This bill aims to improve and standardize paratransit services (transportation for people with disabilities and mobility challenges) in Colorado by imposing new requirements on service providers and creating a task force to study best practices.
Key Requirements (Starting January 1, 2026):
Any political subdivision, public entity, or nonprofit that provides paratransit services must:
Develop an Emergency Plan:
Work with local emergency services to create a plan for communicating with passengers and maintaining paratransit services during emergencies.
Modernize Fare Collection Technology:
Ensure that payment systems for paratransit services are comparable to those used for standard public transit (e.g., allowing mobile payments or transit cards).
Community Consultation for Service Reductions:
Before reducing service areas, providers must consult affected communities and conduct an impact analysis to assess the effects of the reduction.
Paratransit Task Force Creation (2025):
The bill also establishes a Paratransit Task Force within the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) to study and recommend best practices for improving and standardizing paratransit services statewide.
Task Force Composition (16 Members):
3 Legislative Members (appointed by Senate & House leadership)
4 Disability Advocacy Representatives (from major disability rights organizations)
3 Governor-Appointed Members (including a private company rep and disability expert)
Lieutenant Governor or Designee
Duties & Timeline:
The task force must meet at least 3 times in 2025.
By October 15, 2025, it must submit a report to the Transportation Legislation Review Committee with its findings and recommendations.
CDOT must present a summary of the report to the General Assembly in January 2026.
Purpose of the Bill:
Enhance emergency preparedness for paratransit users.
Ensure fair and accessible payment options.
Improve transparency and community input before reducing services.
Standardize paratransit services across the state to improve efficiency and accessibility.
This bill is designed to protect and enhance mobility options for people with disabilities while ensuring that service providers operate with greater accountability and coordination.
Summary
Transportation Legislation Review Committee. Beginning on
January 1, 2026, the bill imposes the following duties on any political subdivision of the state, public entity, or nonprofit corporation that provides paratransit services in the state, in addition to those duties otherwise provided by law:
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To establish, in coordination with local public entities providing emergency services, a plan to communicate information and provide paratransit services during emergencies;
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To ensure that fare collection technology for paratransit services is comparable to that offered for regular or fixed route services; and
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Before reducing the service area for paratransit services, to consult with affected community members and conduct an impact analysis.
The bill also creates the paratransit task force (task force) in the
department of transportation. The purpose of the task force is to study and make recommendations regarding the standardization of and best practices for paratransit services in the state. The task force consists of 16 members as follows:
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3 legislative members, jointly appointed by the president of the senate and the speaker of the house of representatives, with 2 members of the majority party and one member of the minority party;
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4 members representing disability advocacy organizations, with one member appointed by and from each of the following organizations: •
Atlantis Community, Inc.;
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American Disabled for Attendant Programs Today;
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The Colorado Cross-Disability Coalition; and
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The National Federation of the Blind;
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5 members representing transit organizations, with one member appointed by and from each of the following organizations: •
The department of transportation;
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The Colorado Association of Transit Agencies;
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The regional transportation district;
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AARP; and
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The Denver regional council of governments;
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One member representing a private company that partners with a transit agency to provide paratransit services, appointed by the governor;
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One member representing the Colorado disability opportunity office, appointed by the governor;
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One member determined by the governor to enhance and expand the expertise of the task force, appointed by the governor; and
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The lieutenant governor or the lieutenant governor's designee.
The task force is required to meet at least 3 times in 2025 to study and make recommendations on the standardization of and best practices for paratransit services in the state. On or before October 15, 2025, the task force must submit a report to the transportation legislation review committee that includes a summary of the work accomplished by the task force and any recommendations to the general assembly concerning matters studied by the task force. The department of transportation must include a summary of the report and the recommendations of the task force in its annual presentation to the general assembly in January 2026.
