Transportation Update:

Where We’ve Gone and 

What We’ve Learned

National Council on Disability

May 4, 2015
National Council on Disability

1331 F Street, NW, Suite 850

Washington, DC 20004

Transportation Update: Where We’ve Gone and What We’ve Learned

This report is also available in alternative formats upon request and on the National 

Council on Disability (NCD) website (www.ncd.gov).

May 4, 2015

202-272-2004 Voice

202-272-2074 TTY

202-272-2022 Fax

The views contained in this report do not necessarily represent those of the 

Administration, as this and all NCD documents are not subject to the A-19 Executive 

Branch review process.
National Council on Disability

An independent federal agency making recommendations to the President and Congress 

to enhance the quality of life for all Americans with disabilities and their families.

1331 F Street, NW ■ Suite 850 ■ Washington, DC 20004

202-272-2004 Voice ■ 202-272-2074 TTY ■ 202-272-2022 Fax ■ www.ncd.gov

Letter of Transmittal

May 4, 2015

President Barack Obama

The White House 

1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW 

Washington, DC 20500 

Dear Mr. President: 

The National Council on Disability (NCD) is pleased to submit the enclosed report, 

Transportation Update: Where We’ve Gone and What We’ve Learned. As we celebrate 

the 25th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), this report updates a 

2005 study about the state of our country’s surface transportation, explains changes for 

people with disabilities during the past 10 years, and recommends public policy to 

address new and persistent problems. 

The report is based upon a review of the literature, the current state of the industry, 

state and local implementation of federal legislation, and information gleaned from 

outreach to stakeholders, including people with disabilities and other experts. NCD’s 

findings address accessibility-related progress as well as problems associated with 

fixed route and bus and rail transit (including Amtrak); paratransit; public rights-of-way; 

enforcement of existing laws; and other issues for all modes of public transit. The report 

also addresses concerns with rural, coordinated, and privately funded transportation, 

and commercial driver’s license rules. Finally, the report makes recommendations to 

Congress and the Executive Branch designed to improve federal collaborative efforts 

and to close gaps in transportation access in ways that benefit people with disabilities 

and families, including but not limited to the following: 

● Public rights-of-way: Congress should pass The Safe Streets Act 

(S2004/HR 2468), which would implement the “complete streets” concept that

makes streets and sidewalks accessible for all people, including people with 

disabilities, using all modes of travel, including pedestrians with and without 

disabilities and bicycle riders, rather than only considering the needs of 

automobile drivers and their vehicles

● Rail transportation: As it has for Amtrak, Congress should set aside funds 

specifically for achieving station accessibility on rapid rail (subways) where it 

1 
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does not yet exist, including platform connectivity, detectable warning 

installation, elevators, ramps, and full-length platform-level boarding. There 

should be clear objectives, deadlines, and outcomes analysis to achieve full 

and timely accessibility.

● Rural transportation: Congress should place far greater emphasis than it 

has to date on funding rural transportation programs. The situation today still 

shows minimal or non-existent public transit services in most rural areas. 

Furthermore, compared to the resources allocated to urban areas, those 

allocated for rural public transportation are significantly inequitable. This 

creates serious, ongoing barriers to employment, accessible health care, and 

full participation in society for people with disabilities. 

● Enforcement: (a) The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal 

Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) should continue to prioritize, 

fund, and increase the scope and depth of oversight and enforcement efforts 

of privately funded transit; (b) the federal agencies that enforce various 

aspects of the ADA transportation requirements should collectively establish a 

clear means (e.g., shared website and phone number) for individuals to 

request and obtain assistance with concerns about local or state 

noncompliance; and (c) the Department of Transportation (DOT) and DOJ 

should promulgated guidance on disseminating information about the

website, how covered entities (e.g., DOT’s Federal Transit Administration, the 

Federal Railroad Administration, the Federal Highway Administration, and 

FMCSA) will initiate a public awareness campaign.

NCD appreciates the opportunity to present an independent and nonpartisan 

assessment of transportation progress as it affects the daily lives of Americans with 

disabilities—including equal access that most people take for granted. Transportation 

can be the key to obtaining, retaining, and succeeding in the world of work and 

socialization by people with disabilities. NCD stands ready to work with you, the 

Administration, Congress, and other stakeholders to ensure that affordable and 

accessible transportation is available to all Americans.

Respectfully, 

/s/

Jeff Rosen

Chairperson 

(The same letter of transmittal was sent to the President Pro Tempore of the U.S. 

Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives.) 
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National Council on Disability Members and Staff

Members

Jeff Rosen, Chairperson

Kamilah Oni Martin-Proctor, Co-Vice Chair

Lynnae Ruttledge, Co-Vice Chair

Gary Blumenthal

Chester A. Finn

Sara Gelser

Captain Jonathan F. Kuniholm, USMC (Retired)

Janice Lehrer-Stein 

Ari Ne’eman

Benro T. Ogunyipe 

Stephanie Orlando

Katherine D. Seelman

Clyde E. Terry

Royal P. Walker, Jr.

Alice Wong

Staff

Rebecca Cokley, Executive Director

Phoebe Ball, Legislative Affairs Specialist

Stacey S. Brown, Staff Assistant

Lawrence Carter-Long, Public Affairs Specialist

Joan M. Durocher, General Counsel & Director of Policy

Lisa Grubb, Management Analyst

Geraldine-Drake Hawkins, Senior Policy Analyst

Amy Nicholas, Attorney Advisor

Robyn Powell, Attorney Advisor

Anne Sommers, Director of Legislative Affairs & Outreach
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Acknowledgments

The National Council on Disability wishes to express its deep appreciation to Marilyn 

Golden, Senior Policy Analyst at the Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund 

(DREDF), who conducted the research and writing for this report. 

We also thank Billy Altom, Executive Director, Association of Programs for Rural 

Independent Living (APRIL), for his assistance with rural transportation. 
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Contents

Letter of Transmittal........................................................................................................ 1

National Council on Disability Members and Staff....................................................... 3

Acknowledgments........................................................................................................... 4

Executive Summary ......................................................................................................11

Introduction ...................................................................................................................19

Chapter 1. Fixed-Route Bus Transit.......................................................................21

Chapter Overview ...................................................................................21

Fixed-Route Ridership by People with Disabilities ..................................22

Equipment Maintenance .........................................................................24

Overview ..........................................................................................24

Regular and Frequent Maintenance Checks ...................................26

Accessibility Equipment Failure during Pre-Trip Inspection.............27

Failure in Service: Report by Most Immediate Means Available .....28

Provide Alternative Service ..............................................................28

Post-Trip Inspection and Maintenance of Problem Equipment........29

False Claims of Broken Lifts and Ramps.........................................30

Pass-Bys of Riders with Disabilities.................................................30

Lifts That Are Difficult to Maintain.....................................................31

Preventive Maintenance ..................................................................31

Progressive Discipline......................................................................33

Complaint Investigation....................................................................33

The Role of the Rider in Equipment Maintenance...........................34

Ramp Slope ............................................................................................34

Bus Boarding Issues ...............................................................................36

Stop Announcements..............................................................................38

Orientation Announcements.............................................................40

Consistency in Stop Announcements ..............................................40

Stop Announcement Lists ................................................................41

Automated Announcement Systems ...............................................42

Route Identification Announcements ...............................................43

Policies and Training ........................................................................45

Monitoring, Progressive Discipline, and Incentives .........................46

Complaint Investigation....................................................................48

The Role of Riders ...........................................................................48

Fully Accessible Fixed-Route Systems ...................................................48

Chapter 2. Rail Transit.............................................................................................51

Chapter Overview ...................................................................................51
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Subpart A. Level Boarding ......................................................................52

Overview ..........................................................................................52

DOT Final Rule on Boarding Platforms ...........................................54

New Boarding Options .....................................................................58

Resistance to Double-Stopping .......................................................60

Subpart B. Amtrak...................................................................................62

Overview ..........................................................................................62

Amtrak Stations................................................................................63

Amtrak Cars .....................................................................................66

Amtrak Reservations........................................................................68

Communication Access on Amtrak ..................................................69

Amtrak Thruway Bus Service...........................................................70

Office of Inspector General Report ..................................................70

Chapter 3. ADA Paratransit.....................................................................................73

Chapter Overview ...................................................................................73

Challenging the Myth of Runaway Growth..............................................74

Commuter Bus Exception .......................................................................76

Eligibility ..................................................................................................77

Ensure Fixed-Route Access.............................................................77

Disability Community Involvement...................................................79

Don’t Reinvent the Wheel ................................................................79

Important Triggers for Eligibility........................................................80

Conditional Eligibility and Trip-by-Trip Eligibility ...............................80

Most Limiting Condition....................................................................81

Medical Professionals Who Know the Applicant..............................84

Weather-Related Eligibility ...............................................................86

No Blanket Denials Based on Type of Disability..............................86

People with Variable Conditions ......................................................87

Travel Training and Eligibility............................................................87

Prior Use of the Fixed-Route System ..............................................88

Safety and Eligibility .........................................................................89

Eligibility Determination Process......................................................89

Discrimination Based on Native Language......................................92

Trip Denials.............................................................................................92

Telephone Hold Time..............................................................................96

Measuring Telephone Hold Time: Two Basic Methods....................97

“Where’s My Ride” Calls ................................................................100

Secondary Holds............................................................................101

No Busy Signals.............................................................................102

Avoid Limits on the Number of Trip Requests per Call..................102

Communications Access for Taking Telephone Calls....................103

The Role of Riders in Reducing Telephone Hold Times................103

Origin-to-Destination Service ................................................................104

Limitations on This Right................................................................106
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Transit Policies and Operational Issues.........................................106

When Is Door-to-Door Service Required?.....................................110

Public Input in the Planning Process .............................................113

Vehicle Operator Training...............................................................113

Transfers Must Be Attended When Needed by a Rider.................113

Some Transit Agencies Disregard the Origin-to-Destination 

Service Requirement......................................................................114

On-Time Performance...........................................................................115

Scheduling Practices for On-Time Performance ...........................116

Pickups, Drop-Offs, Will-Calls: Consider All Aspects of OnTime Performance..........................................................................119

Travel Time.....................................................................................123

Subscription Service ......................................................................124

Monitoring.......................................................................................125

The Role of the Rider in Keeping Service on Time........................126

No-Show Policies..................................................................................127

Pattern or Practice of Missed Trips by the Rider............................128

Do Not Count No-Shows That Are Beyond the Control of the 

Rider...............................................................................................128

Proportion of Trips Missed, Rather Than Absolute Number..........130

Do Not Cancel the Return Trip.......................................................133

Suspensions...................................................................................134

No-Strand Policies .........................................................................137

Late Cancellations..........................................................................137

The Role of Riders in Reducing No-Shows ...................................139

Using Taxis in ADA Paratransit Service................................................140

Equal Respect for ADA Paratransit.......................................................140

Feeder Service......................................................................................141

Must a Transit Agency Send a Specific Type of Vehicle?.....................144

Transitions Between Contractors and Service Models..........................144

Parents Traveling with Children ............................................................146

Passengers with Dementia ...................................................................148

Chapter 4. Enforcement ........................................................................................151

Chapter Overview .................................................................................151

DOT Guidance ......................................................................................153

ADA Compliance Reviews (FTA)..........................................................154

2012 GAO Report Addressed FTA ADA Compliance Reviews .....155

The FTA Resumed Posting ADA Compliance Reviews, Some 

with New Format and Content .......................................................158

Administrative Complaints (FTA) ..........................................................160

Triennial Reviews, State Management Reviews, Key Station 

Reviews (FTA) ......................................................................................161

FTA ADA Circular .................................................................................164

Over-the-Road Bus Enforcement by DOJ and FMCSA.........................164
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DOJ Independent Enforcement Actions................................................165

Privately Funded Transit ................................................................165

Publicly Funded Transit..................................................................166

Chapter 5. Fixed Route Deviation.........................................................................167

Chapter Overview .................................................................................167

Deviations Only for Some: Meeting the ADA Paratransit 

Requirements........................................................................................167

Deviations for All: What Level of Service for People with Disabilities?..170

Urban Density Can Drive Constraints............................................170

Deviations Are Constrained in Many Systems .............................171

How to Measure Performance for People with Disabilities............172

Other Implementation Considerations...................................................173

Chapter 6. Issues for All Modes of Public Transit ..............................................175

Subpart A. “Common Wheelchair” Section Removed from DOT ADA 

Regulation.............................................................................................175

The “Common Wheelchair” Problem .............................................175

Removal of the Common Wheelchair Provision and Related 

Wheelchair Rule Changes .............................................................176

Enforcement of the New, Stricter Standard....................................180

Lift Capacity Issues ........................................................................181

Best Practices and Questionable Practices...................................181

Subpart B. Reasonable Modifications of Policies, Practices, and 

Procedures, and Other ADA General Nondiscrimination 

Requirements........................................................................................183

Introduction.....................................................................................183

DOT Proposed Regulation to Fix the Problem ..............................185

FTA Decisions Requiring Reasonable Modifications of Policies, 

Practices, and Procedures.............................................................187

Consequences of Not Requiring Reasonable Modifications of 

Policy..............................................................................................188

Subpart C. Securing Mobility Devices...................................................189

Overview ........................................................................................189

Common Misinterpretation of Lift and Securement 

Requirements.................................................................................190

Proposal to Enhance Dimensional Requirements.........................192

Voluntary Standards.......................................................................193

Scooter Securement ......................................................................194

Rear-Facing Securements.............................................................195

Subpart D. Service Animals ..................................................................196

Overview ........................................................................................196

ADA Transportation Rules for Service Animals Did Not Change...196

Discrimination Persists...................................................................198

Wheelchair User with Service Animal Using a Lift.........................200
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Subpart E. Communication Access.......................................................201

Subpart F. Traveling with a Respirator or Portable Oxygen Supply ......204

Subpart G. Navigating Public Transit with a Cognitive or Intellectual 

Disability................................................................................................205

Subpart H. Navigating Public Transit with Chemical or Electrical 

Sensitivities ...........................................................................................206

Subpart I. Transit Staff Trained to Proficiency.......................................208

Chapter 7. Rural Transportation...........................................................................209

Funding Sources for Rural Transportation ............................................210

Successful Strategies for Rural Transportation.....................................213

Voucher Programs .........................................................................214

Volunteers ......................................................................................215

Flex Services..................................................................................215

Taxicabs .........................................................................................215

Mobility Management .....................................................................219

Coordinated Services.....................................................................221

Car Ownership ...............................................................................224

Update on Programs Mentioned in the 2005 NCD Report............225

MAP-21 and Rural Transportation ........................................................225

Conclusion ............................................................................................227

Chapter 8. Coordinated Transportation...............................................................229

Toward a Universal Transit System ......................................................230

Coordination Model in Iowa: A Single Agency Providing Multiple 

Programs in Eleven Counties................................................................232

Coordination Model in Maine: Using Medicaid Dollars to Increase 

Capacity ................................................................................................232

Chapter 9. Commercial Driver’s License Rules ..................................................235

Chapter 10. Public Rights-of-Way ..........................................................................237

Chapter Overview .................................................................................237

Two Important Appellate Court Decisions......................................237

Lack of Enforceable Technical Standards......................................240

Other Key Issues............................................................................240

Enforcement Difficulties and Encouraging Developments.............241

Complete Streets ..................................................................................242

Bus Stops..............................................................................................243

Why Bus Stop Access Is a Persistent Problem .............................244

Bus Stop Detectability ....................................................................246

Other Improvements in Bus Stop Accessibility ..............................247

Resources for Bus Stop Accessibility.............................................250

Accessible Pedestrian Signals ..............................................................250

Detectable Warnings.............................................................................252

Curb Ramps..........................................................................................253

Street Resurfacing and Curb Ramps.............................................254
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Snow Removal......................................................................................256

Chapter 11. Privately Funded Transit ....................................................................259

Subpart A. Taxicabs..............................................................................259

Overview ........................................................................................259

ADA Requirements Are Limited .....................................................261

Caught in the Act of Discrimination................................................262

Accessible Taxis.............................................................................263

Uber, SideCar, Lyft, and Similar Transportation Apps....................278

Subpart B. Intercity Bus Service and Over-the-Road Buses .................292

Overview ........................................................................................292

Curbside Carriers Disregarded the ADA for Years ........................293

The 2012 Deadline: DOT Denies Extensions Requested by 

Large Carriers ................................................................................297

The Interlining Problem and How It Was Addressed.....................299

“Asking for Notice Is Passé”...........................................................301

Industry Bemoans Low Ridership and Requests Further Relief....303

Other Issues and Problems with Intercity Bus Service..................305

Recommendations ......................................................................................................311

Overall Recommendations....................................................................311

Recommendations by Chapter..............................................................311

Chapter 1. Fixed-Route Bus Transit...............................................311

Chapter 2. Rail Transit....................................................................312

Chapter 3. ADA Paratransit............................................................315

Chapter 4. Enforcement................................................................. 342

Chapter 5. Fixed Route Deviation..................................................343

Chapter 6. Issues for All Modes of Public Transit ..........................346

Chapter 7. Rural Transportation.....................................................352

Chapter 8. Coordinated Transportation..........................................353

Chapter 9. Commercial Driver’s License Rules.............................354

Chapter 10. Public Rights-of-Way..................................................354

Chapter 11. Privately Funded Transit.............................................358

List of Interviews.........................................................................................................363

Endnotes......................................................................................................................365
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Executive Summary

Nearly 10 years ago, the National Council on Disability published The Current State of 

Transportation for People with Disabilities in the United States, a major transportation 

overview report. That 2005 report received high acclaim and contributed to major 

developments in the field.

