Johnson County SEATS Complaint Procedures

The US DOT issued a Final Rule under the American Disability Act (ADA) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and can be found at https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR‐2015‐03‐13/pdf/2015‐05646.pdf. Per this final rule, Johnson County SEATS is required to adopt complaint procedures and make this process available on the website. Johnson County SEATS comment/complaint process is listed below:

  1. File a Complaint: Customer may contact Johnson County SEATS by phone 319-339‐6128 or via email dalam@johnsoncountyiowa.gov or if you are a residence of Coralville you can call by phone (319‐248‐1790) or via email [email protected] or for residents of Iowa City, call (319 356‐5151) or email [email protected] to file an official complaint. Johnson County SEATS’s Confidential Secretary, Supervisor, or Director answering the phone or email will document the complaint on Johnson County SEATS’s Customer Service Report.
  2. Forwarded to Management: The Customer Service Report is then immediately forwarded to the Fixed Route Transit Director for review and investigation. If the complainant made reference to their disability as a barrier to ride Johnson County SEATS’s services or access its programs, this comment/complaint would be immediately forwarded to Transit Director of the City your eligibility is established in, they will determine if a reasonable modification request has been made and should be granted.
  3. Due Process: If the complainant leaves their personal contact information (either phone or email), the Transit Director will contact them promptly, generally within three (3) business days, for more information about the incident or to acknowledge receipt of their comment/complaint. The investigation into the complaint shall take no more than twenty‐one (21) days for determination.
  4. Video Assistance: Johnson County SEATS has surveillance equipment on‐board vehicles with up to four (4) cameras. Therefore, if the comment is regarding an incident that occurred on the bus, video may be pulled and downloaded to obtain additional details about the passengers’ experience.
  5. Complaint Determination: Comments are documented under the following categories:
    • Service
    • Vehicle
    • Validity
    • Safety
    • Facilities
    • Driver
    • Other
  6. Further Investigation: If necessary, the comment/complaint may also be forwarded to the Director of the Transit service you are eligible to ride for (i.e. Coralville or Iowa City) for further review or investigation. For instance, if the comment is related to Service Requests (route changes, additional frequency of service, additional hours of service, etc.), those requests are forwarded to the Fixed Route Transit Director to compile for discussions about service improvements. Additionally, if a formal request for a reasonable modification was made through a general comment or complaint by an individual with a disability, this request would be noted in the comment section of the comment form and would be immediately forwarded to Johnson County SEATS’s Director then to the Director of Fixed Route Transit where your eligibility is established for an official determination.


Reasonable Modification Request Procedures

Johnson County SEATS Reasonable Modification Policy can be found here.

If you believe that you have been excluded from Johnson County SEATS’s services ADA Paratransit services due to the nature of your disability and would like to request a modification to Johnson County SEATS’s policies, programs or services allowing you equal access to these same services, please call or email:

Coralville Transit
319‐248‐1790
[email protected] Vicky Robrock, Director

or

Iowa City Transit
319‐356‐5151
[email protected] , Darian Nagle-Gamm, Director

or

Johnson County SEATS
319‐339‐6128 
dalam@johnsoncountyiowa.gov Dawn Alam, Director


Johnson County SEATS’s Director will send it on to the appropriate Transit to have it promptly investigate and review each request for modification and determine whether to approve such request within twenty‐one (21) days. Requests will be made as promptly as possible but may require this additional time to allow for investigation. To learn more about this process, visit www.johnsoncountyiowa.gov/seats.


Title VI Complaints Procedures

Johnson County SEATS operates its SEATS service without regard to race, color and national origin. For more information or to file a complaint or concern, call Johnson County SEATS’s Title VI Coordinator (City Clerk) 319‐248‐1700 and ask to speak with the City Clerk.

If during the general complaint process or investigation, a Johnson County SEATS employee determines the complainant is filing a discrimination complaint based on race, color or national origin, the employee will provide the option for the individual to file a written Title VI complaint or concern with Johnson County SEATS’s Title VI Coordinator (City Clerk) within 180 days of the incident. Any such complaint must be submitted in writing by filling out Johnson County SEATS’s Title VI Complaint form by contacting the Title VI Coordinator, for more information regarding Johnson County SEATS’s Title VI Policy and Complaint Procedures, please visit: www.johnsoncountyiowa.gov/seats.


Documentation of Complaints

All complaints, whether they are general complaints, Title VI complaints or Reasonable Accommodations requests are recorded and filed.