Audit of the Southeastern Regional Transit Authority Overview of Audited Entity

This section describes the makeup and responsibilities of the Southeastern Regional Transit Authority.

Massachusetts Regional Transit Authorities

Chapter 161B of the Massachusetts General Laws established regional transit authorities (RTAs) and defined the roles and responsibilities for these authorities, the municipalities in which they operate, and the Commonwealth. According to Chapter 161B of the General Laws, RTAs are controlled by the municipalities in which they operate. Each RTA is governed by an advisory board composed of elected officials from the community (e.g., selectperson or mayor), as well as one representative of the disabled commuter population¹ and one representative of the local rider community. The advisory boards appoint administrators, establish bylaws, and approve budgets and changes to RTA services.

Section 53 of Chapter 6C of the General Laws makes the Rail and Transit Division of the Massachusetts Department of Transportation “responsible for overseeing, coordinating and planning all transit and rail matters throughout the commonwealth,” including intercity buses, the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, and RTAs.

 

Source: Massachusetts Department of Transportation—Rail and Transit Division (https://www.mass.gov/info-details/public-transportation-in-massachusetts)

Currently, there is a network of 15 RTAs operating in the Commonwealth, in addition to the transit services provided by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. These RTAs serve a total of 272 cities and towns outside the greater Boston area. RTAs are funded through a combination of state appropriations, federal grants, local governments, transit fares, and other sources. State appropriations for the 15 RTAs increased from approximately $80 million in fiscal year 2018 to approximately $94 million in fiscal years 2021 and 2022.

Americans with Disabilities Act–Required Paratransit Services

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990 recognized that some individuals’ disabilities prevent them from using a fixed-route² transit system. Section 37(F) of Title 49 of the Code of Federal Regulations, which covers the transportation and related stipulations of ADA, states,

Each public entity operating a fixed route system shall provide paratransit or other special service to individuals with disabilities that is comparable to the level of service provided to individuals without disabilities who use the fixed route system.

The above regulation also establishes minimum levels of service that RTAs must provide for complementary paratransit services.

Southeastern Regional Transit Authority

The Southeastern Regional Transit Authority (SRTA) was established in 1974 and reports to the Rail and Transit Division under Chapter 25 of the Acts of 2009. According to SRTA’s Comprehensive Regional Transit Plan Update 2020, its “mission is to provide safe, convenient, and economical transportation opportunities for people that supports economic development and improved quality of life for South Coast residents.”

An advisory board oversees SRTA’s operations. SRTA’s administrator, hired by the advisory board, is responsible for day-to-day administration of the agency. SRTA provides transportation services to 10 cities and towns in southeastern Massachusetts: Acushnet, Dartmouth, Fairhaven, Fall River, Freetown, Mattapoisett, New Bedford, Somerset, Swansea, and Westport.

During our audit period, SRTA contracted with South Coast Transit Management, Inc., a privately operated company, to provide fixed-route bus and demand-response³ transportation services provided to ADA‑required paratransit riders and the older population.

SRTA managed all ADA-required paratransit and demand-response services provided during the audit period using a transit scheduling and dispatching system.

On-Time Performance for ADA-Required Paratransit Services

SRTA has a memorandum of understanding with the Massachusetts Department of Transportation that includes on-time performance standards. These performance standards include a required minimum on‑time pickup rate for trips.

SRTA uses a 20-minute pickup window (5 minutes before and 15 minutes after the scheduled pickup time), for its on-time performance standard. For example, if a rider has a 7:45 a.m. scheduled pickup, the driver is considered on time if the driver arrives between 7:40 a.m. and 8:00 a.m. Depending on their arrival time, a driver will only wait either 5 minutes beyond the scheduled pickup time or 5 minutes beyond the time they arrive, whichever is later.

ADA Paratransit Complaints

ADA paratransit complaints are complaints related to ADA-required paratransit services. According to Section 27.13 of Title 49 of the Code of Federal Regulations, transportation programs that receive federal funding must adopt complaint procedures and designate a responsible employee to coordinate these procedures.

According to SRTA’s Information Brochure for Disabled Services Demand Response and Massachusetts Access Passes and our interviews with SRTA employees and management, SRTA’s ADA coordinator (who also acts as SRTA’s customer service manager), oversees the ADA paratransit complaint process. Complainants may submit complaints in person, by email, or by phone. Most complaints are submitted by phone. SRTA’s Information Brochure for Disabled Services Demand Response and Massachusetts Access Passes (which is available to the public on SRTA’s website) lists both an email address and a phone number that the public can use to submit complaints.

SRTA’s ADA coordinator opens an ADA paratransit complaint by recording the information provided by the complainant into SRTA’s complaint management system. SRTA’s complaint management system sends an automated notification to the contracted paratransit provider, notifying them that a new complaint was opened and is ready for investigation. The contracted paratransit provider investigates and determines the facts of the complaint. The contractor then marks the complaint as valid or invalid in SRTA’s complaint management system and takes any necessary corrective action to resolve the issue.

The contracted paratransit provider resolves complaints within five business days upon receipt of the complaint. If the contracted paratransit provider deems it necessary, they will follow up with the complainant by phone. SRTA’s complaint management system then alerts SRTA’s ADA coordinator that the investigation is complete, the complaint has been resolved, and the investigation of and response to the complaint is ready for SRTA’s review and sign-off.

SRTA’s complaint management system generates a monthly statistical analysis report that SRTA employees present at a quarterly management meeting attended by SRTA’s administrator.

SRTA Paratransit Ridership Information

The table below summarizes SRTA’s paratransit information for fiscal years 2020, 2021, and 2022.

	Fiscal Year 2020	Fiscal Year 2021	Fiscal Year 2022
Number of Active Riders	856	808	670
Number of Trips	43,436	65,181	19,260
Number of Miles	386,980	558,240	165,435
Number of Drivers	82	89	64
Number of Vehicles Used	31	43	31

SRTA Funding Sources

In fiscal years 2020, 2021, and 2022 SRTA received revenue from a variety of sources, including partnerships and contracts and federal, state, and local assistance. The table below shows the types of funding SRTA received during fiscal years 2020, 2021, and 2022.

Type of Funding	Fiscal Year 2020	Fiscal Year 2021	Fiscal Year 2022
State and Contract Assistance	$   6,117,601	$   6,399,728	$   6,691,881
Local Assistance	3,412,759	3,498,078	3,614,280
Federal Assistance	8,329,055	10,312,803	9,742,719
Fixed-Route Income	1,753,856	276,412	1,489,280
Paratransit Income	155,186	42,945	188,772
Other Revenue*	358,194	566,862	833,446
Total	$ 20,126,651	$ 21,096,828	$ 22,560,378

* Other revenue is from advertising and interest.

1.   According to Section 5 of Chapter 161B of the General Laws, “This representative shall be mobility impaired, have a family member who is mobility impaired, be a caretaker of a person who is mobility impaired or work for an organization that serves the needs of the physically disabled.”

2.   Fixed-route transportation services have established routes, schedules, and stops.

3.   Demand-response transportation services are non-fixed route services that must be requested by riders and scheduled by dispatchers through a transportation service.

Date published:	August 30, 2023