In this related document, Transportation Update: Where We’ve Gone and What We’ve 

Learned, NCD explains where the U.S. disability community found itself in 2005 and 

what has changed since then. This update addresses the achievements and advances 

that have occurred in the field of transportation for people with disabilities, as well as 

what has been learned and where problems remain in the United States. 

Much has happened in the past 10 years. Many in the transit industry and in 

government agencies have greater insight into how to improve public transit systems for 

the disability community. Changed circumstances and advancements in operational 

knowledge must also be taken into account. 

In many ways, the transportation accessibility situation has advanced. More people 

with disabilities are riding public transit than ever before; new rulemaking has provided 

pathways forward; and new research has revealed insights that cast doubt on common 

transit industry beliefs about transportation for people with disabilities that 

were accepted as truth until quite recently, and often still are.

At the same time, transportation problems persist for people with disabilities, including 

many obstacles to taking full advantage of all forms of public transit. Rural areas across 

the country still lag well behind in terms of transportation options, although programs to 

improve rural transportation are proliferating.

Across the United States, transportation accessibility remains a key challenge, even 

though we know from research and stakeholder experiences what is needed. The 
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National Council on Disability remains in the forefront in analyzing our current status 

and shining a light toward the future.

This report is confined to surface transportation. It does not address transportation by 

air carriers or passenger vessels, although those are important areas that merit further 

examination.

Overview of Chapters

The report is divided into 11 topics by chapter—Fixed-Route Bus Transit; Rail Transit; 

ADA Paratransit; Enforcement; Fixed Route Deviation; Issues for All Modes of Public 

Transportation; Rural Transportation; Coordinated Transportation; Commercial Driver’s 

License Rules; Public Rights-of-Way; and Privately Funded Transit. Each chapter 

presents findings about specific topics and the impacts on the lives of people with 

disabilities. At the end of the report is a list of overall recommendations addressing 

selected broad issues, as well as chapter-by-chapter recommendations to Congress, 

federal agencies, state regulators and local jurisdictions, transit authorities, agencies, 

providers, and other stakeholders, including the disability community, public works 

departments, private companies, and transportation designers.

Chapter 1, Fixed-Route Bus Transit, addresses the improvements and remaining 

challenges for fixed-route bus transit. Promising research shows that ridership by 

people with disabilities on fixed-route bus and rail systems in the United States has 

grown far faster than ridership on Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) paratransit, 

casting doubt on the common transit industry view to the contrary. Gains and 

challenges in equipment maintenance include information about best practices, 

although these practices are often not implemented. Ramp slopes on accessible buses 

are generally too steep, but the U.S. Access Board might implement policies that 

require more gradual slopes. Bus boarding issues are still a challenge in some cities; 

litigation alleges that local bus systems deny boarding to people with disabilities despite 

having accessible equipment. Gains and challenges in the area of stop announcements 
13

on buses include extensive information about best practices, although these practices 

are often not implemented. Several examples illustrate what is needed to implement 

fully accessible fixed-route systems.

Chapter 2, Rail Transit, addresses two key issues: (1) full-length platform-level 

boarding and (2) impediments to the use of Amtrak. The former—also referred to as 

“level boarding”—full-length platform level boarding is considered the best approach for 

people with mobility disabilities to board and disembark from trains. This section 

focuses on a major set of changes made in 2011 to the U.S. Department of 

Transportation (DOT) ADA regulation requiring level boarding at certain stations. A 

subsection on new boarding options explores the development of a second-best 

alternative: large setback platforms.

Although many people with disabilities use Amtrak successfully, particularly along the 

northeast corridor, Amtrak has lagged behind (despite the requirements of the ADA) in 

its stations, train cars, reservations capacity, and in the area of communications access. 

We also explore a disturbing report from the Amtrak Office of Inspector General.

Chapter 3, ADA Paratransit, addresses many key concerns, including the myth of 

runaway growth. We explore recent research that casts doubt on the common transit 

industry view that the graying of America will cause explosive growth in ADA paratransit 

demand.

A section on commuter bus exception discusses how to determine which forms of 

transit qualify for the commuter bus exemption to the ADA paratransit requirements.

The section on eligibility provides up-to-date resources; explores conditional and trip-bytrip eligibility; and addresses topics such as assessing an applicant’s most limiting 

condition, medical professionals who know the applicant, weather-related eligibility, 

explaining how blanket denials based on type of disability are not allowed, the 

relationship between eligibility and safety, and the eligibility determination process, 

including discrimination based on native language. 
14

Trip denials are disallowed by the ADA if they occur in substantial numbers, but they still 

occur in many transit systems. A discussion of telephone hold time addresses best 

practices in measuring hold time and a number of related issues, including “where’s my 

ride” calls, secondary holds, and busy signals. The section on origin-to-destination 

service describes an important ADA guidance document.

On-time performance is a key issue in ADA paratransit compliance; this section 

provides examples of on-time performance problems in ADA paratransit systems 

around the United States and how to prevent them, including information on best 

practices.

The section on no-show policies explores new findings and provides best practices, 

including not counting no-shows that are beyond the rider’s control, basing policies on 

the proportion of missed trips rather than on the absolute number, not canceling the 

return trip, implementing suspensions properly, no-strand policies, and late 

cancellations.

Other sections in this chapter explore using taxis in ADA paratransit, respecting ADA 

paratransit as a legitimate transit mode, ADA paratransit feeder service and important 

considerations to guide its use, transitions between contractors and service models, 

parents traveling with children, and passengers with dementia.

Chapter 4, Enforcement, addresses the many ways that federal disability rights 

protections governing transportation are overseen and enforced by a plethora of 

agencies. It discusses enforcement challenges and describes where progress has been 

made. The chapter covers DOT guidance and its role in ADA implementation; ADA 

compliance reviews of publicly funded transit by the Federal Transit Administration 

(FTA); ADA administrative complaints investigated by the FTA; triennial reviews, state 

management reviews, and key station reviews conducted by the FTA; and over-theroad bus enforcement by the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Motor 

Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA).
15

Chapter 5, Fixed Route Deviation, discusses fixed route deviation service, the various 

ADA challenges it presents, and how the ADA affects its provision.

Chapter 6, Issues for All Modes of Public Transit, addresses major issues that affect 

every surface transit mode, including fixed-route, demand-responsive, bus, and train. 

The chapter covers the following topics:

● Removal of the “common wheelchair” section from the DOT ADA regulations, 

including implications of the change and examples of difficulties that remain 

with some transit agencies.

● Reasonable modifications of policies, practices, procedures, and other 

nondiscrimination requirements—what it means to modify policy to avoid 

discrimination, problems that stem from court decisions ruling that the 

modification of policy provision in the DOJ rule may not apply to publicly 

funded transit, and efforts by DOT to adopt the provision into its own 

regulation.

● Securing mobility devices—common misinterpretations of this critical safety 

issue and its requirements. The chapter also addresses WC-19, a voluntary 

standard for wheelchairs used in motor vehicles; SAE J2249, a voluntary 

standard for securement devices (tie-downs); scooter securement; and rearfacing securement. 

Chapter 6 also discusses discriminatory practices in the transportation arena against 

users of service animals and offers technical assistance suggestions for boarding 

wheelchair users with service animals on a lift vehicle. A section on communications 

access addresses a variety of practices—some that are encouraged and others that are 

discouraged—for transit agencies to make their communications more accessible to 

people with hearing, speech, vision, and cognitive disabilities. Other sections in this 

chapter address traveling with a respirator or portable oxygen supply; navigating public 
16

transit with a cognitive or intellectual disability or with chemical or electrical sensitivities; 

and training staff to proficiency.

Chapter 7, Rural Transportation, identifies critical gaps and barriers resulting in 

minimal or nonexistent transit services in rural and remote areas. This situation creates

serious barriers to employment, accessible health care, and full participation in society 

for people with disabilities; however, MAP-21, the federal reauthorization of DOT 

surface transportation programs through fiscal year 2014, offered coordination 

opportunities. This chapter discusses funding sources for rural transportation, as well as 

successful strategies such as voucher programs, volunteers, flex services, taxicabs, 

mobility management, coordinated services, and car ownership.

Chapter 8, Coordinated Transportation, addresses the increasing focus on 

coordinated transportation programs and services to provide transportation to people 

with disabilities; it includes examples of successful coordination in Oregon, Iowa, and 

Maine.

Chapter 9, Commercial Driver’s License Rules, addresses the problems posed by 

commercial driver’s license rules for hard-of-hearing and deaf people—as well as 

people with seizure disorders and those with insulin-treated diabetes—in jobs as 

interstate truck drivers. Several important recent advances have struck down barriers 

that have existed for years, and even decades, thus increasing employment 

opportunities. 

Chapter 10, Public Rights-of-Way, addresses the critical nature of accessibility to 

public rights-of-way (PROW)—the network of streets and sidewalks. This chapter 

describes key court decisions for PROW and explains important issues such as 

“complete streets”; bus stop access and detectability; accessible pedestrian signals; 

detectable warnings; curb ramps (including recent gains in the relationship between 

street resurfacing and curb ramps); and snow removal. 
17

Chapter 11, Privately Funded Transit, addresses two key areas: (1) taxicab service 

and (2) intercity transit using over-the-road buses. It discusses the importance of transit 

by taxi and the barriers that prevent people with disabilities from taking full advantage of 

taxi travel, including accessibility. Topics include the need for incentives, keeping 

accessible vehicles in use, training, and enforcement. Case studies are presented of 

accessible taxi service in Chicago, Rhode Island, and New York City. The chapter also 

addresses new payment technology in taxicabs for people who are blind or have vision 

impairments. Finally, it covers the problems presented by the burgeoning sector of 

smartphone transportation applications such as Uber, SideCar, Lyft, and similar 

services, which have resisted the regulation normally imposed on the taxi sector.

With regard to intercity bus service and over-the-road buses (OTRBs), the chapter

describes the gradual implementation of the 1998 DOT ADA regulation changes 

concerning private transportation that uses OTRBs, the rise of curbside carriers that 

have disregarded the ADA for many years, and the successful struggle to push for ADA 

enforcement. This section also addresses a major 2012 deadline for fully accessible bus 

fleets operated by large carriers; how a problem with interlined service between large 

and small carriers has been resolved; the phasing out of the period during which large 

carriers may require advance notice from riders with disabilities; and other OTRB issues 

and problems, including boarding denials and difficulties in moving seats to create 

wheelchair spaces. 

Recommendations. The report closes with chapter/topic-specific recommendations, as 

well as these four overall recommendations for consideration and action:

1. All transportation providers must comply with the requirements of the 

Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). They should establish policy and 

conduct training to ensure proper implementation. 

2. All federal agencies that enforce any aspect of the ADA transportation 

requirements should enforce them thoroughly and robustly, and take the 
18

initiative to undertake robust compliance oversight activities, such as 

compliance reviews, to ensure that the ADA is implemented properly.

3. Congress should undertake oversight activities to ensure compliance with 

the ADA transportation requirements, as well as proper implementation.

4. Transit agencies and other stakeholders should be encouraged to follow all 

the best practices identified in this report.
19

Introduction

This report describes the transportation access changes for people with disabilities, 

positive and otherwise, that have occurred in the past decade. Key considerations 

include (1) the impact of new regulations and court decisions that have spurred 

improvements in surface transportation, and (2) innovations and new technologies that 

provide opportunities for people with disabilities.

Accounts of achievements in increasing transportation accessibility for Americans with 

disabilities, and some of the unmet needs, are presented in great detail. This report 

identifies relevant data and calls attention to best practices, as well as areas that still 

require significant reform. The research, data analysis, and insights from the disability 

community promote understanding of how to provide meaningful access to public 

transit systems that work well for the disability community. Changed circumstances and 

advancements in operational knowledge signal trends that can create new 

transportation opportunities in the future. At the same time, problems persist for people 

with disabilities, who rely heavily on public transportation. Many still face obstacles to 

taking full advantage of all forms of public transit. Notably, the rural areas of our country 

lag well behind in terms of transportation options, although the proliferation of programs 

to improve rural transportation is a positive development.

The overall context for disability transportation issues was expressed in the 2005 NCD 

report:

This paper analyzes existing transportation systems in the United States 

with the acknowledgment that these systems are inherently inadequate 

due to a chronic lack of funding. As the United States focuses its 

resources on travel by automobile, all other modes are neglected in 

comparison.1

 

This situation continues today, and there is ample reason for concern for the future, as 

certain parts of the U.S. electorate turn against public services. For example, in April 
20

2014, a state law was passed in the Tennessee Senate that banned new mass transit 

projects across the state:

The Tennessee Senate has approved a measure that would ban new 

mass transit projects across the state. The bill was introduced to 

undermine a proposed rapid bus system in Nashville called the Amp, but 

would apply statewide.2

 

Meanwhile, mass transit ridership is at an all-time high. According to the American 

Public Transportation Association, 10.7 billion trips were taken on U.S. public 

transportation in 2013, the highest transit ridership in 57 years.3 Is our nation for or 

against mass transit? The answer will mean a lot for people with disabilities.

Transportation remains a key challenge for the disability community. Effective, 

accessible public transit can enhance the quality of life for millions of people with and 

without disabilities in the United States by increasing access to education, employment, 

and social interaction.

The scope of this update is limited to surface transportation. It does not address 

transportation by air carriers or passenger vessels, although those are important areas 

that merit further examination and may become the subject of analysis and 

recommendations in the future.
21

CHAPTER 1. Fixed-Route Bus Transit

Chapter Overview

In the years since the 2005 National Council on Disability publication of The Current 

State of Transportation for People with Disabilities in the United States,

4 (2005 NCD 

report), some in the disability community have reported significant improvements in 

fixed-route bus transit. For example, Cliff Perez, Systems Advocate at the Independent 

Living Center of the Hudson Valley and Chair of the National Council on Independent 

Living Transportation Committee, stated,

On fixed-route buses, for the most part, transit agencies have been pretty 

good. They have ramps or lifts, and most have gotten over the issue of 

yelling out stops. They have signs up for people who are deaf. ... The 

annunciators, because I’m blind, were a big improvement, and even that’s 

gotten much better.5

 

Michael Muehe, Executive Director of the Cambridge Commission for Persons with 

Disabilities and Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Coordinator of the City of 

Cambridge, Massachusetts, reflected on both progress and remaining problems when 

he stated,

In the past five years or so, the MBTA in Boston has come a long way in 

terms of making the buses accessible. I think now, in terms of rolling 

stock, virtually all our buses are accessible. Our big ongoing issue is more 

around operator compliance. For example, the bus driver doesn’t always 

pull up to the curb, close enough to allow people with disabilities to get 

safely on board, or the driver is not making adequate announcements of 

bus stops, or not adequately attending to the other accessibility protocols 

that are in place. ... All the bus drivers have received really thorough 

training on these issues. They can’t cry ignorance any longer. To the 

MBTA’s credit, a couple years ago after there was a big lawsuit and [it] 

settled, they instituted a pretty robust program of random testing. The 

MBTA hires anonymous testers to ride the buses and report problems. I 

think that’s achieved a good deal of compliance whereas before we had 

so many problems.6
22

This chapter first explores the issue of fixed-route ridership by people with disabilities. In 

terms of the number of riders, how extensively is the fixed-route system used by the 

disability community? It has been assumed at times in the transit industry that most 

people with disabilities use ADA paratransit, but promising research shows otherwise.

