plans
10. During non-operational hours, how
quickly can transportation providers
respond?
11. Are wheelchair accessible vehicles and
trained drivers immediately available
during evacuations?
12. Do drills/exercises involve first
responders, disability providers and
people with disabilities?
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For info & resources you can use:
 FHWA Evacuating Populations with Special Needs
http://ops.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/fhwahop09022/index.htm
 FTA Critical Incident Management Guidelines
http://transitsafety.volpe.dot.gov/training/Archived/EPSSeminarReg/CD/docum
ents/ToolKit/FTA_MA_26_7009_98_1.pdf
 FTA Disaster Response and Recovery Resource for Transit
http://transitsafety.volpe.dot.gov/publications/safety/DisasterResponse/HTML/
DisasterResponse.htm
 FTA Emergency Preparedness Guide for Transit Employees
http://transit-safety.volpe.dot.gov/EPG/JSimpsonLetter.html
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For info & resources you can use:
 FEMA Comprehensive Preparedness Guide 101: Producing
Emergency Plans
http://www.fema.gov/pdf/about/divisions/npd/CPG_101_V2.pdf
 TCRP Special Report 294: The Role of Transit in Emergency
Evacuation
http://www.trb.org/SecurityEmergencies/Blurbs/The_Role_of_Transit_i
n_Emergency_Evacuation_160047.aspx
 CAL EMA Planning Guidance for People with Access and
Functional Needs
 Office for Access and Functional Needs www.calema.ca.gov
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For info & resources you can use:
 Nobody Left Behind: Incorporating Special Needs
Populations into Emergency Planning and Exercises
www.nobodyleftbehind2.org/findings/pdfs/JMFinal072105.pdf
 National Study on Carless and Special Needs Evacuation
Planning
http://planning.uno.edu/docs/CarlessEvacuationPlanning.pdf
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