(1) In carrying out its duties under ORS § 267.200, the district shall provide, for persons who are elderly or have disabilities, a program of transportation that:

(a) Is devised in consultation with and after solicitation of the views of persons representative of the communities for which such transportation shall be provided; and

(b) Gives due regard to parity of service.

(2) In carrying out its duties under ORS § 267.200 (4), the district shall cause its future facilities and new equipment to be of such types as to make such facilities and equipment accessible to, and usable by, persons who are elderly or have disabilities. However, contracts for equipment are exempt from this requirement until such equipment:

(a) Is available from not less than two manufacturers in mass producible quantities; and

(b) Conforms to designs approved by the Federal Transit Administration of the United States Department of Transportation as providing access to and being usable by persons who are elderly or have disabilities.

(3) Notwithstanding subsection (2) of this section or any other provision of the law of this state, a program for transportation of persons who are elderly or have disabilities shall be deemed to be in compliance with the laws of this state and rules promulgated thereunder if the program satisfies subsection (1) of this section and the federal regulations relating to transportation for persons who are elderly or have disabilities promulgated by the Federal Transit Administration of the United States Department of Transportation. [1974 c.50 § 2; 1981 c.621 § 1; 1989 c.224 § 37; 1993 c.741 § 23; 2007 c.70 § 59]