2016 Delaware Code
Title 2 - Transportation
CHAPTER 13. DELAWARE TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY
§ 1309. Powers.

The Authority shall have all of the powers necessary or convenient to carry out and effectuate the purposes and provisions of this chapter, to be exercised through the written approval of the Secretary, including, but without limiting the generality of the foregoing, the power to:

(1) Adopt bylaws for the regulation of its affairs and the conduct of its business;

(2) Prescribe rules, regulations and policies in connection with the performance of its functions and duties, and to provide penalties for the violation of such rules and regulations and to provide for the enforcement of state law in or on any transportation facility owned or operated by the Authority or a subsidiary;

(3) Adopt an official seal and to alter the same at pleasure;

(4) Sue in its own name;

(5) Acquire in the name of the Authority, without the approval of the Public Service Commission or any other public body, by purchase, lease, assignment, gift or otherwise, on such terms and conditions and in such manner as it may deem proper, or by the exercise of the power of eminent domain, any land or interest therein or personal property for any transportation facility; however, no facility of the Greater Wilmington Airport, owned by New Castle County, the Sussex County Airport, owned by Sussex County, the Port of Wilmington, owned by the City of Wilmington, or any facility of the Wilmington Parking Authority may be acquired by the Authority unless specifically authorized to do so by an act of the General Assembly;

(6) Supervise or contract for the supervision of all engineering work for any transportation facility appointing such deputies as may be necessary to assist the Authority in such supervision;

(7) Employ consulting engineers, architects, attorneys in accordance with § 2507 of Title 29, real estate counselors, appraisers, accountants, construction and financial experts, superintendents, managers and such other consultants and employees or to enter into contracts with a person, upon such terms and conditions as the Secretary shall determine to be reasonable, to effect the purposes of this chapter including but not limited to payment or reimbursement for planning, designing, financing, constructing, reconstructing, improving, extending, altering, modernizing, repairing, operating and maintaining a transportation facility, to fix their compensation from funds available to the Authority, and to compromise any claims arising therefrom;

(8) Construct, reconstruct and maintain an administration office or offices or such other facilities at such places within the State as it may determine for the effective and efficient operation of the Authority;

(9) Construct, reconstruct, improve, extend, alter, modernize, repair, operate and maintain transportation facilities;

(10) Manage, operate, sell, lease, convey, enter into management contracts, grant options or exclusive licenses, or otherwise dispose of real and personal property acquired by the Authority, for such consideration and upon such terms as the Authority may determine to be reasonable;

(11) Provide for the removal of abandoned, wrecked or disabled motor vehicles and other objects from transportation facilities; provided that only such persons as the Authority may designate shall be permitted to enter any transportation facility owned or operated by the Authority for the purpose of such removal; or, to provide any assistance to any person for compensation;

(12) Fix and revise from time to time, and to charge and collect charges, fares, fees, rentals and tolls, for use of transportation facilities as the Authority may deem necessary, proper, desirable or reasonable and to apply such charges, fares, fees, rentals and tolls, and other revenues, to the cost of any transportation facility without regard to the source of such revenues to assist in financing an economical, efficient and unified system of air, water, vehicular, public and specialized transportation in the State subject to this chapter;

(13) Designate the locations and to establish, limit and control the points of ingress and egress from a turnpike as may be necessary or desirable in the judgment of the Authority to ensure the proper operation and maintenance of a turnpike, and to prohibit entrance to a turnpike from any point or points not so designated;

(14) Contract for and to receive and accept gifts, grants or loans of funds or property or financial or other aid from any person for the purposes of this chapter and to comply, subject to this chapter, with the terms and conditions thereof; and to make grants or loans to any person for any transportation purpose approved by the Authority;

(15) Issue bonds for the purposes of this chapter;

(16) Appoint and fix the salary of the administrator of any administration or subsidiary created pursuant to this chapter;

(17) Purchase, acquire and take assignments of notes, mortgages and other forms of security and evidences of indebtedness;

(18) Establish and maintain reserve and insurance funds with respect to any transportation facility;

(19) Invest any funds or money of the Authority pending the application of such funds or moneys to the purposes of this chapter;

(20) Procure insurance against any losses in connection with its property, operations or assets of any of its administrations or subsidiaries in such amounts and from such insurers as it deems desirable;