The chapter then addresses maintenance of accessibility equipment, bus ramp slopes, 

bus boarding issues, stop announcements, and what else can be done to provide fully 

accessible fixed-route systems.

Fixed-Route Ridership by People with Disabilities 

In terms of the number of riders, how thoroughly does the disability community use the 

fixed-route system? The Transit Cooperative Research Program (TCRP) Report 163,7

Strategy Guide to Enable and Promote the Use of Fixed-Route Transit by People with 

Disabilities, found that, nationally, disability ridership on the fixed-route system 

compared with ADA paratransit ridership ranges between 1:1 and 5:1 or higher. In other 

words, between one and, in many cases, five or more times as many people with 

disabilities are riding the fixed-route system as are riding ADA paratransit. The research 

also suggests that a great many people with disabilities who are able to use fixed-route 

transit service appear to be doing so.

Transit agencies track ADA paratransit ridership and include this information in National 

Transit Database (NTD) reports, although the NTD does not request or contain data 

about the use of fixed-route transit service by riders with disabilities.

Some transit agencies do track fixed-route ridership by fare type and offer discounts 

related to disability, such as reduced or no fares. The new research is using this 

information to understand the current use of fixed-route transit by people with 

disabilities. Reduced fare data likely undercounts actual use, as some people with 

disabilities may not be aware of the reduced fares or may choose to pay full fare on 

fixed-route transit services.
23

To develop an understanding of the current use of transit services by people with 

disabilities, information on ADA paratransit ridership and fixed-route reduced fare 

ridership was collected from seven transit agencies. Agencies were selected from 

different geographic regions, as well as from large, medium, and small communities.

Data was gathered from the following seven transit agencies:

Ann Arbor Transportation Authority (AATA), Ann Arbor, MI 

Chicago Transit Authority (CTA), Chicago, IL 

Laketran, Grand River, OH 

Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA), Boston, MA 

Pace Suburban Bus (Pace), Arlington Heights, IL 

Tri-County Metropolitan Transit District (TriMet), Portland, OR 

Utah Transit Authority (UTA), Salt Lake City, UT 

The definition of disability in the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) requirement 

for half fares during off-peak hours8 is broader than that for ADA paratransit eligibility, 

so it represents ridership by a broader group of people with disabilities.

To determine the relative use of fixed-route transit and ADA paratransit by people with 

disabilities at each system where data was gathered, the ratio of trips made on each 

mode was calculated. With the exception of only one of the seven transit agencies in 

one of the years studied (2009), fixed-route transit ridership for people with disabilities

was greater than ADA paratransit ridership for every system in every year in which data 

was available. The largest systems—Chicago, Boston, Portland, and Salt Lake City—all 

had ratios close to or greater than 5:1. These four transit systems have urban rail 

service with frequent headways and late evening service.
24

The ratio of fixed-route transit ridership to ADA paratransit ridership increased over time 

in four of the seven systems, indicating that the use of fixed-route transit service by 

people with disabilities was increasing at a faster rate than their use of ADA paratransit.

The study findings and conclusions include the following:

● Fixed-route transit ridership by people with disabilities in many locations is 

two to six times higher than ADA paratransit ridership. 

● In four of the seven systems studied, fixed-route transit ridership increased faster 

than ADA paratransit ridership in recent years, which suggests that people with 

disabilities are traveling more. It also suggests that many people with disabilities 

who are able to use fixed-route transit service appear to be doing so.

● Use of fixed-route transit services by riders with disabilities appears to be 

greater in the urban systems studied and lower in smaller city and rural 

systems. This is likely due to the greater availability of fixed-route transit 

service in urban areas.

● Both ADA paratransit ridership and fixed-route transit ridership by people with 

disabilities appear to be increasing. This suggests a general increase in all 

forms of public transit use by people with disabilities.

Equipment Maintenance

Overview

The Americans with Disabilities Act requires transit agencies to maintain in operative 

condition those features of facilities and vehicles necessary to make them accessible.9

This requirement applies to the full range of accessibility features and equipment, 

including elevators and escalators in train stations, wheelchair lifts and ramps on buses, 

accessibility-related signage, vehicle kneeling mechanisms (often called kneelers), 
25

automatic stop announcement annunciators, and wheelchair securement devices on 

buses and vans (also referred to as tie-downs), as well as fare payment equipment, clear 

paths of travel, public address systems, proper gaps between platforms and rail cars, 

and systems to facilitate communications for people with impaired vision or hearing.10

More than 20 years after the passage of the ADA, many of these requirements are still 

not always properly implemented. For example, since 2005, the U.S. Department of 

Justice (DOJ) has pursued ADA compliance in the city of Detroit through full 

implementation of a DOJ settlement agreement with the city regarding buses with 

inoperable wheelchair lifts and poor maintenance programs. The original DOJ complaint 

stated that many people who use wheelchairs waited for long periods until they were 

able to board a bus with a functioning wheelchair lift and, in some cases, had to seek 

alternative methods of transportation or abandon their trips.11 (Also see the section on 

DOJ Independent Enforcement Actions.)

According to Transit Access Report in 2012,

A settlement order issued in federal court in 2005 was supposed to remain 

in effect for three years, [but] attorneys from the Justice Department have 

gone back for extensions three times. ... The judge ... directed David R. 

Rishel, a transit consultant serving as independent auditor, to conduct 

monthly meetings with the parties in the case.

According to court papers, the Justice Department is nudging city transit 

officials to ensure better compliance by bus drivers with daily checks of 

accessibility equipment. Mr. Rishel ... has ventured the opinion that 

securement systems and lifts should be operationally checked “97 to 

100 percent” of the time. City officials indicated they were surprised, 

saying they had not previously been given numerical goals for compliance.

Rishel explained the high compliance goal in a [June 2011] letter [that 

stated,] “The pre-trip requirement is not just an ADA requirement; it is a 

legal requirement of the state Department of Transportation. ... The 

accessibility elements of the pre-trip are about 20 percent of the check, 

the others being bus safety items like tires, lights, brakes, windshields and 

windows, safety equipment, etc. It is illegal for a driver to take a bus out of 

the garage and place it into service without doing these checks.” ...
26

“There is simply no explanation as to why we have found so many 

problems with these components on buses, other than the fact that they 

are not being checked as required,” the auditor said.12

Later in 2012, Rishel reported, “No more than half of drivers are conducting the full 

required pre-trip inspections.”

13 

Rishel found that failure rates for lift buses still averaged between 5 percent and 8 percent. 

In one month, buses from one garage had a reported failure rate of over 14 percent.14 

The 2005 NCD report15 explained how maintaining the accessibility equipment on the bus 

is a critical aspect of an effective bus system. This update report adds a number of best 

operational practices now known to be necessary to achieve fully accessible bus service.

Equipment maintenance begins with consideration of regular and frequent maintenance 

checks and the importance of immediately reporting accessibility equipment failure 

during pre-trip inspection and any failure in service. Next, the provision of alternative 

service is addressed. The section also considers post-trip inspection and maintenance 

of problem equipment, false claims of broken lifts and ramps, pass-bys of riders with 

disabilities, lifts that are difficult to maintain, preventive maintenance, and progressive 

discipline. Finally, it considers the role of the rider in equipment maintenance.

Compliance with the ADA maintenance requirements entails transit agency efforts in 

each phase of operation, including design, policy, training, inspection, maintenance, 

repair, monitoring, complaint investigation, and discipline.16

Regular and Frequent Maintenance Checks

Transit agencies must establish a system of regular and frequent maintenance checks 

of bus lifts and ramps. They must be carried out often enough to determine whether the 

equipment is operative. As illustrated by the DOJ/Detroit lawsuit discussed earlier, these 

checks are not taking place in some cities.
27

Daily maintenance checks, often called pre-trip inspections, are a best practice.17 Lifts 

and ramps should be tested, as well as other accessibility equipment, such as 

automatic stop announcement annunciators, public address (PA) systems, wheelchair 

securement devices, and bus kneeling mechanisms. Inspections should ensure that all 

necessary securement and restraint system components are on board and functioning. 

Inspectors should check technology for stop announcements and route identification, 

stop request activators in the securement areas, and vehicle signage, particularly the 

lighting for destination signs. (See more about stop announcements in the Stop 

Announcement section below.)

Another good practice is for drivers to conduct the pre-trip inspections themselves. In 

some transit agencies, drivers fully cycle lifts and ramps before pulling out at the 

beginning of their shifts. In addition to providing a check on the working condition of the 

equipment, pre-trip inspections ensure that drivers are familiar with how to work each 

piece of equipment. This is particularly important when a bus fleet includes multiple 

models of lifts, ramps, securement systems, and PA systems.18 However, if, for example, 

the logistics of pullouts make it difficult for each driver to conduct a pre-trip inspection, 

the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) draft ADA circular says that transit agencies 

may design other procedures for performing regular and frequent checks of lifts. Some 

transit agencies ensure lift reliability by having maintenance staff perform daily checks.19

Another good practice is to keep thorough records (e.g., inspection forms) of lift 

operation checks.20

Accessibility Equipment Failure during Pre-Trip Inspection

If access equipment is not working properly during the pre-trip inspection, the vehicle 

operator should report it immediately. A repair should be made or the vehicle should be 

removed from service and a spare bus with working equipment should be assigned. Some 

transit agencies assign a mechanic to the pullout area during major pullouts to address 

problems quickly. All access equipment should be fully functional before a bus pulls out.21
28

Failure in Service: Report by Most Immediate Means Available

The ADA requires transit agencies to ensure that vehicle operators report, by the most 

immediate means available, any failure of a lift or ramp to operate in service. In practice, 

this means that vehicle operators should immediately radio in to dispatch any lift or 

ramp failure.22

Provide Alternative Service

If a vehicle is operating on a fixed route with an inoperative lift or ramp and the headway 

to the next accessible vehicle on the route exceeds 30 minutes, the ADA requires the 

transit agency to promptly provide alternative transportation to people with disabilities 

who are unable to use the vehicle because the lift or ramp does not work. DOT ADA 

regulation Appendix D, which provides interpretive guidance on the regulation, states 

that the wait time for alternative transportation must be short—less than 30 minutes—

and the vehicle that is dispatched must be accessible.23

Methods for Providing Alternative Service

Typical methods used for providing alternative service include dispatching a road 

supervisor or an extraboard driver with an accessible vehicle; contacting the ADA 

complementary paratransit service provider to arrange for an immediate trip; or 

contacting a private van service that is under contract to the transit agency to provide 

immediate alternative service. In practice, this ADA requirement means that as soon as 

a dispatcher learns of a lift or ramp failure, he or she should check the headway to the 

next bus with a working lift or ramp and provide the driver with appropriate instructions. 

If the headway to the next bus is under 30 minutes, the dispatcher should contact that 

bus and confirm that its lift or ramp is operating.24
29 

Best Practices in Providing Alternative Service

In addition to notifying dispatch, it is a best practice for transit agencies to establish a 

policy that, when there is an in-service lift or ramp failure, vehicle operators may not leave 

the pickup location until they receive instructions from dispatch and inform the waiting 

rider what to expect. This policy should be noted prominently in any public information on 

accessible buses, so riders know that the procedure has not been followed if the driver 

pulls away without contacting dispatch and telling the rider what to expect.

One transit agency best practice is for drivers to give cards to riders who cannot be 

boarded due to lift or ramp failures. The card should note the date, bus number, 

location, and time, in order to document the failure and discourage vehicle operators 

from simply saying “The lift doesn’t work” and pulling away. A brochure on how to use 

accessible buses can include an explanation of this practice so riders know to ask for 

the card if they encounter a problem.

Another best practice is the use of road supervisor vehicles. Road supervisors resolve 

bus problems in the field and provide assistance to passengers when the bus driver 

needs additional support. It is recommended that when transit systems purchase road 

supervisor vehicles, they obtain wheelchair-accessible ramp-equipped minivans, which 

can be used to provide alternative service for broken bus lifts and ramps. One 

advantage to using road supervisor vehicles is that road supervisors use the same 

dispatch system as the fixed-route buses, whereas paratransit uses a different dispatch. 

Some transit agencies also use accessible road supervisor vehicles to assist 

passengers whose power wheelchairs break down while in use on the transit system.25

Post-Trip Inspection and Maintenance of Problem Equipment

Transit agencies should conduct an immediate maintenance check at the end of each bus 

run or shift of any accessibility equipment that has been reported to fail in service, including 

lifts and ramps. Records should be maintained of instances in which failures are reported 
30

and no problems are found. If this becomes a pattern for a particular bus, more extensive 

diagnostics should be run on that lift or ramp. If it is shown to be a pattern for a particular 

driver, the agency should schedule spot checks of the performance of that driver.26

False Claims of Broken Lifts and Ramps 

The 2005 NCD report27 described the problem of bus drivers who allege that lifts are broken 

to avoid boarding a person with a disability. Whether a lift is broken and the driver does not 

report it or a driver says a lift is broken when it is not, both are violations of the ADA.28

Transit agencies should implement operational procedures to prevent false claims of 

broken lifts or ramps, including post-trip inspection and maintenance of problem 

equipment. Also, they should vigorously and consistently enforce disciplinary policies for 

drivers who falsely report lift and ramp failures, avoid operating a lift or ramp when 

requested, or bypass people with disabilities who wish to board.29

Pass-Bys of Riders with Disabilities

As discussed in the 2005 NCD report, sometimes buses simply do not stop for travelers 

using wheelchairs or other people with disabilities who need the lift or ramp. This 

practice—referred to as a “drive-by” or “pass-by”—leaves the would-be rider with a 

disability not knowing whether the lift or ramp is damaged, the securement locations on 

the bus are already in use, or the driver is simply denying the ride for other reasons, 

including a reluctance to take the time to allow a passenger with a disability to board. 

There have also been pass-bys of other people with disabilities, such as people who are 

blind or have vision impairments.

