(a) The board of an authority confirmed before July 1, 1985, shall promote the availability and use of transportation services of the authority by persons who have physical disabilities by establishing a program that:
(1) is designed to meet the specific transportation problems of those persons; and
(2) establishes the means by which transportation services are to be provided to those persons.
(b) Before establishing a program under this section, the board shall hold public hearings relating to the establishment and operation of the program.

(c) This section does not apply to an authority created before 1980 in which the principal municipality has a population of less than 1.9 million.