(21) Change the location of any portion of any public highway, or to vacate or relocate any highway affected by construction of transportation facilities, provided that the Authority reconstruct such relocated highway at such location as the Authority shall deem most favorable, of substantially the same type and in as good condition as the existing highway at the time the Authority changed the location of such highway, provided further that the cost of such reconstruction and any damage incurred in changing the location of any such highway shall be paid by the Authority;

(22) Construct, reconstruct, maintain or improve grade separations at intersections with public highways and to change and adjust the lines and grades of such highways so as to accommodate the same to the design of such grade separation, provided that the cost of such grade separations and any damage incurred in changing and adjusting the lines and grades of such highways shall be paid by the Authority;

(23) Enter upon any lands, waters and premises in the State for the purpose of making such surveys, soundings, drillings and examinations as the Authority may deem necessary or convenient for the purposes of this chapter, such entry not being deemed a trespass, nor shall an entry for such purposes be deemed entry under any condemnation proceedings which may be then pending; provided that the Authority shall make reimbursement for any actual damage resulting from such activities;

(24) Grant easements for the installation, construction, reconstruction, maintenance, repair, renewal, relocation and removal of tracks, pipes, pipelines, mains, conduits, cables, wires, towers, poles and other equipment and appliances to any person owning or operating such facilities in, on, along, over or under any transportation facility provided that if the Authority shall determine that it is necessary that any such facilities which now are, or after July 12, 1979, may be located in, on, along, over or under any transportation facility should be relocated or should be removed from such transportation facility, the person owning or operating such facilities shall relocate or remove the same in accordance with the order of the Authority; provided further that the person owning or operating the same, its successors or assigns, may maintain and operate such facilities, with the necessary appurtenances, in the new location or new locations, for as long a period, and upon the same terms and conditions, as it had the right to maintain and operate such facilities in their former location or locations; provided, however, that the cost of removal or relocation of such facilities, or of installing such facilities in a new location, and the cost of any lands, or any rights or interests in lands, and any other rights acquired to accomplish such relocation, removal or installation, shall be paid by the Authority;

(25) Take by eminent domain such land abutting a transportation facility, subject to this chapter, as the Authority may deem necessary or desirable for the purpose of removing or relocating all or any part of the facilities of a public utility and may thereafter lease the same or convey an easement or any other interest therein to such person upon such terms as the Authority, in its sole discretion, may determine; provided that the relocation of such facilities of any public utility, in accordance herewith, shall be valid subject to the filing of the plans thereof, as may be required by law, with the Public Service Commission, and no other general laws or other special laws or parts thereof shall be applicable to such relocation;

(26) Place and maintain, or to grant permission by easement or otherwise to any person to place and maintain, on or under or within a transportation facility ducts, pipes, pipelines, wires or other structures or fixtures, to be so located as not to interfere with the safe and convenient operation and maintenance of such transportation facility, and may contract with any such person for such permission on such terms and conditions as may be fixed by the Authority; provided that the construction, reconstruction, maintenance, improvement and repairs of such ducts, pipes, pipelines, wires or other structures or fixtures shall be subject to such directions and regulations as the Authority may impose;

(27) Create or abolish subsidiaries, as provided in this chapter;

(28) Delegate to the Delaware Transit Corporation the rights and responsibilities to:

a. Develop plans and programs:

1. To foster efficient and economical public transportation; and

2. To serve citizens requiring specialized transportation.

b. Fix from time to time, without approval of the Public Service Commission or any other agency or political subdivision of the State, schedules, routes, rates or fares, and charges for use of public transportation services furnished or operated by the Delaware Transit Corporation ("Corporation") pursuant to this chapter, subject to the following provisions:

1. The Corporation will provide an opportunity for a public hearing or public meeting whenever it proposes either to increase the basic fare structure or a major reduction in service (defined herein as affecting 15 percent or more of the ridership within the county for which the reduction is proposed, or at least 15 percent of the service miles currently operating in the affected county, or at least 25 percent of the revenue service trips of any 1 route). The Corporation shall publish a legal notice in 2 newspapers of general circulation announcing the opportunity for a public hearing or public meeting at least 20 days prior to any such proposed public hearing or meeting, as well as post on-board passenger notices of the proposed changes, directing those interested to the location where the details of the proposals can be reviewed. A verbatim transcript will be made of all comments made for the record at any such public hearing or meeting. The Corporation must first review this transcript and all other received comments before it makes a final decision whether to approve such proposals, make an adjustment in such proposals to respond to received public comments, or reject such proposals.

