Section 73-C. Definitions

Whenever  used  in  this  article, the following
  terms shall have the respective meanings:
    1. "Department" shall mean the state department of transportation.
    2. "Commissioner" shall mean the commissioner of transportation.
    3.  "Committee"  shall  refer  to  the  New  York  state   interagency
  coordinating committee on rural public transportation as hereinafter set
  forth.
    4. "Transportation disadvantaged person" shall mean any person, who by
  reason of physical, economic or other circumstances does not have access
  to  private personal transportation or is unable to use private personal
  transportation,  either  permanently  or  temporarily  such  as   frail,
  elderly,   physically   or   mentally  handicapped,  low-income,  youth,
  unemployed or underemployed, and other individuals who may  need  public
  transportation  services for gaining access to human or public services,
  health  care,  educational,   recreational,   shopping   or   employment
  opportunities.  Identification  of  persons  in  this  group  shall  not
  preclude such persons from being  considered  "general  public"  in  any
  public  transportation  service  criteria  established  pursuant to this
  article.
    5.  "Public   transportation   service"   shall   mean   a   passenger
  transportation   service  which,  during  its  hours  of  operation,  is
  available  on  an  equal  opportunity  basis  to  any  person,   without
  preference for service availability, eligiblity or design being given to
  any  person  or  population  sub-group  because  of  age,  gender, race,
  national origin, creed or agency client status, and which  is  regularly
  advertised  and  marketed as available to the general public. Nothing in
  this article shall be deemed to mean that  the  transportation  services
  operated  or  provided  by  human  or social service agencies solely for
  their clients or programs  constitute,  in  and  of  themselves,  public
  transportation services.
    6-a.  "Transportation  provider"  shall  mean  any  public, private or
  not-for-profit entity utilizing public funds to provide or contract  for
  public  transportation services for the benefit of the general public or
  specific client groups.
    6-b. "Operator of passenger transportation  service"  shall  mean  the
  municipal  government  or  public transportation authority which assumes
  full responsibility for the operation of the  service  or  a  common  or
  contract  carrier under contract to said government or authority for the
  purpose of assuming said responsibility.
    7. a. "Coordinated transportation service" in  a  rural  county  shall
  mean  a  passenger  transportation  service  formed  by  the  pooling or
  sharing, by contract, of  funds,  facilities,  vehicles,  equipment  and
  other  resources  used  for  passenger transportation for the purpose of
  improving the mobility of  rural  residents  through  increased  service
  levels,  so  that  the  coordinated  service  is under the direction and
  control of a single operator  of  passenger  transportation  having  the
  authority  for  establishing  the  service's  operating  hours,  routes,
  schedules,  dispatching  and  other  operating  features  and  when  the
  resulting  transportation service serves more passengers for the same or
  reduced  amount  of   government   expenditure   than   the   previoulsy
  uncoordinated services. A coordinated transportation service may include
  an  existing  public  transportation  service operating within the rural
  county. Nothing contained herein shall require a transportation provider
  to contribute funds or services; current providers  may  participate  in
  whole or in part in the coordinated service.
    b.   "Coordinated   public   transportation   service"  shall  mean  a
  coordinated transportation  service  which  is  predominately  a  public
  transportation  service  as  defined in this article.   Such coordinated

  public transportation service shall offer service to the general  public
  to  at  least  the  same  extent and degree, in terms of service levels,
  operating hours and geographic  coverage,  as  service  is  offered  for
  clients  of human service agency programs, and seeks to increase service
  to   transportation   disadvantaged   persons   who   do   not   receive
  transportation from a human or social services agency program.
    8.  "Rural  counties"  shall mean those New York state counties having
  populations of two hundred thousand or less.
    9. "Services coordinator" shall mean the person, authority, agency  or
  corporation  designated by resolution of a rural county's governing body
  to undertake or oversee preparation  and  implementation  of  the  rural
  county's  public  transportation  service  plan  in accordance with this
  article. Such person, authority, agency or corporation shall  be  chosen
  from  among  those who can fairly and equitably address the needs of all
  transportation disadvantaged persons and  the  general  public,  without
  preference   to  any  one  population  sub-group  or  component  of  the
  transportation disadvantaged population.