Sec. 2402.113. ACCESSIBILITY PILOT PROGRAM. (a) Each transportation network company shall conduct, for a period of two years beginning not later than the 90th day after the date the company is issued a permit under Section 2402.051, an accessibility pilot program in one of the four largest markets in which the company operates in this state to:
(1) offer their services to disabled persons, including disabled persons using a fixed-frame wheelchair; and
(2) ensure that, if necessary, referrals to alternate providers of wheelchair-accessible service are made in a manner that does not unreasonably delay the provision of service.
(a-1) Notwithstanding Subsection (a), a transportation network company that is issued a permit under Section 2402.051 on or before January 1, 2018, shall begin the pilot program under Subsection (a) not later than that date. This subsection expires January 1, 2020.
(b) Not later than the 100th day after the date a transportation network company begins a pilot program under Subsection (a), the company shall submit to the department a report demonstrating the company's compliance with Subsection (a).
(c) A transportation network company shall provide a report on the findings of the company's pilot program to each legislative standing committee with primary jurisdiction over transportation not later than the 75th day after the date the program ends. At a minimum, the report must include information regarding:
(1) the number of vehicles equipped to accommodate a passenger with a fixed-frame wheelchair that were available through the company's digital network in the market in which the pilot program was conducted at the time the program ended;
(2) the average time elapsed between the time a fixed-frame wheelchair-bound passenger requested a ride and the time the ride began;
(3) the number of rides provided to fixed-frame wheelchair-bound passengers during the duration of the program; and
(4) the number of instances in which the company referred a fixed-frame wheelchair-bound passenger to another provider because the passenger could not be accommodated by the company.
(d) The department:
(1) shall:
(A) by rule establish requirements for a report under Subsection (b); and
(B) provide the transportation network company with notice of those requirements at the time the department issues the company's permit; and
(2) may revoke the company's permit for failure to timely submit a report required under this section.
Added by Acts 2017, 85th Leg., R.S., Ch. 231 (H.B. 100), Sec. 1, eff. May 29, 2017.