Intentional bus pass-bys of people who use wheelchairs and other would-be 

passengers with disabilities are violations of the ADA. If both wheelchair securement 

areas are occupied, it is a best practice for the driver to stop and let a waiting passenger 

who uses a wheelchair know the situation. 
31

If there are reports of rider pass-bys, it is strongly recommended that transit agencies 

implement monitoring programs to ensure that this problem is dealt with promptly. The 

best ways to monitor for rider pass-bys are secret rider programs or in-service 

monitoring by persons who will not be easily recognized as system inspectors.30

Lifts That Are Difficult to Maintain

The 2005 NCD report31 discussed the fact that frequent lift breakdowns sometimes result 

from old lift technology that has become difficult to maintain or takes a long time to fix 

because replacement parts are not readily available. In these cases, transit agencies 

should consider complete rebuilds or replacements of the lifts. Just as engines and 

transmissions are sometimes rebuilt or replaced, and other maintenance short of full 

remanufacture is performed, wheelchair lifts may need to be overhauled or replaced.32

Lift and ramp maintenance needs vary by manufacturer and model. Certain models are 

“drop-ins,” while others are integral to the vehicle (often made by the same 

manufacturer). Bus operators who lack internal vehicle engineering and procurement 

expertise might disseminate a poorly worded Request for Proposals (RFP) for vehicles, 

which can result in the purchase of lifts or ramps that are less reliable or more difficult to 

maintain. According to some vehicle engineers, certain ramp models can be easily 

removed and replaced in a couple of hours, whereas an integral model may take twice 

as long to remove. Such differences can affect overall vehicle maintenance and, 

ultimately, vehicle reliability and accessibility.33

Preventive Maintenance

Keeping equipment in working order begins with preventive maintenance (PM). Transit 

agencies should conduct periodic reviews of in-house or contractor compliance with 

required inspections and PM procedures.
32

PM checklists do not always specifically identify access equipment as items to be 

checked. Sometimes this equipment is identified under an “Other” category on the 

checklist. Using the manufacturer-recommended PM information, transit agencies 

should develop detailed inspection and maintenance checklists for lifts and other 

complex pieces of equipment. Mechanics should complete these checklists and attach 

them to the primary inspection form to verify that all recommended inspections and 

preventive maintenance have been performed. It is a best practice for transit agencies 

to specifically list all accessibility-related items on PM checklists, including lifts, ramps, 

kneeling features, securement systems, passenger restraint systems, public address 

systems, automated announcement systems, and signage.34 Documentation of lift 

inspections should be included in each vehicle’s maintenance history.35

Lifts and ramps should be tested with a full load. A lift might appear to work well when 

cycled without any weight but have problems with weight comparable to that of a 

passenger using a wheelchair.

It is a best practice for transit agencies to clean and lubricate lift and ramp mechanisms 

frequently. Particularly after storms and other bad weather, it is recommended that the lift 

or ramp mechanism be cleaned immediately using a pressure air hose to remove dirt, 

salt, and other contaminants that can affect long-term operability. While some corrosion 

and wear is to be expected over time, a regular and thorough lift cleaning program and a 

design that protects the lift from the weather can greatly improve lift reliability.

Cleaning is part of preventive maintenance. When cleaning the interior of buses, it is 

important to avoid sweeping or washing dirt and debris into the wheelchair lift 

mechanism. Accessibility equipment such as securement devices should be periodically 

cleaned. It is a best practice to keep components of wheelchair securement and 

passenger restraint systems off the floor. Left on the floor, they are tripping hazards and 

become dirty. Some transit agencies have added hooks to the vehicle sidewalls or to 

the bottom of flip-up seats to keep these devices off the floor, which has the added 

benefit of making them easier to reach for both drivers and riders.36
33

Progressive Discipline

Progressive discipline is an important aspect of keeping accessibility equipment in good 

working order. It is important for vehicle operators and other employees to understand 

that performance is being monitored and that there are consequences for violating 

established policies. Failure to follow through with monitoring and progressive discipline 

can send the wrong message about the commitment of the transit agency to ADA 

compliance.

In particular, transit agencies should follow through vigorously and consistently on

disciplinary procedures for drivers who falsely report lift or ramp failures, fail to attempt 

to operate a lift or ramp when requested, or pass by customers who use wheelchairs or 

have other disabilities.

Transit systems should seek the support of labor unions and other recognized 

employee associations for strict discipline in cases of documented violations.37

Complaint Investigation

The thorough investigation of all complaints related to the use of fixed-route accessible 

service is an important aspect of monitoring and compliance. Transit agencies should 

ensure that all rider complaints are recorded and investigated. Agencies are required to 

have procedures to receive, resolve, maintain records of, and report on complaints.38

Transit agencies should provide timely responses to riders with information about the 

outcome of investigations. Transit systems should use the information obtained from 

investigations to address any performance issues and to improve service as an integral 

part of their ADA compliance effort.39 
34

The Role of the Rider in Equipment Maintenance

Riders can help a transit agency maintain accessibility equipment.

Tell the driver to radio in the breakdown. When a rider using a wheelchair or a 

person with any disability wants to board a bus using the lift or ramp, but the lift or ramp 

is said to be broken, the rider should tell the driver to radio in the breakdown. Virtually 

all transit buses have radio capability.

Note the stop location, time, route number, and bus number whenever possible

so that the transit agency can fully investigate the problem lift or ramp. 

Ask for alternative service. If the next accessible bus is not scheduled to come for 

more than 30 minutes, the rider should ask for alternative service to reach his or her 

destination. 

Ask others who may have observed the problem whether they are willing to be 

identified as witnesses if needed, and include their names and phone numbers in any 

complaints filed with the transit agency or the Federal Transit Administration. 

Inform the driver of other accessibility equipment problems, such as broken or 

missing tie-downs, malfunctioning stop announcement equipment, or inoperable stop 

request activators in wheelchair securement locations. Record the bus number, date, 

time, route, location, and details of the problem. Inform the transit agency through the 

agency customer comment process.40

Ramp Slope

Many transit agencies have switched from lift-equipped buses to low-floor rampequipped buses to avoid lift reliability problems. Ramps are much easier to maintain in 

operating condition. Also, in low-floor buses, if the automatic deployment system for the 

ramp fails, it is a simple matter for the vehicle operator to fold out the ramp manually so 
35

riders can still board despite the mechanical problem. Consequently, ramp buses offer 

significant advantages.

There are some difficulties, however, with low-floor ramp-equipped buses. The incline 

can be steep if no curb is available and the ramp must be deployed to the street.41 The 

slope can be as steep as 1:4 (that is, one unit rise in four units of length), which is the 

maximum allowed by the current DOT ADA Accessibility Specifications for 

Transportation Vehicles.42 In many cases, people with disabilities using manual 

wheelchairs will need driver assistance to board on such a slope. The ADA requires this 

driver assistance.43 

Over the years, 1:4 ramp slopes have proved to be a challenge for many bus riders 

using wheelchairs. In response, the U.S. Access Board proposed a revision to restrict 

the maximum allowed ramp slope in new buses to 1:6 when deployed to the street.44

However, the Board subsequently reopened the question. According to Transit Access 

Report, 

The Access Board is taking another look at bus ramps, in light of problems 

reported in the field with ramps designed for a 1:6 slope. ... 

There are two basic issues:

1. The slope uses up some of the level floor space at the top of the ramp, 

hindering a wheelchair user from paying the fare and turning into the aisle.

2. The upper end of the ramp remains fixed at 1:6, even though the lower end 

of the ramp may be flatter when the bus kneels or the ramp is deployed to a 

curb [referred to by the Access Board as the “grade break” issue].45 

The Access Board has heard pleas to continue allowing bus ramps with slopes as steep

as 1:4,46 particularly from the transit industry. However, the Rehabilitation Engineering 

Research Center (RERC) on Accessible Public Transportation submitted opposing 

comments. Written by Edward Steinfeld, the RERC comments specifically focused on 

the potential impact of requiring a ramp with no grade breaks, an idea upon which the 
36

Access Board requested comment. The RERC “is still holding out for ramps even 

gentler than 1:6, a slope it calls ‘unacceptable and dangerous to wheeled mobility 

users.’...This would be an overly restrictive requirement and impair accessibility,” 

Steinfeld wrote, as a two-part ramp with a grade of 1:8 on one section and 1:6 on the 

other is preferable to a uniform 1:6 grade. 

Steinfeld pointed out that the risks to wheelchair users of tipping over backward on the 

way up or losing one’s balance on the way down are the result of grades steeper than 

1:6 rather than the fact that the two sections are at different slopes.

The RERC suggests that the ramp be placed in the middle or rear of the bus to avoid 

navigation problems around the fare box and the wheel well.47

During the same round of new comments on the pending rulemaking, a major bus ramp 

manufacturer, Lift-U, urged the Board not to revise the 1:6 slope proposal. Lift-U pointed 

out that, given time, further technical innovation would resolve the initial problems that 

surfaced in attempts by various companies to meet the proposed 1:6 requirement. Lift-U 

recommended that the Access Board “take all relevant matters into consideration, 

including feasibility, before making any further revisions to the proposed 1:6 slope rule.” 

Lift-U said it “believes that obstacles to bus accessibility will be overcome through 

innovation.” One of its own new designs, Lift-U said, is a “dual-mode” device that offers 

both a 1:8 maximum slope when deployed to a six-inch curb and “intelligently 

transforms to a 1:6 slope when deployed to the roadway.”

48

Bus Boarding Issues 

Bus boarding issues, notwithstanding the ADA requirements, remain unresolved in 

fixed-route bus service across the country. For example, in February 2013, the Disability 

Rights Legal Center (DRLC) filed suit against Los Angeles County Metropolitan 

Transportation Authority (MTA) and the MTA contractor, Veolia Transportation Services, 
37

Inc., alleging disability discrimination against people who use wheelchairs in the 

provision of fixed-route bus service. According to the DRLC website,

The lawsuit, filed on behalf of Plaintiff Jose Calderon, alleges that the MTA 

and Veolia consistently fail to comply with long-standing Department of 

Transportation (DOT) regulations that mandate bus drivers to ask nondisabled individuals to move from designated priority seating areas and 

wheelchair securement locations so that people requiring such 

accessibility features may use them. For months [MTA] drivers have 

refused to comply with the DOT regulations and refused bus services to 

Calderon on the basis that there was “no room” for him as a wheelchair 

user.49

The complaint filed in this lawsuit also alleges that Calderon tried switching to a different 

bus line but encountered the same problem. In one instance, the driver checked with 

other passengers—who said they would move—but then told Calderon there was no 

room for him and drove off.50

Disability advocates are reporting similar problems in Denver. According to Transit 

Access Report, disability rights advocates won a consent decree that was in effect from 

2001 until 2006 and thought the issue had been resolved, but it turned up again. 

Disability advocates have complained that passengers with grocery carts or strollers 

frequently block wheelchair securement spaces. An extensive complaint was filed on 

behalf of the Colorado Cross-Disability Coalition (CCDC) on October 11, 2013, in 

federal district court in Denver, asking for an injunction against the Regional 

Transportation District (RTD) to comply with the ADA.51 Related actions include RTD’s 

January 10, 2014, motion to dismiss CCDC’s demand for injunction relief.

Another of the episodes described in the complaint involved Douglas Howey, identified 

as a CCDC member who uses a mobility device, in a September 3, 2013, incident. The 

complaint states that he had waited 50 minutes for a bus that turned out of have a 

broken lift. When the next bus arrived, the operator told him, “I cannot get room for you.” 

The complaint reports that there were no other wheelchairs in the securement locations, 

but they were occupied by a small shopping cart and a stroller.
38

Mr. Howey asked the bus operator to try to make room for him, explaining 

that he had just waited on the other bus with a broken lift, in the heat, for 

nearly an hour. After a short delay, the bus operator allowed [him] to board 

the bus. The ... shopping cart was blocking the aisle. [He] could not 

maneuver past the shopping cart to get to the securement area. [He] 

informed the bus operator [of this]. The bus operator said nothing. The 

owner of the cart moved it into the opposite securement area.

CCDC charges that the RTD “allows nondisabled individuals with large objects like 

grocery carts and strollers to occupy the two required wheelchair seating locations” and 

“does little or nothing” to encourage them to move from the flip-up seats to make room 

for wheelchair users.52

This lawsuit was subsequently settled in February 2014. The settlement involved a 

number of policy changes by the transit agency, including these: 

● Seats in the securement area cannot be flipped up for anything other than a 

mobility aid.

● When a passenger with a stroller boards the bus, require the passenger to 

collapse the stroller prior to boarding.53

Another boarding issue involves who may use the bus lift or ramp. The draft FTA ADA 

circular states,

If riders ask to use lifts or ramps, drivers must honor such requests and 

may not ask riders to disclose their disabilities before being allowed to 

board as standees. The Appendix D section on Lift and Securement Use 

[of the DOT ADA Regulation] states that these individuals “must also be 

permitted to use the lift, on request.”

54

Stop Announcements

The ADA requires transit agencies to announce stops on the bus and the train, and to 

identify bus and train routes at stops that serve more than one route. The 2005 NCD 
39

report discussed the fact that stop and route identification announcements have great 

value for many riders with disabilities.55 The lack of an effective stop announcement and 

route identification program can force riders onto ADA paratransit. The report56 also 

described the significant challenge many transit agencies have faced in fully and properly 

implementing the stop announcement and route identification requirements. People across 

the country from the disability community have shared their concerns on this key topic.

Alice Ritchhart, Transportation Committee Chair of the American Council of the Blind, 

stated,

The number one thing we hear from our blind folks is problems around the 

announcement of stops, so people know where to get off the bus. It’s still 

hit-and-miss at best. You can’t count on the driver to announce the stops 

and a lot of times it seems like the automated equipment isn’t working. 

That’s probably the number one thing for those of us who are blind or 

have low vision.57

Jan Campbell, Chair of the Committee on Accessible Transportation for TriMet, the 

transit agency in the Portland, Oregon, region, said, “A big issue is calling out stops 

where there are not automated stop announcements.”

58

Christopher G. Bell, Esq., a member of the American Council of the Blind of Minnesota, 

pointed out,

We have a metropolitan council that runs, among other things, the bus 

system, and the bus drivers are unionized. Under the contract, they can’t 

be disciplined for not announcing the bus stop. Although many people 

complain, there’s really no effective action that’s taken. The supervisor 

may talk to the driver but no change is no change.59

The following sections describe current best practices in orientation announcements, 

consistency in stop announcements, stop announcement lists, automated 

announcement systems, automated route identification systems, policies and training, 

monitoring, progressive discipline, and incentives, as well as the role of riders in stop 

and route identification announcements. 
40

Orientation Announcements

In addition to the requirements for stop announcements at transfer points, major 

intersections, and other destination points, the ADA requires the announcement of stops 

at intervals along a route sufficient to permit people who are blind or have vision 

impairments and other disabilities to be oriented to their location. If there is no major 

intersection, destination point, or transfer point where a stop announcement is otherwise 

required for a significant length of time—for example, for more than five minutes—a 

stop announcement might be needed for orientation. The disability community should 

be involved in making these determinations.

Transit agencies sometimes implement the requirements for transfer points, major 

intersections, and destination points, yet neglect the requirement for orientation 

announcements. It is also common to underestimate how often such orientation 

announcements should be made. The frequency of announcements for orientation 

purposes should be route- and system-specific, and should be planned on a case-bycase basis. More frequent announcements provide better orientation. If there are long 

stretches of the route without stops (for example, if a portion of the route is on a limitedaccess roadway, such as a highway), announcements should be made at the last stop 

before entering and the first stop after leaving that stretch.60

Consistency in Stop Announcements

It is a best practice for a transit agency to develop consistency in making stop 

announcements, so that the information is clear and understandable. For example: 

● Naming the street the bus is on and the cross street.

● Giving the street name only (such as Market and Taylor) or including street or 

avenue (such as Market Street at Taylor Avenue). 
41

● Determining how major landmarks, destinations, and transfer points are 

described.

Once these decisions are made, they should be implemented consistently throughout 

the transit system on all transit modes, such as bus, bus rapid transit, and rail. In bus 

fleets that include vehicles with automated announcements and those with driver 

announcements, consistency should be maintained.61

Sherry Repscher, former ADA Compliance Officer for the Utah Transit Authority, 

underscored the importance of consistency, noting these additional considerations in 

the development of stop announcements:

● If a transit agency gives time points on a schedule, those stops should always 

be announced.

● If a bus route must make a detour, which can happen frequently, there should 

be information in the stop announcements about the detour.62

Stop Announcement Lists

Lists of stop announcements for each route should be prepared that indicate what stops 

should be announced and detail how each required stop announcement should be 

made. The lists should be developed with disability community and driver input.

Stop lists may need to be changed over time and should be kept current. Several 

Federal Transit Administration ADA compliance reviews have found problems with 

transit agencies keeping stop lists current.

The lists should be readily available to vehicle operators. Drivers may not always be 

assigned to the same route and are unlikely to memorize the required announcements 

and specific announcement protocol for every route they drive. This is particularly true 
42

for extraboard drivers—those who are available to cover for regular drivers who are 

unable to come in.

