Regulations and Notices
Reimbursement from the WAS Fund
The City of Seattle and King County work cooperatively to provide for-hire regulatory services to the public. The City and the County each created Wheelchair Accessible Services (WAS) Funds (Fund) to ensure the continued viability of wheelchair accessible for-hire transportation service for passengers throughout the City and County.
Proposed Rule Comment Period Through May 31, 2020
The City of Seattle and King County are seeking public comments on the proposed changes to the rule governing reimbursements from the Wheelchair Accessible Services Fund. This proposed rule intends to repeal Seattle rules FOR-HIRE-TRANSPORTATION-01-2020 and FOR-HIRE-TRANSPORTATION-03-2020 and King County rules FIN-10-3-1-PR and ACO-8-22-PR. Written comments on the proposed changes to the rule must be received no later than 5 p.m on May 31, 2020 on this form.
Temporary Emergency Rule Effective April 6, 2020
This emergency rule is adopted in response to the emergency created by the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). By temporarily removing an obstacle to reimbursement that is no longer tenable given the ongoing public health crisis, and allowing eligible Wheelchair Accessible Vehicle (WAV) owners and drivers to more quickly access certain WAS Fund reimbursement types that offset higher operational costs, this emergency rule is designed to help ensure that vital transportation services continue to be available to people with disabilities during the ongoing COVID-19 crisis and beyond.
This emergency rule takes effect April 6, 2020 for a period of 60 days and makes the following temporary changes:
- Effective March 1, 2020, WAV vehicle owners and drivers will be eligible for shift-based reimbursements (i.e., reimbursements for WAV fuel costs, off-peak shifts, and additional shifts) even if they do not provide a minimum of 20 trips per month to passengers in wheelchairs; and
- Rather than waiting until the end of 2020, reimbursements for maintenance and equipment costs incurred in 2020 will be processed and paid quarterly. Furthermore, WAV vehicle owners will not be required to demonstrate that the vehicle provided a minimum of 250 trips per year to passengers in wheelchairs in order to qualify for this reimbursement.
For additional details, please read the full rule.
Final Rule Effective February 14, 2020
This final Rule was signed January 14, 2020 and is effective February 14, 2020.
The proposed Rule to supersede City of Seattle Clerk File 319353 and replace King County Document Code Number FIN-10-3-PR, which establish the conditions, procedures, and methodology for distributing proceeds from the Fund to eligible drivers and owners of Wheelchair Accessible Vehicles, was posted for comment November 13, 2019 through December 30, 2019.
