Legal Aspects of Transit and Intermodal Transportation Programs. Topic 18-02. Codes of Conduct on Transit Vehicles and Property: Legal Issues

The objective of this research is to produce a report that provides practical advice and checklists for transportation agencies and their attorneys to consult in developing, improving, applying, and enforcing their own codes of conduct. This research will include at a minimum: (1) a comprehensive review of legal standards applicable to codes of conduct; and  (2) a survey of numerous transit agencies, large and small, to determine if they have written or informal codes of conduct. Survey questions will cover what terms are contained in the respective codes, how the codes are administered and enforced, and what legal issues have arisen. Additional issues to be examined include: (1) Due process (2) Enforcement policies and strategies, including removing offenders from vehicles/property, suspension orders, and appeals (3) ADA issues, including reasonable modification (4) Issues in regulating time spent at facilities; constitutional problems with loitering laws (5) First Amendment concerns involved in seeking to regulate loud conversation, annoying cellphone use, and offensive language (6) Second Amendment issues involved in regulating firearms (7) Racial, ethnic, or other illegal profiling and other discrimination issues (8) Public relations and training (9) Issues in regulating food and drinks (10) “Manspreading”, offensive odors, and other occupancy issues (11) Legal constraints on regulating animals, including service animals (12) Clothing and public exposure rules The Legal Research Digest should include: (1) A discussion of legal questions implicated by codes of conduct, identifying sources that explore such legal questions in depth. (2) Reviews of various codes of conduct and common features. (3) Reviews of lawsuits that have challenged or resulted from enforcement of codes of conduct. (4) Recommended language for agencies to use in written codes. (5) Recommended strategies for effective administration, training, and enforcement. (6) Case studies of several properties that have implemented codes of conduct. (7) Discussion of potential pitfalls: what terms or practices to avoid if possible.

• Record URL:
  http://apps.trb.org/cmsfeed/TRBNetProjectDisplay.asp?ProjectID=4507

Language

• English

Project

• Status: Active
• Funding: $50000
• Contract Numbers:

  Project J-05, Topic 18-02

• Sponsor Organizations:

  Transit Cooperative Research Program

  Transportation Research Board
  500 Fifth Street, NW
  Washington, DC    20001

  Federal Transit Administration

  1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Project Managers:

  Chisholm-Smith, Gwen

• Performing Organizations:

  Countermeasures Assessment & Security Experts, LLC

  527 Cooper Street, Suite 305
  Camden, NJ  United States  08102
• Principal Investigators:

  Frazier, Ron

• Start Date: 20190109
• Expected Completion Date: 20200709
• Actual Completion Date: 0

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Behavior; Legal factors; Policy; Public transit; Surveys; Transit operating agencies; Transit riders
• Subject Areas: Law; Passenger Transportation; Public Transportation; Safety and Human Factors;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01661359
• Record Type: Research project
• Source Agency: Transportation Research Board
• Contract Numbers: Project J-05, Topic 18-02
• Files: TRB, RIP
• Created Date: Feb 26 2018 4:43PM