One good transit agency practice is to provide laminated stop announcement sheets 

organized by route number in the driver lounge area. A driver can take the list that 

applies to the route he or she will be driving and then return it at the end of the shift. 

Another approach is to include stop announcements on the “paddle” or “turn list” (the 

detailed directions for running the route) that the driver carries on each shift.

Regardless of the specific method used, it is important for vehicle operators to have 

ready access to detailed stop announcement lists. In some transit agencies, the lists 

appear only in policies and training materials, yet drivers are expected to bring the 

correct list with them each day. This practice is insufficient to enable successful stop 

announcements.63

Automated Announcement Systems

Many transit agencies use automated announcement systems. The U.S. Access Board 

Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on the ADA Accessibility Guidelines for Buses and 

Vans, published July 26, 2010, proposed requiring automated stop and route 

announcement systems on all buses that are more than 6.7 meters (22 feet) long and 

operate in fixed-route systems run by public entities that operate 100 or more buses in 

annual maximum service.

64

Automated systems can help ensure that announcements are made, and made 

consistently. Even with automated technology, it is very important for transit agencies to 

ensure that drivers are prepared to make voice announcements if the automated 

system malfunctions. Automated stop announcement technology is not a panacea and 

does not alleviate the need for drivers to make announcements. Moreover, because any 

requested stop must be announced, transit systems need to maintain driver readiness 

to make announcements at any time.
43

As described in the 2005 NCD report, although automated stop announcement systems 

have great value, they have also been subject to a variety of difficulties, including 

technology that is prone to breakdowns, drivers disabling the technology or using it 

improperly, the inability of transit agencies to have the system announce as many stops 

as desired, and problems with volume and timing.65 The FTA has addressed some of 

these difficulties in ADA compliance reviews; a number of FTA ADA compliance reviews 

have found problems with automated stop announcement systems. Transit agencies 

should not assume that obtaining automated stop-calling technology will allow them to 

reduce their efforts to implement the ADA stop announcement requirements.

If a transit agency is using automated stop announcement technology, it must decide 

how much additional audio content to include. Some transit agencies have included a 

wide range of additional content, from safety announcements to holiday greetings. In 

general, unnecessary audio content, such as “Have a nice day” and holiday greetings, 

should not be included. Audio content that relates to accessibility features needed by 

passengers with disabilities, such as elevator outages, should be included, as should 

translations into other languages. Any audio content that is unrelated to stop 

announcements should not be confused with the ADA-required announcements. For 

example, all ADA stop announcements could be made in a certain recognizable voice or 

preceded by a recognizable tone.66

Route Identification Announcements

At stops that serve more than one route, the transit agency must provide a way for a 

person who is blind or has a vision impairment or other disability to know which vehicle 

to enter or to be identified to the vehicle operator as a person seeking a ride on a 

particular route. Route identification helps riders who may not be able to recognize the 

bus route or destination know when the desired bus has arrived. This requirement 

applies to buses and to all forms of passenger rail.
44

Route identification is a poorly understood ADA requirement. Many transit agencies 

have focused attention on onboard stop announcements and have missed the 

importance of route identification. Some have external route announcements in their 

formal policies but do not perform route identification with any level of consistency.

External announcements on vehicles is the approach to route identification required by 

the ADA. Other approaches—such as various devices that enable riders to identify 

themselves to vehicle operators as wanting to ride on a particular route—have limited 

usefulness. These devices should be viewed as supplements to a good external 

announcement policy and program.

Transit agencies should purchase vehicles with external route identification 

announcement systems.67

External route announcement systems can be driver-activated or automated. Some 

transit agencies have systems that make announcements each time the door is opened. 

Some are programmed to make repeating (looping) announcements at set intervals so 

that passengers who may not be close to the door when the initial announcement is 

made can hear the repeated announcement. 

Both the route and the destination should be announced, so a rider with a disability can 

determine whether he or she is going in the correct direction.

As with automated stop announcements, automated route identification technology is 

constantly changing. In addition to meeting with potential vendors, it is helpful to check 

out systems used by peers when considering automated route announcement 

systems.68

If automated route announcement technology is not used, drivers should call out route 

information after pulling up to stops and opening the door if there are any waiting 

passengers. The announcement should be loud enough for waiting passengers to hear. 

An external speaker is helpful to ensure that announcements are audible.
45

Even with automated route announcement systems, drivers must always be trained and 

ready to make operator announcements in the event of an equipment failure.69

Policies and Training

Transit agencies should have detailed, written policies and procedures that address 

each of the ADA stop announcement and route identification requirements. Some transit 

systems do not have comprehensive policies for every regulatory requirement. A lack of 

written policies can contribute to inconsistent compliance. The policies should be 

covered thoroughly in employee training.

In addition to conveying ADA requirements and policies, training should stress the 

importance of making announcements. Vehicle operators are not always aware that 

announcements are necessary for accessibility and that a lack of announcements can 

be a serious safety problem for riders with disabilities. For example, disembarking at the 

wrong stop can be a major problem for a person who is blind or has a vision impairment 

or cognitive disability, and who has been trained to travel to and from specific stops. 

Also, a failure to make stop and route announcements leads to increased reliance on 

paratransit, which may negatively affect both passengers and the transit agency.

Another issue to cover in training is that bus drivers sometimes do not believe they need 

to make stop announcements if they do not notice any riders with disabilities on the bus, 

or if they know all the riders and believe that none need announcements. This is a 

misunderstanding of the ADA requirement. Stop announcements are important for many 

riders with hidden disabilities, and they are helpful to other riders as well. They should 

be made for any and all riders as a feature of universal design.

Riders with disabilities should be involved in training. They can put a human face on the 

importance of stop announcements and can stress the serious safety issues involved. 

Transit agencies should also train drivers to respond to riders who might complain about 
46

the presence of stop announcements. In addition, a best practice is to place public 

information cards on buses explaining the purpose and need for stop announcements.

Many training programs for bus drivers include a period during which trainees ride with 

and learn from experienced driver-trainers. Transit agencies should be sure that the 

experienced drivers assigned to new vehicle operators are performing their stop 

announcements correctly. Teaming trainees with drivers who do not make stop 

announcements correctly or are not committed to following established policies and 

procedures can undermine training. Driver-trainers should have a documented track 

record of exemplary performance of stop announcements.70

Monitoring, Progressive Discipline, and Incentives

Monitoring

Proactive monitoring and progressive discipline programs are vital to the successful 

implementation of onboard stop announcement and route identification policies.

Onboard security camera systems are one monitoring aid. Transit agencies that record 

onboard activity continuously (as opposed to using event-activated camera systems) 

can use the audio and video recordings to verify that stop and route announcements are 

being made correctly. This tactic may need to be negotiated with driver unions or other 

recognized employee associations.

Both internal monitors and road supervisors can conduct monitoring. If a transit agency 

uses employees for monitoring, it should select people the drivers will not 

recognize. For example, large transit agencies can use supervisors from one garage to 

monitor an area where they do not regularly work. Or managers and office staff can 

monitor while they commute to and from work. Smaller transit agencies may find it more 

difficult to use in-house employees effectively. Transit agencies of any size should also 

consider secret rider programs that use regular riders to conduct effective monitoring. 

Riders can be trained to make and report their observations.
47

Transit agencies in Washington state have an innovative monitoring program. 

Developed by the Washington State Transit Insurance Pool (WSTIP), the Guest Rider 

Program is a best practice in monitoring. Member transit agencies provide seasoned, 

high-performing road supervisors and vehicle operators to make observations in each 

other’s transit systems. Participating members are observed twice a year. Guest riders 

are trained to blend in with the ridership and to report their observations of individual 

vehicle operator performance and the entire transit system. Stop announcements and 

other aspects of ADA compliance are among the many areas of driver skills and vehicle 

functions observed by guest riders. For more information, contact the WSTIP Member 

Services Manager at (360) 586-1800, extension 213.71

Progressive Discipline

Monitoring should be combined with progressive discipline. Disciplinary policies should 

be negotiated with labor unions and other recognized employee associations and 

clearly communicated to drivers. The level of discipline should be on par with that for 

other safety violations; it can be a safety risk if a rider with a cognitive disability or one 

who is blind or has a vision impairment disembarks at the wrong stop. Intentionally 

disabling the automated announcement or PA system equipment (except in cases of 

malfunction) should be elevated to the highest level of discipline. It is important for 

vehicle operators and other employees to understand that performance is being 

monitored and that there are consequences for violating established policies. Failure to 

follow through with monitoring and progressive discipline can send the wrong message 

about the commitment of the transit agency to ADA compliance.72

Incentives

Recognition and other incentives should also be considered when drivers achieve high 

levels of performance. Employee of the month awards, pins and badges, public 

recognition, and financial incentives can be useful components of an effective stop 

announcement program.73
48

Complaint Investigation

Transit agencies should ensure that all complaints related to the use of fixed-route 

accessible service are recorded and investigated. Agencies are required to have 

procedures to receive, resolve, maintain records of, and report on complaints.74

Transit agencies should provide timely responses to riders with information about the 

outcome of investigations and should use information obtained from investigations to 

address any performance issues and improve service as an integral part of their ADA 

compliance effort.75

The Role of Riders

Riders can promote an effective stop announcement and route identification program in 

the following ways:

● Wait in the immediate area of the bus stop, so drivers will know to stop and 

announcements will be easier to hear.

● Get involved. Participate with the transit agency to develop stop lists and 

announcement procedures.

● Inform the bus driver and the transit agency if stops are not called out or 

automated announcement technology malfunctions. Record the bus number, 

date, time, route, location, and nature of the problem. Use the customer 

comment process to contact the transit agency.76

Fully Accessible Fixed-Route Systems

There are many ways transit agencies can and should go beyond the basics to create 

fixed-route bus systems that are fully accessible to people with disabilities. Some 
49

agencies have implemented exceptional practices that further increase the accessibility 

of their fixed-route systems.

For example, Terry Parker, former Accessibility Services Manager for Lane Transit 

District in Eugene, Oregon, described how fixed-route accessibility should go beyond 

the standard components of “very accessible vehicles, very effective maintenance and 

stop announcements, very effective rider and driver training, and very accessible bus 

stops, plus accessible sidewalks and streets so that people with disabilities can use 

those stops.” Lane Transit District includes these additional accessibility measures:

● All bus stops have square bus stop poles, making the stops detectable by 

people with visual impairments. These are the only square poles used in the 

community. (See section on Bus Stops.)

● A transit host and training program provides support for people who can use 

the fixed-route service only if someone is at the key stations to help them with 

transfers. The hosts are present at these stations from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. 

every weekday. These riders would be using paratransit if the hosts were not 

available to assist. 

Parker explained:

There’s been enough one-on-one training and a “family” meeting (we call it 

natural support development) so that someone is responsible for getting the 

rider to their bus stop. If the person doesn’t show up at the station for their 

scheduled transfer, then there is a back-up protocol to find them. Riders are 

trained to stay on a bus if they miss their stop, because each bus will 

eventually come back to the station. These services make sure people who 

are vulnerable are supported and feel safe on the fixed-route system.

Further, we contract with a non-profit agency that specializes in working 

with people who have multiple and severe disabilities. They do the transit 

training and host program. They have all these contacts with the disability 

community that I would never have . . . and lastly, there’s something about 

developing the trust of the community. We make mistakes, but because of 
50

our strong relationships, riders and advocates have not turned to ADA 

enforcement. We just said “mea culpa” and fixed the problem.77

Lane Transit in Eugene has also developed its own specialized securement system for 

scooters.78 (See Securing Mobility Devices in chapter 6.)

Another example of exceptional practices in accessibility can be found in Corpus Christi, 

Texas, where approximately half of the buses have three securement locations per 

fixed-route bus rather than the required two. Also, the buses have had state-of-the-art 

securement systems since 2008. As a result of these and other efforts, lift boarding on 

the fixed-route transit service increased from 27,475 a year in 2006 to 110,961 in 

2012.79 

People with disabilities have many ideas for new ways transit agencies could improve 

the accessibility of fixed-route bus systems. For example, Julie Carroll, Senior Attorney 

Advisor to the National Council on Disability and a person who is blind, pointed out that 

people who are blind or have vision impairments should be able to call and find out 

which corner of an intersection the bus stop is on.80

Cliff Perez, Systems Advocate at the Independent Living Center of the Hudson Valley 

and Chair of the National Council on Independent Living Transportation Committee, 

said,

Specifically regarding fixed-route buses and advertising, they now have 

wraparound ads where the whole bus becomes an advertisement. My 

issue isn’t that they are advertising, but it makes it difficult for some people 

to know what the heck bus it is! Is it a public bus; is it some other kind of 

bus? It makes it difficult for people with visual impairments or learning 

disabilities. Can’t we find a way to solve that problem?81

Chapter 1 recommendations are listed at the end of the report.
51

CHAPTER 2. Rail Transit

Chapter Overview

This chapter focuses primarily on two developments since the publication of the 2005 

NCD report:82 (1) progress toward full-length platform-level boarding on commuter and 

intercity rail, and (2) Amtrak, both its significant obstacles for people with disabilities and 

areas where change may be happening.

One rail issue that, unfortunately, has not changed is that some older subway 

systems—especially in the northeast—still have many inaccessible stations, although 

this is not universal. The 2005 NCD report explained that this is partially due to the fact 

that the ADA required access only to key stations. According to disability advocate 

Christopher S. Hart, U.S. Access Board public member and former director of urban and 

transit projects at the Institute for Human Centered Design, 

We have a tale of three types of metro rail: inaccessible legacy systems, 

accessible legacy systems, and newer accessible systems. All three types 

have barriers yet to be addressed. Nearly 25 years after the ADA and 

40 years after Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, the New York City 

Metropolitan Transit Authority (NYC MTA) is the poster child for 

inaccessible legacy systems, with fewer than 100 accessible stations out 

of approximately 450. And the NYC MTA is not alone: Systems in New 

Jersey, Philadelphia, and Chicago also have many inaccessible stations. 

On the other hand, Boston’s Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority 

(MBTA) has made all but four of its subway stops accessible (three are in 

design or construction) and has plans to address its remaining 

inaccessible streetcar and commuter rail stations. Thus, America’s oldest 

subway will be 100 percent accessible before some of the other systems 

achieve 50 percent accessibility. Congress should (as it has for Amtrak) 

set aside funds specifically for achieving station accessibility, including 

platform connectivity, detectable warning installation, elevators, ramps, 

and level boarding. There should be clear milestones and funding to 

achieve full accessibility.83
52

Subpart A. Level Boarding

Overview 

One of the most significant policy changes since the publication of the 2005 NCD 

report84 was the 2011 U.S. DOT final rule that changed the ADA regulation regarding 

full-length platform-level boarding on commuter and intercity rail (Amtrak). This is 

referred to as “level boarding” or “level-entry boarding.” In level boarding, the height of 

the platform and the door height of the passenger car are aligned so that a passenger 

using a wheelchair can seamlessly move from one to the other (usually with the 

assistance of a bridge plate).85

In 2006, DOT proposed86 to require level boarding at new commuter and intercity rail 

stations from a fully accessible high platform, with a ramp or bridge plate if necessary, 

making it possible for everyone to board any accessible train car. The proposed rule 

required avoiding, if at all possible, the use of small mini-high platforms to provide 

disability access to the train on commuter and intercity rail. Portable station-based lifts 

were also to be avoided, according to the proposed rule.

DOT and the disability community saw small mini-high platforms as a poor form of 

access in commuter and intercity rail (in contrast to, for example, light rail, where they 

are not considered as objectionable). Mini-high platforms put a person with a disability 

out of the general public way, sometimes out in the rain or snow. Even worse, they force 

a train to move in small increments to align its cars, one by one, with the mini-high 

platform (also known as “double stopping” or sometimes “re-spotting”). This is a very 

difficult and time-consuming procedure, which must be done on a permanent basis if 

mini-high platforms are allowed. The only way to avoid double-stopping would be to 

confine people with disabilities to one car on the train, and the ADA rightly requires that 

all cars be accessible. Thus, the use of mini-high platforms would necessitate either the 

long-term operationally onerous practice of double-stopping or would institutionalize a 

permanent segregated solution in which, no matter how many accessible cars are 
53

present, people who cannot walk up the steps would be limited to one car on the train. 

