Sponsors (3)
Official title: To foster greater deployment of same-day paratransit services for individuals with disabilities and to establish minimum standards for paratransit technology, and for other purposes.
Introduced March 26, 2026 by Lateefah Simon · Last progress March 26, 2026
The bill substantially expands and modernizes same‑day paratransit—improving accessibility, affordability, and digital integration for people with disabilities and seniors—but does so with increased federal costs and short‑term implementation burdens that may disadvantage smaller providers and strain local budgets.
People with disabilities and seniors would gain expanded same‑day paratransit service and lower out‑of‑pocket fares because projects meeting federal standards can receive much higher federal operating shares (up to 70–80%), increasing service availability and affordability.
Riders and transit planners would get more accessible, unified digital booking and interoperability through open APIs, WCAG‑compliant rider technology, and multi‑provider integration, making same‑day trips easier to book and enabling better use of paratransit capacity.
Local and state transit agencies — including rural operators — can afford to run more same‑day paratransit trips because higher federal matching for operating costs reduces local net operating burdens, enabling expanded service without proportionally higher local spending.
Taxpayers and the federal budget would face higher spending because the bill increases federal operating shares and funds expansion of same‑day paratransit, which could require trade‑offs with other federal priorities.
Local transit agencies may face substantial short‑term procurement, implementation, and operational costs to integrate dynamic matching, replace noncompliant software, and meet new cybersecurity and accessibility standards, straining local budgets and staff capacity.
Smaller and rural providers that cannot meet the Administrator's minimum technical standards or that rely on contracted drivers or legacy vendors could be disadvantaged—losing access to higher federal shares or funding and risking service reductions.
Based on analysis of 4 sections of legislative text.
Raises federal operating-share caps for qualifying same‑day paratransit (up to 70%/80%) and requires FTA minimum tech standards, with phased fund restrictions for noncompliant software.
Raises federal operating-share caps and sets technology standards to encourage transit agencies to provide same-day ADA paratransit. The bill lets qualifying same-day paratransit projects receive a higher federal share (up to 70% or 80% of net operating costs) and directs the FTA to publish minimum standards for paratransit software and technologies, with phased restrictions on use of formula funds for noncompliant third-party software.