2. For other changes not subject to sub-subparagraph 1 of this subparagraph, including, by way of example and not by way of limitation, adjustments to running times to reflect current travel times, decreases in fares or additions to service, at least 2 weeks prior to the implementation date the Corporation shall publish statewide a legal notice in at least 1 newspaper of general circulation, as well as post on-board passenger notices of, the proposed changes on all normally scheduled bus service, directing those interested to the location where the details of the proposals can be reviewed and where comments concerning the change can be sent.

3. No public comment period shall be required when making a change in service to avoid hazardous or potentially hazardous conditions that may exist along a route or to initiate a temporary service or customer benefit for a defined period or for a service that is designed to change its routing and pickup times with fluctuating demands; provided that the rate of fare or charge for individuals 65 years of age or older shall be not more than 40 percent of the regular fare charged per zone.

4. No less than twice per year, the Corporation will publish all route, schedule and fare information for public transit routes operated by the Corporation for use and review by the public and third parties in generally accepted open data formats. For the purposes of this paragraph, "publish" shall mean to make available for anonymous download on a publicly maintained website of the Corporation, and "open data format" shall mean machine-readable data formats adhering to a generally accepted specification commonly used by transit agencies to publish schedule, route and fare information for third-party use. Such route information shall be available for download by members of the public and third parties at no charge.

c. Provide specialized transportation services to those persons contracting for such services by pooling and coordinating the resources of public transportation including the Delaware Transit Corporation's facilities and private services including taxicabs and other privately owned transportation services; provided, that no reduction in service area, span of service hours, increase in basic fares or changes in rules (not mandated by federal regulations) on eligibility that would reduce the ability of those that qualify as being disabled by reason of physical or mental infirmity from utilizing available specialized transportation (except in cases where the individual engages in violent, seriously disruptive or illegal conduct) shall be implemented by the Corporation without first providing an opportunity for a public hearing or public meeting; further provided that all such public hearings or public meetings shall be preceded by the Corporation publishing a legal notice in 2 newspapers of general circulation announcing the opportunity for a public hearing or public meeting at least 20 days prior to such proposed public hearing or meeting, as well as posting on-board passenger notices of the proposed changes, directing those interested to the location where all details of the proposal can be reviewed; and further provided that a verbatim transcript shall be made of all comments made for the record at any such public hearings or meetings and that the transcript and all other received comments shall be reviewed by the Corporation prior to making a final decision on whether to approve such proposals, make an adjustment in such proposals that respond to received public comments, or reject such proposals;

d. Provide service without charge to all blind citizens of the State on any public transportation facility operated by the Delaware Transit Corporation, provided that an identification card issued by the Delaware Commission for the Blind shall be sufficient evidence of the qualification of the patron for such free transportation, and provided further that no such service without charge as provided herein shall be offered by the Delaware Transit Corporation beyond the amount of funds specifically appropriated for such purpose by the General Assembly;

e. Provide for the use of contractual advertising on the downstream and back panels of Delaware Transit Corporation's transit shelters to offset the cost of providing these facilities, except that no such advertising shall be permitted in the following locations:

1. Within a residential subdivision, except at its entrance;

2. Within 50 feet of a residence;

3. Within 100 feet of any property designated as a historic resource under federal, state, or local law; or

4. Within 150 feet of areas experiencing continually high incident rates of drug offenses or crimes against persons, measured on a calendar-year basis, as designated by the State Bureau of Identification or the applicable local police agency.

(29) Perform such other acts and duties as are necessary or convenient to carry out the powers expressly granted in this chapter.

60 Del. Laws, c. 503, § 8; 62 Del. Laws, c. 125, § 7; 62 Del. Laws, c. 164, §§ 1, 2; 63 Del. Laws, c. 179, § 39; 69 Del. Laws, c. 435, §§ 17-25; 72 Del. Laws, c. 72, §§ 1, 2; 75 Del. Laws, c. 98, § 91; 77 Del. Laws, c. 372, § 1; 80 Del. Laws, c. 22, § 1.;