The longer setback platform—a boarding solution developed later—avoids many of the 

problems of mini-high platforms.87 (For more about setback platforms, see the New 

Boarding Options section below.)

Portable station-based lifts are also to be avoided because of numerous problems 

associated with their use, including a variety of human errors with staff deployment of 

the lifts. For example, some people have reported being asked to come to the station an 

hour earlier than their departure time, while nondisabled passengers were asked to 

come only 10 minutes in advance.88 Others reported that railroad personnel were 

inflexible in allowing them to change their departure point from the train because of 

staffing problems in deploying station-based lifts, even though other passengers could 

easily change their minds.89

The National Disability Rights Network also expressed dissatisfaction with portable 

station-based lifts in its 2013 report on Amtrak titled All Aboard (Except People with 

Disabilities) – Amtrak’s 23 Years of ADA Compliance Failure:

Stations must also provide accessible means of boarding the trains. This 

can be done by providing raised platforms that allow for level boarding of 

the train. Most stations have rail platforms at or below the level of the 

tracks, however, and the floor of an Amtrak railcar is typically either 15" or 

48" above the top of the rails. At these stations, Amtrak’s solution is to 

provide a portable manual lift as the means to achieve boarding. However, 

there are still some stations that do not provide even this basic means of 

access.90

Before the new DOT regulation, only if the rail system determined (with the concurrence 

of the Federal Railroad Administration and the Federal Transit Administration) that levelentry boarding was operationally or structurally infeasible could the rail system use an 

approach other than level boarding, such as mini-high platforms or lifts. Even in such 

cases, the rail system would be required to ensure that access was provided to each 

accessible car on the train.91
54

One common reason rail operators gave for using mini-high platforms was oversized 

freight traffic on the same rail lines. Even in such cases, however, other design options 

were often possible to provide full platform access, such as a passing siding or gauntlet 

track.92 

● A passing siding is a set of tracks offset from the main track where a train can 

pull off to stop and allow another train to pass on the main track. 

● A gauntlet track is an offset track parallel to the main track that allows a train 

to pass a fixed object, such as a high-level boarding platform. A freight train 

with a wide load takes the gauntlet track, which is farther from the platform, to 

avoid scraping the platform.

Thus, high-level accessible platforms, with bridge plates if necessary, were seen as the 

only proper solution, particularly in new construction. Bridge plates were deemed 

acceptable, given the wider gaps that are often unavoidable in commuter and intercity 

rail systems. 

DOT Final Rule on Boarding Platforms

In 2011, DOT published a final rule93 that amended the DOT ADA regulations in a 

number of ways. One of the most significant amendments was to require intercity, 

commuter, and high-speed passenger railroads to ensure, at new and altered station 

platforms, that passengers with disabilities could get on and off any accessible car of 

the train. Passenger railroads are required to provide full-length platform-level boarding 

at new or altered stations in which no track passing through the station and adjacent to 

platforms is shared with existing freight rail operations. For new or altered stations in 

which track passing through the station and adjacent to platforms is shared with existing 

freight rail operations, passenger railroads will be able to choose among a variety of 

means to ensure that passengers with disabilities can access each accessible train car 

that other passengers can board at the station, include car-borne lifts, long setback 
55

platforms, mini-high platforms, and station-based lifts. The Department will review the 

method proposed by each railroad to ensure that it provides reliable and safe services 

to people with disabilities in an integrated manner.

Passenger railroads that choose not to provide level-entry boarding at new or altered 

station platforms must obtain concurrence from the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) 

or the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) for the means they choose to meet the 

performance standard. As part of this process, railroads must show how the means they 

choose ensures the reliability and safety of integrated service to passengers with 

disabilities.

Many of the comments opposing level-entry boarding asserted that higher platforms 

would interfere with actual or potential freight movement.94 DOT reported that the FRA 

reviewed these claims and determined that while there could be some risk to a railroad 

employee riding on the bottom step of some freight equipment with platforms at the 

15-inch level, this risk is normally addressed in the freight railroad operating rules and 

would be taken into consideration during the review conducted by the FRA for each new 

or altered platform. Having examined the dimensions of even the overwidth freight cars 

used to transport loads such as defense cargoes and airplane components, the FRA 

found that no freight cars would conflict with level-entry boarding platforms at 15 to 

17 inches above the top of the rail (ATR).

If a platform being constructed or altered is not adjacent to track used for freight, but the 

track and platform are used by more than one passenger railroad (e.g., Amtrak and a 

commuter railroad), the possibility exists that the platform will serve cars with different 

door heights. In this situation, the level-entry boarding requirement95 still applies. 

Generally, the platform should be level with respect to the system that has the lower 

boarding height, because it is not safe to make passengers step down (or be lifted down 

or use ramps to go down) to board a train. For example, if Amtrak operates through a 

station with cars that are 15 inches ATR and a commuter railroad uses the same 

platform with cars that are 25 inches ATR, the platform would be level with the Amtrak 

cars and the commuter railroad would have to provide another means of access. In all 
56

cases in which mixed rail equipment will be used, the rule requires that the railroads 

involved consult both the FRA and the FTA. As in other cases in which level-entry 

boarding is not used, the railroad must obtain FTA or FRA approval for the means it 

wants to use to meet the performance standard.

Regarding the final regulation language that discusses ‘‘track passing through stations 

and adjacent to platforms is shared with existing freight rail operations,’’ the specific 

wording is important. Some stations may serve lines that are shared by passenger and 

freight traffic. Even if freight traffic does not actually go through a particular station (e.g., 

because it bypasses the station), level-entry boarding is required. There could also be 

situations in which multiple tracks pass through a station, and freight traffic uses only a 

center track rather than a track adjacent to a platform. In such cases, the new or altered 

platform would be required to provide level-entry boarding. It is important to note that 

this language refers to ‘‘existing’’ freight rail traffic and not to the possibility that freight 

traffic might use the track in question at some future time. Likewise, if freight trains have 

not used a track passing through a station for a significant period (e.g., the past 

10 years), DOT does not view this as constituting ‘‘existing freight rail traffic.’’ 

If a railroad operator wishes to provide access to its rail cars through a means other 

than level-entry boarding, it must provide an integrated, safe, timely, reliable, and 

effective means of access for people with disabilities. To help railroads choose the most 

suitable option, the rule requires a railroad without level-entry boarding that does not 

want to use car-borne lifts to perform a cost comparison (capital, operating, and lifecycle costs) of car-borne lifts versus the means preferred by the railroad operator. It 

must also compare the abilities of the two alternatives (i.e., car-borne lifts and the 

preferred means) to provide service to people with disabilities in an integrated, safe, 

reliable, and timely manner. In the latter comparisons, railroads are strongly encouraged 

to consult with interested individuals and groups, and to make the comparison readily 

available to the public, including people with disabilities.

To ensure that the chosen option works, the railroad must submit to the FRA or the FTA 

(or both, if applicable) a plan explaining how its preferred method will provide the 
57

required integrated, safe, reliable, timely, and effective means of access for people with 

disabilities. The plan must explain how boarding equipment (e.g., bridge plates, lifts, 

ramps, or other appropriate devices) and platforms will be deployed, maintained, and 

operated, and how personnel will be trained and deployed to ensure that service to 

people with disabilities is provided in an integrated, safe, timely, effective, and reliable 

manner. If a plan fails to meet this test in the view of the FTA or the FRA, either agency 

can reject it or require the railroad to modify it to meet the objectives of this provision.

DOT also provides, in § 37.42(f), for a maximum gap allowable for a platform to be 

considered ‘‘level.’’ However, this maximum is not intended to be the norm for new or 

altered platforms. The Department expects transportation providers to minimize platform 

gaps to the greatest extent possible by building stations on tangent track and using gapfilling technologies, such as movable platform edges, threshold plates, platform end 

boards, and flexible rubber fingers on the ends of platforms. DOT encourages the use of 

gap management plans and consultation with the FRA or the FTA for guidance on gap 

safety issues.

In 2012, DOT noted in a published Q&A that under Section 504, public entities that 

receive federal funding must provide full-length platform-level boarding for all new and 

altered platforms adjacent to tracks that the public entities themselves own and control, 

even if the tracks are shared with freight railroad traffic.96

DOT also wrote that “rare or token passage of freight trains” could not be counted as 

existing operations.97 Amtrak indicated that it is guided by the FRA interpretation, 

advising Congress that this interpretation prompted a reassessment of its long-term 

plans for rail station ADA compliance. Amtrak stated in a report to Congress on August 

7, 2012,

At stations where multiple tracks are available to carry freight—or multiple 

platforms exist for passenger loading—a platform-by-platform and trackby-track analysis and subsequent negotiation with the host railroad will be 

conducted to determine the proper approach.
58

Richard Devylder, former senior advisor for accessible transportation for U.S. DOT,98

commenting on the progress signified by this regulation, said, “The other option is 

mobile lifts. The use of mobile lifts is still an option, but it’s been made clear to the rail 

industry that it is the last option, and DOT will push back and fight against it as much as 

we need to.” Commenting on a recent situation in a state in the Great Lakes region, 

Devylder said, “The FRA administrator, Joe Szabo, is not backing down in his 

interpretation of this rule. DOT believes that level boarding is the most integrated way 

for a person to access the train. The industry has not presented much evidence to show 

differently. A meeting occurred with congressional, state, and city officials, and the 

conclusion was that there’s going to be level boarding on both sides of the tracks.” 

New Boarding Options99

The disability community, along with many others, has always held the view that fulllength platform-level boarding, with bridge plates or other gap fillers if necessary, is the 

best method to provide wheelchair access to board a train. Level boarding provides fully 

integrated, rapid boarding and alighting for all passengers, including wheelchair users 

and those with other mobility disabilities. Further, level boarding avoids the problems 

associated with other boarding methods: the double- or multiple-stopping (sometimes 

called re-spotting) associated with mini-high platforms; numerous problems related to 

mobile lifts (including their failure to provide full accessibility, staffing problems, and how 

time-consuming they can be); and the problems with vehicle-based lifts (including the 

time required to operate them and their potential for breakdown, which increases with 

the age of the train car and lift).

Where full-length platform-level boarding is not possible or not required, there has been 

much discussion about what method is second best. It turns out that different solutions 

may be second best in different situations. Moreover, the evolution of technology is 

providing new options. 
59

Mini-high platforms are small—some of them a mere six feet by six feet. A better option 

is larger setback platforms, which are at least 60 feet long and serve more than one 

door on a train, possibly more than one car. The more doors they reach, the better. This 

option is not often considered, but it can provide the second-best solution if the full 

platform will not be raised. Larger setback platforms are not mini-high platforms and 

should not be mislabeled as such. Setback platforms provide a more integrated solution 

than mini-high platforms or lifts, because nondisabled passengers are more likely to use 

them. They can give all passengers the ability to board more than a single car without 

climbing steps. Some high-tech movable setback platforms are being developed for use 

with horizontal gaps up to four feet or more.

Where passenger transportation shares track with freight operations (such as on Amtrak 

and most commuter rail), any fixed high-level platforms, whether they span the full 

platform or only a portion of it, must be set back far enough to allow the occasional wide 

freight load. Several options exist that can compensate for the setback and reduce the 

resulting horizontal gap:

1. Passenger boarding can be provided with a retractable platform edge that 

can be raised and lowered like a drawbridge. Because wide freight loads 

are a rare occurrence, the retractable edge can normally be left extended 

and the resulting small horizontal gap (usually four to six inches) can be 

bridged with a short ramp or bridge plate. Because of the variety of 

obstacles to wide freight (e.g., narrow bridges and tunnels, wayside 

equipment), any wide freight passage is planned and announced far in 

advance, giving ample time to retract the edge. This option has the 

advantage of being compatible with full-length platform-level boarding. 

2. A recently developed prototype platform can be moved in and out to 

achieve the same effect as a retractable edge and accommodate large 

horizontal gaps.
60

3. A third option is a gauntlet track—an offset track parallel to the main track 

that allows a train to pass a fixed object, such as a high-level boarding 

platform. A freight train with a wide load takes the gauntlet track, which is 

farther from the platform, to avoid scraping the platform. This option has the 

advantage of being compatible with full-length platform-level boarding.

A setback platform may not always be the cheapest option, but it is a significantly 

smaller capital investment than raising the entire platform to provide full-length platformlevel boarding.

As Gary Talbot, Amtrak’s Program Director for the Americans with Disabilities Act, 

pointed out, “When full-length platform-level boarding is out of the question for some 

reason, what’s second best is not one-size-fits-all. Rather, a combination of solutions is 

much superior to the solution we see at most stations today: station-based mobile lifts. 

A mix of car-borne lifts and setback platforms makes a lot of sense, and as more 

setback platforms and full-length level boarding platforms are constructed, the need for 

car-borne lifts decreases.”

100

Resistance to Double-Stopping

DOT’s resolve to avoid boarding solutions on the train that necessitate double-stopping 

may be tested, given the practices found in some rail systems. For example, in August 

2013, Transit Access Report described a commuter rail system serving Southern 

California with a published policy that provides for re-spotting trains at mini-high 

platforms “upon passenger request.” It appears, however, that the policy is not 

advertised to passengers, even though the policy was required by the FTA as a 

condition of building the mini-high platforms at two stations, one new station recently 

built and one altered. Available public information suggests that, if anything, it appears 

that the system “must have a policy of discouraging such requests.”

101
61

The Metrolink website makes no mention of a double-stopping option. Wheelchair users 

are advised only that they “can only be accommodated on ... the passenger car that 

stops opposite the platform access ramp.” This platform access ramp is the mini-high 

platform at one end of each low-level platform from which accessible boarding is 

provided to the train. Standard procedure calls for the cab car to be spotted at the minihigh platform. 

However, Metrolink written policy is for conductors to re-spot the train if the cab car is at 

capacity or a passenger requests the extra move. This is not to say it is ever 

implemented.102 “If there are multiple passengers wanting to board or alight at the same 

stop,” a transit agency report stated, “[the agency’s] experience shows that they will 

generally all board or alight at the mini-high platform location during the initial spotting of 

the train. However, if a double or triple stop is required due to passengers requesting to 

enter a particular car, then a delay would be encountered (7.5 to 11.5 minutes on 

average for each additional stop, depending on orientation of the train). Because of the 

rarity of this potential occurrence, operational delays are not attributed to the use of 

mini-high platforms.” 

Because of the 2011 DOT rule, the transit agency was required under ADA regulations 

to justify its choice of the mini-high platform accessibility option to the Federal Transit 

Administration before constructing the new station and altering the existing one. The 

agency confirmed its commitment to the Metrolink policy on double-stopping, and the 

FTA was mollified.103

The policy appears as 9.3.2, Spotting Cab Car at Mini-High Platform, in the rail system 

“Operational Supplemental Instructions.” It states, “If the Car is at capacity, or upon 

passenger requests, Conductors shall re-spot the train as necessary.” 
62

Subpart B. Amtrak

Overview

Many people with disabilities successfully use Amtrak, especially in the northeast 

corridor that includes Boston, New York, Washington, DC, and other East Coast cities, 

as well as in other parts of the country, including Northern California. However, many 

significant obstacles remain to such use. One obstacle was described in the previous 

section on level boarding. Others include access to stations, cars, and reservation 

services, and communication access issues. These problems occur in a troubling 

context for Amtrak as a whole, according to a report from Amtrak’s own Office of 

Inspector General. This chapter explores all of these issues.

In October 2013, the National Disability Rights Network (NDRN) published an extensive 

report titled All Aboard (Except People with Disabilities) – Amtrak’s 23 Years of ADA 

Compliance Failure. Curtis L. Decker, Esq., Executive Director of NDRN, introduced the 

report:

While many transportation providers around the country have shown that it 

is possible to provide accessible services for people with disabilities, one 

carrier—the National Railroad Passenger Corporation, or Amtrak—has 

lagged far behind. People with disabilities who travel on Amtrak have 

faced numerous barriers to using Amtrak. Some have faced inaccessible 

trains, others have been unable to purchase tickets to their destinations 

because the platforms and stations were inaccessible, and some have 

had to disembark at a station that was not their ultimate destination just so 

they could get off the train or out of the station. People with disabilities 

have also been forced to suffer embarrassment, discomfort, and other 

indignities due to a lack of accessible bathrooms and other facilities and 

services. ...

Although Amtrak has repeatedly said that they are moving toward 

accessibility, this report shows that progress has been uneven, spotty, and 

in some cases non-existent. Most shocking is how blatant and obvious 

many of the accessibility issues demonstrated in this report are. Does it 

really take more than 23 years to provide a ramp into a station with only 
63

stairs, provide and properly mark accessible parking, and remodel 

inaccessible bathrooms and counters to make them accessible?

In July and August 2013, around the 23rd anniversary of the passage of 

the Americans with Disabilities Act, advocates with the Protection and 

Advocacy network and allied advocacy groups visited Amtrak stations 

around the country to assess whether they are accessible for people with 

disabilities. They found many problems—many stations that are 

completely inaccessible and many stations where it is clearly difficult for 

people with disabilities to navigate, even 23 years after passage of the 

ADA. ...

It is time for Amtrak to stop making excuses and start making its system 

accessible. People with disabilities have been waiting for too long. ...

These barriers matter. Many people with disabilities, unable to drive, rely 

on public transportation to get to work, to visit their families, for day-to-day 

life activities. Rural areas in the United States have been losing access to 

other modes of public transportation, meaning that people with disabilities 

must rely more than ever on the services that remain. U.S. carriers cut 

domestic flights by over 21 percent in small airports between 2007 and 

2012, and intercity bus transportation coverage declined from 89 percent 

in 2005 to 78 percent in 2010. Where Amtrak provides service, it can be a 

lifeline that allows people with disabilities to live full and active lives, and 

gives them the freedom to travel. Even in more urban areas, where more 

options for travel exist, Amtrak provides other ways to commute or more 

easily travel around the region.

Amtrak, which calls itself “America’s Railroad,” should set an example of 

full accessibility for people with disabilities. As the nation’s largest 

passenger rail system, it should be the gold standard for how to best serve 

people with disabilities, not the bottom of the barrel. ...

This report discusses the history of how Amtrak has failed people with 

disabilities by failing to effectively use the hundreds of millions of dollars it 

has received to comply with the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the 

Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.104

Amtrak Stations

One very significant issue is access to Amtrak stations. As Richard Devylder, former 

DOT senior advisor for accessible transportation, stated, Amtrak has been out of 
64

compliance with the ADA since July 2010, by which point Amtrak stations, including 

platforms, were required to be accessible to people with disabilities. Many stations and 

platforms are still not accessible. The ADA gave Amtrak 20 years to achieve full station 

access, but it appeared to do very little for 17 years.105 

Also according to Devylder, “One of the top priorities for Amtrak is probably about a 

dozen stations that do not have connectivity. You may be able to get on a train from a 

station and leave, but if you come back, you can’t get to the other side of the tracks 

where, for example, the bus may be, or where you left your car in a parking lot. This is 

because there is neither an accessible bridge over, nor an accessible path of travel 

under, the track, to link the two.” 

Amtrak was engaged for almost two years in a legal battle over the accessibility of a rail 

station with this connectivity problem in Philadelphia, called Paoli Station.106 There were 

two main issues in the case, filed in May 2012: the connectivity issue and the lack of 

level boarding platforms (also see the section on Level Boarding, above). Passengers 

challenged the use of lifts as an acceptable means of boarding railroad trains, seeking a 

ruling that lifts do not satisfy the “readily accessible and usable” standard.

In a sign that change at Amtrak may be happening, the Disability Rights Network of 

Pennsylvania and Amtrak released an announcement of the settlement of the Paoli 

case in March 2014 titled “Amtrak and Clients of Disability Rights Network Work 

Together to Improve Accessibility at Paoli Station.”

107 It stated that the agreement would 

result in the full accessibility of Paoli Station for people with mobility disabilities. 

Renovations will include the installation of level boarding platforms and an increase in 

accessible parking, accessible restrooms, and an accessible path of travel to new 

accessible platforms on both the eastbound and westbound sides of the station.

The 2013 NDRN report also addressed Amtrak stations:

Amtrak’s own Office of Inspector General (OIG) conducted an 

investigation to assess Amtrak’s noncompliance with the ADA’s 
65

requirement to make all its stations accessible by July 2010. The OIG 

report noted that “Since 1990 Amtrak has made very limited progress in 

making its stations ADA-compliant; only 10 percent of served stations 

required to be compliant were reported as compliant.” 

The OIG report notes that “In February 2009, Amtrak reported that 

48 stations servicing 34 percent of the FY 2010 ridership were ADAcompliant. Almost 21⁄2 years later, no additional stations have become 

ADA-compliant, leaving 434 stations that have not yet been deemed ADAcompliant.” The OIG report also noted that while Amtrak had developed a 

survey assessment to identify the work needed to bring all Amtrak stations 

into ADA compliance and had completed assessments on 77 of 

104 stations to be evaluated in FY 2011, and some design work had been 

done, no construction contracts had been awarded as of September 30, 

2011. The OIG report concludes that “Amtrak’s approach to managing the 

ADA program lacks clear lines of authority, responsibilities, and 

accountability.” 

... [In the NDRN survey,] some stations were shockingly inaccessible 

23 years after the passage of the ADA. In Tuscaloosa, Alabama, Malta, 

Montana, Longview, Texas, St. Albans, Vermont, and Ashland, Virginia, 

the station buildings had a step or steps into the station building with no 

ramps. Restrooms in those stations were completely inaccessible, with no 

grab bars or other accessible features. 

In fact, restrooms remain a considerable problem throughout Amtrak’s 

system. Of the stations visited by P&A staff that had restrooms, nearly half 

were found to have barriers to accessibility.108

Complex Ownership of Stations

An article in the May 28, 2013, issue of Transit Access Report described the complex 

interrelationships among Amtrak, the local transit authority, the state, and the local 

municipality in terms of who owns the station, platform, and related elements.109 Amtrak 

often cites these interrelationships as obstacles to providing access. Disability 

advocates counter that they are a way for Amtrak to “pass the buck” to other entities.110

The 2013 NDRN report also addressed the issue:

Amtrak has consistently pointed to the fact that they do not have full 

control over many stations that it serves as a reason for failing to make 
66

their services accessible. Congress recognized this was an issue back 

when the ADA was passed, which is why Amtrak was given 20 years to 

come into compliance with the ADA requirements. Congress also created 

a formula to allow other joint station owners to equitably share in the costs 

of making the stations accessible, even while Amtrak maintained primary 

responsibility. Amtrak could have spent the 20 additional years they had to 

come into compliance with the ADA working with local transit authorities, 

freight carriers, and state and local entities to address these issues. 

Instead, Amtrak chose to wait until the 20 years was almost over and then 

say they had no time to work with others to make the stations 

accessible.111

Amtrak Cars

Another significant Amtrak issue is the accessibility of rail cars. Dennis Cannon, former 

transportation accessibility specialist for the U.S. Access Board and currently a private 

consultant,112 said that “the cars are the real issue. They’re really not accessible at all. If 

you do standing transfers, they’re okay, but they’re practically worthless for anything 

else. We now know that you can, for example, in fact, design cars that have truly 

accessible bathrooms.” Cannon noted that rail cars have extremely long lives, so there 

are many inaccessible cars still in the system.113

Amtrak sleeper cars are another issue. Jan Campbell, Chair of the Committee on 

Accessible Transportation for TriMet in Oregon, said that if one travels in an Amtrak 

sleeper car,

... there’s no way to get out of that room; you just stay in that room the 

whole trip. You pay the same fare, but you don’t get to use any of the 

amenities that other passengers use, like happy hours or movies. They do 

bring the food to you, but I had to eat off my toilet seat because it was 

such a small room—a sink, a toilet, and bunk beds.114

Regarding the Amtrak sleeper cars, Dennis Cannon added:

There’s an issue about where controls are for the lights, and also 

regarding the door latches and how they work. You can actually latch the 

door shut. But I was in one where the interior latch was a hook, and so if I 
67

had hooked it, the conductor could never have gotten in; yet he was 

coming in the morning to wake me up and also to bring me my food. There 

has to be a system where they can actually open it from the outside. Yet it 

has to be latchable, because when it was unlatched, as the train went 

around corners, the door would slide open and closed, open and closed ...

In 2013, Amtrak was producing new long-distance passenger rail cars, the first units of 

which were nearing completion, as reported by PR Newswire in an article that referred 

to disability access improvements:

The new long-distance cars will replace and supplement the existing fleet 

and allow cars built in the 1940s and 1950s to be retired. The sleeper, 

diner and baggage/dormitory cars will likely operate on eastern routes ... 

with the baggage cars used nationwide. The first units are expected to 

enter revenue service during the summer of 2014. All 130 cars are 

expected to be delivered by the end of 2015.

Passengers will experience many improvements, including modern 

interiors with better layouts, better lighting and more efficient air

conditioning and heating systems, additional outlets to power personal 

electronic devices, improved accessibility for passengers with disabilities, 

and bicycle racks in the baggage cars.115

Disability advocate Christopher S. Hart, U.S. Access Board Public Member and former 

Director of Urban and Transit Projects at the Institute for Human Centered Design, had 

the opportunity to look at the modules for the new cars. He reported, “Amtrak and its 

suppliers made some progress with these modules but they also had glaring missed 

opportunities obvious to all in a quick visit. The missed opportunities include, in the 

sleeper module, the height of switches, the locations and number of plugs and other 

controls, the continued lack of a truly useful table, and the lack of an adequate turning 

space. In the restroom, the configuration lacked space for a personal care attendant 

and a clear floor space. It was still missing a powered door and lock, as are standard on 

European and Japanese trains. Also, it appears that the Federal Railroad Administration 

lacks the ability to oversee car design, mockup, and construction to ensure accessible 

cars.”116
68

Amtrak Reservations

Access problems also affect the making of reservations. Cannon explained:

When you go to Union Station in Washington DC, you can’t use the kiosk 

to get your reservation for a cabin—an accessible cabin—because you 

can’t reserve it on the kiosk. The same is true with accessible spaces on 

the train. You have to go to a desk, to a person, and the reason for that is 

so people who are not disabled can’t take them. And therefore they are 

not available for somebody who needs them. 

So you basically have to go to a person, and then the question is, can you 

get to the person? In some places, such as Union Station, you can do 

that; staff are right next to the kiosk at the end of the counter. But there 

are other places where you would have a very difficult time. There is a 

station in Florida, for example, that’s old, in a little tiny building, and you 

can’t even get into it. You can’t get inside to that person to talk to them; 

you couldn’t make an arrangement. If you needed to buy a ticket there, I 

don’t know how you would do it. You would probably buy it online and then 

show up and hope that the train comes at the right time. And there are a 

whole bunch of such stations; hundreds all around the country.

And of course, forget the bathroom. Go before you leave.

The Amtrak reservation and ticketing process also has barriers to people who are blind 

or have visual impairments. As Brad Parmenter, a person who is blind, wrote to the 

Federal Railroad Administration in June 2014, 

In a world where smartphones are outdated in 18 months, I am aghast 

that even as I type this, the Amtrak site and mobile apps still provide a 

separate and unequal experience .... If I identify as having a disability, ... I 

cannot buy multiple tickets for my family. As a married man with a child, 

this is particularly offensive and unfair. Some stations are still blocked, and 

the mobile app simply redirects to http://www.amtrak.com.

117

This can be contrasted with a recent advancement on website ticketing by another 

nationwide transit provider, Greyhound. Michelle Uzeta, Esq., brought a lawsuit against 

Greyhound in affiliation with the Center for Disability Access and reported, “Greyhound’s 

response was an example of how transportation entities should respond to advocacy 
69

from the disability community.” Uzeta said that Greyhound was very willing to come to 

the table immediately and that the leadership at Greyhound was very helpful in 

resolving postsettlement issues quickly.118 The case resolved efforts by Kyle Minnis to 

make an online travel reservation through Greyhound’s website on January 10, 2014. 

By no later than January 31, 2015, Greyhound Lines, Inc., agreed to modify its online 

reservation system to ensure that people with mobility impairments who use 

wheelchairs, scooters, or similar mobility devices will be able to make reservations in a 

manner that is materially equivalent to that used by nondisabled people, and to train 

their personnel.119

Communication Access on Amtrak

Richard Devylder explained the serious gaps in communications access that remain on 

Amtrak trains. “For instance, the public address: there’s no visual format for that 

information. We call it a failure of dual-mode communication. You need to provide the 

same communications transmitted to the general public to people who are deaf or hard 

of hearing, as well as to people who are blind or have low vision. And most of the 

stations, platforms, and trains fail to do that. But the ADA is specific about dual-mode 

communication in the stations and on the tracks.” 

The NDRN 2013 report also commented on communications access, stating,

For individuals who are deaf, many Amtrak stations that provide audio 

announcements of train status fail to provide complementary visual 

notification even when the equipment to do so is available at the station. 

For individuals who are blind, many station platforms lack detectible 

warnings at the platform edge and accessible communication such as 

announcements made over loudspeakers or corresponding braille text on 

all signs.120

Dennis Cannon observed that Amtrak has improved in the area of visual 

announcements. He pointed out,
70

I went to Boston [recently] on the Acela, and there were a lot of visual 

announcements: “Café car is now open,” “Café car is now closed,” as well 

as upcoming stations. The station announcements seem to have improved 

since a trip several years ago when the system seemed to have the 

hiccups: the upcoming station name would appear on the vestibule 

display, then revert back to the previous station, or nothing.121

Amtrak Thruway Bus Service

Amtrak also operates an extensive over-the-road bus service. As described on the 

Amtrak website, “Some routes in the Amtrak system include Thruway services. These 

include transportation provided by bus, train, ferry, van or taxi through a variety of 

operators.”

122

The 2005 NCD report explained that this aspect of Amtrak service was the subject of 

ADA-related litigation in which Amtrak agreed to ensure that its Thruway bus service in 

California would provide safe securement for scooter users as well as wheelchair 

users.123

The Amtrak website further states that “Amtrak dedicated Thruway bus services are 

accessible and lift-equipped. Thruway services provided by partners are also accessible 

but may require up to 48 hours advance notice.” However, Christopher S. Hart, U.S. 

Access Board Public Member and former Director of Urban and Transit Projects at the

Institute for Human Centered Design, however, commented, “Tickets purchased in 

person at stations that say ‘accessible’ often are a surprise to the driver.”

124

Office of Inspector General Report

All of this takes place in a troubling context for Amtrak as a whole. In 2009, a report 

from the Amtrak Office of Inspector General125 made urgent and very disturbing 

recommendations, including these:
71

The cornerstone of the inspector general function is independence from 

other departments within the organization. In turn, an essential component 

of an inspector general’s independence is unfettered access to documents 

and information. In addition, because many inspector general 

investigations involve suspected wrongdoing within the subject 

organization, it is especially important to limit to the greatest extent 

possible the number of personnel aware of and involved in such 

investigations. ...

Amtrak’s current policies have frustrated the goals of unfettered access by 

the OIG to documents and information, and maintaining strict 

confidentiality of OIG investigations by demanding that all Amtrak 

departments, employees, and vendors notify the Law Department of 

document requests from the OIG. Law Department actions ... are wholly 

improper ...

The OIG should be empowered to gather documents and information ... 

without any involvement of, or notification to, the Law Department ... The 

Board of Directors should issue an Amtrak-wide directive announcing that 

this practice is no longer to be followed and reaffirming the OIG’s right to 

unfettered access to documents and witnesses.

... Amtrak employees and even vendors’ employees have sought to have 

Law Department attorneys ... present at OIG interviews. This practice is 

patently improper. In fact, the Office of Legal Counsel of the Department 

of Justice has provided analogous guidance that a federal agency may not 

indemnify an employee for legal representation in connection with an 

Inspector General investigation of possible wrongful conduct. ... [S]erious 

conflicts can arise when Law Department attorneys or outside counsel 

purport to simultaneously represent Amtrak and Amtrak employees 

suspected of wrongdoing. The practice is also impermissible, ... 

disruptive, and wasteful to permit the Law Department to monitor and 

actively participate in OIG investigations in any manner. ... It may have, or 

be perceived as having, a chilling effect on a witness’s candid 

cooperation. Accordingly, the routine participation of Law Department staff 

or outside counsel retained by Amtrak during OIG interviews should be 

stopped.

Chapter 2 recommendations are listed at the end of the report.
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CHAPTER 3. ADA Paratransit

Chapter Overview

As reflected in the 2005 NCD report,126 transit agencies that provide fixed-route bus and 

rail service must, under the Americans with Disabilities Act, also provide ADA 

paratransit to people who are unable to use the fixed-route service due to a disability.127 

Because the ADA properly emphasizes the fixed-route bus and rail systems across the 

United States as the preferred mode of public transit for people with disabilities, many 

studies have focused on moving people with disabilities from ADA paratransit to the 

fixed-route system.128 However, ADA paratransit remains a key transit mode with a very 

important place in the overall U.S. transportation network, because some people with 

disabilities are unable, and will remain unable, to use the fixed-route system, regardless 

of how much it has improved and how successful it is in attracting riders with disabilities. 

ADA paratransit is a crucial safety net for many people with the most significant 

disabilities. It should be run properly, but in many cities much remains to be done to 

reach this goal.129

This chapter challenges the myth of runaway growth in future demand for ADA 

paratransit and discusses the commuter bus exception to providing ADA paratransit. 

The chapter addresses a number of characteristics of the service, including eligibility, 

trip denials, telephone hold time, origin-to-destination service, on-time performance 

(including fallacies in understanding the so-called subscription cap), no-show policies, 

using taxis in ADA paratransit, and feeder service. The discussion also includes 

whether transit agencies must deploy particular types of vehicles, transitions between 

contractors, and the challenges and obstacles for parents traveling with children and for 

people with dementia using ADA paratransit. Finally, the chapter discusses the 

incidence in the transit industry of a disregard for ADA paratransit and offers 

suggestions for addressing this attitude.
74

Riders in various U.S. cities, and even within the same city, can experience ADA 

paratransit very differently. For example, Christopher G. Bell, Esq., Member of the 

American Council of the Blind of Minnesota, said, “I take paratransit. It’s pretty good. I 

really have no complaints.”

130

In contrast, ADA paratransit riders in Orlando, Florida, have initiated an ADA 

enforcement action in response to serious, longtime problems. A pending lawsuit 

alleges violations of the ADA and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act in the provision 

of paratransit service, including substantial numbers of untimely pickups, excessive trip 

lengths, and improperly trained drivers dating back to 1992.131

Challenging the Myth of Runaway Growth

The notion that the graying of America (as the average age of Americans rises) will 

result in an explosive increase in demand for ADA paratransit is regarded as a virtual 

truism and rarely challenged. However, the Transit Cooperative Research Program 

(TCRP) found that while many people anticipate “that increasing numbers of older 

people will lead to growing demand for ADA paratransit,” TCRP research “did not find 

any connection between ADA paratransit demand and the size of the older population in 

a transit area.”

132 

Several other pieces of research cast considerable doubt on this common industry view. 

Most interesting are results from two TCRP studies on estimating ADA paratransit 

demand. TCRP Report 119, published in 2007, found no connection whatsoever 

between ADA paratransit demand and the size of the older population in a transit area. 

Several measures of the size of the older population were tested in the analyses for the 

report, and none of them were statistically significant. Instead, ADA paratransit demand 

was found to be proportional to the total population of an area after adjusting for 

differences in fares, poverty rates, and eligibility screening processes.133
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TCRP 158, which builds on the research in TCRP 119, tested the effect the models 

predict for an older population. The test was run with a 10 percent increase in the

fraction of the population over age 60 and a 10 percent increase in the proportion of 

ADA paratransit registrants age 60 and older. Although the total number of registered 

persons increased by 1.8 percent, the number of ADA paratransit trips per registered 

person was shown to decrease by 3.9 percent, presumably because older people are 

statistically less active than the general public as a whole. Thus, the net total of ADA 

paratransit trips decreased by 2.2 percent.

As explained in TCRP 158,

Trips per person registered for ADA paratransit would decline, which 

corresponds with the experience of ADA paratransit operators that older 

people travel less than younger people, while the number of registered 

people would increase, which corresponds to the fact that older people are 

more likely to have disabilities than younger people. The drop in trips per 

registered person is much larger than the increase in registered persons, 

so a 10% increase in the senior population would create a 2.2% reduction 

in total ADA paratransit trips.134

Additional evidence challenging the idea that paratransit demand will continue to grow 

includes research which finds that costs and demand for ADA paratransit have flattened 

or moderated in the past few years. In the San Francisco Bay area, for example, the 

four largest paratransit programs saw their ADA paratransit operating costs grow by 

65 percent between FY 2000 and FY 2010 but by only 10 percent between FY 2005 

and FY 2010. ADA paratransit ridership actually decreased by 7 percent between 

FY 2005 and FY 2010.135

Research being conducted for TCRP has found that ADA paratransit ridership has 

flattened or slightly decreased at six of seven transit agencies analyzed in detail, 

measured by ridership data from 2009 to 2011.136 National ridership data also suggests 

that the growth in ridership demand may be beginning to slow.137
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A March 2014 press release from the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) 

placed this growth in the context of increased growth on all modes of public transit, not just 

ADA paratransit. The APTA release, titled “Record 10.7 Billion Trips Taken on U.S. Public 

Transportation in 2013—The Highest Transit Ridership in 57 Years,” reported that ridership 

on general public transportation increased in 2013 by 1.1 percent. By comparison, “demand 

response (paratransit) ridership increased in 2013 by 0.5 percent”—less than half the rate 

of increase as that for public transit for the general population as a whole.138

Commuter Bus Exception

Transit systems that provide only commuter bus service are exempt from the ADA 

paratransit requirements.139 However, some people in the disability community are not 

sure whether a public bus or rail service that claims to be a commuter service should be 

exempt. For example, Cliff Perez, Systems Advocate for the Independent Living Center 

of the Hudson Valley and Chair of the National Council on Independent Living 

Transportation Committee, said that some transportation advocates are concerned about 

what does, in fact, constitute a legitimate exception from ADA paratransit service.140

In evaluating a service to determine whether it is a commuter bus service, one must 

consider the definition of “commuter bus service” and its characteristics according to the 

DOT ADA regulation. These characteristics include the following: 

● No attempt to comprehensively cover a service area 

● Limited route structure (e.g., linear routes with few turns) 

● Limited number of stops 

● Routes of extended length, usually between central business district and 

outlying areas 

● Service predominately in one direction during peak times 
77

The following characteristics sometimes also apply:

● Limited purpose of travel, (e.g., designed for work access) 

● Coordinated relationship to other modes, (e.g., rail, intercity bus, other service 

provider) 

● Use of multiride tickets, (e.g., service available daily and at a reasonable 

cost)141

The DOT ADA regulation provides these examples of commuter service:

● Public airport circulator routes

● Connectors to intercity bus or rail

● Dedicated buses to commuter rail

What constitutes a commuter bus system is a case-by-case determination. A general 

rule of thumb is that commuter service is not designed to provide service to people at 

transit stops all along a particular corridor but rather between destinations that are 

distant from one another.142

Eligibility

Ensure Fixed-Route Access

For ADA paratransit eligibility assessments to be accurate, fixed-route transit services 

should be accessible to and usable by people with disabilities. Transit agencies should, 

at minimum, ensure that— 
78

● Buses and rail cars that are advertised as accessible meet ADA design 

standards.

● Stations and bus stops that are advertised as accessible meet ADA design 

standards.

● Lifts, ramps, elevators, and other accessibility features are maintained in 

good working condition.

● Onboard stop announcements and external route identification 

announcements are being made properly.

● Employees are trained to proficiency to safely operate accessibility 

equipment, provide appropriate assistance to riders with disabilities, and 

serve riders with disabilities in a respectful and courteous manner. (See 

Transit Staff Trained to Proficiency in chapter 6 for more information.)

● Service to people with disabilities is monitored to ensure that policies and 

procedures are being followed.

If these minimum requirements are not being met, the eligibility process could 

inappropriately conclude that ADA paratransit applicants can use fixed-route transit 

when, in fact, it is not really accessible and usable.143

Transit systems will be more successful in encouraging the use of fixed-route services 

through the eligibility determination process if they make efforts beyond the minimum 

requirements. For example, if fare incentives are provided, riders with disabilities will be 

more willing to use fixed-route transit. Also, if the transit system offers reliable public 

information on accessible services, as well as trip planning and travel training, riders 

with disabilities will be better able to transition to fixed-route transit.144 
79

Disability Community Involvement

Disability community involvement is a key factor for success. People with disabilities, 

disability service organizations, and other stakeholders should be involved in the 

development and implementation of any changes to the ADA paratransit eligibility 

process, and in efforts to promote greater use of fixed-route transit. This is particularly 

important if changes will be made in how ADA paratransit eligibility is determined, if 

conditions of eligibility will be identified for the first time, or if conditions of eligibility will 

be used to make determinations of the eligibility of specific trips.145

Don’t Reinvent the Wheel

Transit agencies should take full advantage of the experience and expertise in ADA 

paratransit eligibility of the Federal Transit Administration (FTA), the Transportation 

Research Board, the National Transit Institute (NTI), Easter Seals Project ACTION, and 

nationally recognized ADA paratransit operators, planners, and researchers. 

One key resource is the NTI course on comprehensive ADA paratransit eligibility 

(http://www.ntionline.com/courses/courseinfo.php?id=8). 

The following additional resources are recommended for understanding and 

determining ADA paratransit eligibility:146

● Federal Transit Administration (FTA), Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) 

Paratransit Eligibility Manual, U.S. Department of Transportation, 

Washington, DC, September 1993.

● Weiner, R., TCRP Synthesis 30: ADA Paratransit Eligibility Certification 

Practices, Transportation Research Board, Washington, DC, 1998.
80

● TranSystems Corp., Determining ADA Paratransit Eligibility: An Approach, 

Guidance and Training Materials, Easter Seals Project ACTION, Washington, 

DC, 2003, http://bussafety.fta.dot.gov/uploads/resource/3102_filename

● Topic Guides on ADA Transportation: Eligibility for ADA Paratransit, Disability 

Rights Education and Defense Fund (DREDF) and TranSystems Corporation, 

funded by the Federal Transit Administration, Washington, DC, June 2010, 

http://dredf.org/ADAtg/index.shtml

Important Triggers for Eligibility

The 2005 NCD report147 explained types of ADA paratransit eligibility. Additional 

important eligibility triggers have been recognized since then, including inaccessible bus 

routes and bus stops, as well as inadequate stop announcements.148

Conditional Eligibility and Trip-by-Trip Eligibility 

A significant change since the 2005 NCD report149 has been an increase in the use of 

conditional eligibility, which means that the rider can be reasonably expected to make 

some trips on the fixed-route service. Research and national experience suggest that 

about a third of applicants can take the bus or train sometimes.150

For example, a person might be able to reach bus stops that are no more than three 

blocks away if there is a safe, accessible path of travel, but she may require paratransit 

if distances are farther than three blocks or the path of travel includes obstacles such as 

steep hills, deep snow, or ice. Another person might have a variable health condition 

that makes fixed-route use possible on some days but not on others.151

When transit agencies categorize people as conditionally eligible, they must identify all 

conditions that affect travel to ensure that they do not inappropriately limit rider 

eligibility. The FTA has found in ADA compliance reviews that some transit providers did 
81

not adequately consider path-of-travel barriers, weather, and other issues when setting 

conditional eligibility.152

For riders who have conditional eligibility, the transit agency may assess or screen 

whether the circumstances of each trip meet the conditions under which the rider is 

eligible. This is known as trip-by-trip eligibility (also called simply trip eligibility).

Conditional eligibility and trip-by-trip eligibility form a two-stage process. First, the transit 

agency assesses the ability of a person to use the fixed-route transit system as part of 

the eligibility determination process. Once the individual has been deemed eligible 

under certain conditions, the agency applies the specific conditions to each of the 

person’s trips.

In determining trip eligibility, transit agencies consider environmental and other 

conditions for every trip request or for every request in certain categories, such as night 

trips or those taken during winter months. If the streets and barriers along the route of 

the trip request have not been assessed, the rider is given presumptive eligibility for that 

route until an environmental assessment has been completed.

A few transit agencies screen most or nearly all requested trips for their conditionally 

eligible riders; many more screen a certain of percentage of trips, focusing on the most 

frequent trips or on subscription trips. Transit agencies that conduct significant trip-bytrip screening include those in Pittsburgh, Seattle, Spokane, Dayton, Corpus Christi, 

and Philadelphia.153

Most Limiting Condition

Basing ADA paratransit eligibility decisions on the most limiting condition of each 

applicant is widely considered a best practice. Karen Hoesch, Executive Director of 

ACCESS Transportation Systems in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and considered a top 

national expert in ADA paratransit eligibility, gave these examples of this practice:
82

If I can take the bus 90% of the time, but 10% of the time I have an issue 

that would qualify me, that is my most limiting condition. If there are stops 

that are not accessible and I need an accessible stop to board the bus, 

those bus stops are my most limiting condition. If there is one month of 

bad weather each year where I live, that month is my most limiting 

condition ... Similarly, if I can’t stand on a moving vehicle, [how] can I use 

the fixed-route system?154

The transit agency must consider the potential travel of each applicant throughout its 

entire service area, not only near the home or workplace, during all seasons. In two 

ADA compliance reviews and a letter of finding, the FTA made it clear that eligibility 

cannot be denied simply because an applicant says that, for example, he can get to the 

bus stop nearest his home or from bus stops to his most frequent destinations. Travel 

throughout the area under various conditions must be considered.155

The 2005 NCD report said that secondary conditions that negatively impact a person’s 

functional ability to use the fixed-route service—such as disorientation, fatigue, and 

difficulties with balance—should be considered,156 as well as variable conditions such 

as multiple sclerosis, which may change a person’s ability to travel at different times. 

Eligibility and route assessments should be conducted by staff who are proficient in 

assessing functional ability to use the fixed-route service and evaluating barriers to 

travel.157 (See more in the section below on In-Person Interviews and Functional 

Assessments.)

The Federal Transit Administration has applied these principles in its oversight 

activities. A 2010 letter to the Jacksonville Transportation Authority (JTA) from Cheryl L. 

Hershey, then Director of the FTA Office of Civil Rights, included these points: 

JTA’s position appears to be that it will not grant full or conditional 

eligibility to individuals who, through its ADA complementary paratransit 

eligibility process, are determined to be able to access the bus stop 

closest to their homes. JTA needs to recognize that the overall eligibility 

determination needs to consider the applicant’s ability to travel to 

any origins or destinations within the service area under all possible 

conditions and must be based on the applicant’s most limiting 

condition, including secondary disabling conditions which may 
83

make some individuals at least conditionally eligible for paratransit 

services. Secondary conditions such as disorientation, fatigue, and 

difficulties with balance which may change the applicant’s ability to travel 

at different times should be considered as part of overall determinations.

To be considered able to travel certain distances, applicants must be 

able to travel the distance with reasonable effort and in a reasonable 

period of time. JTA assessors concluded that [name withheld] could walk 

a maximum reasonable distance of 3/4 of a mile (without indicating their 

estimate of the time that it would actually take her to travel that distance), 

based on a distance/endurance assessment in which she may have been 

asked to ambulate only 1/4 of a mile, which she arguably struggled 

accomplishing. Based on the information submitted to FTA, JTA 

assessors may have extrapolated the difference in distance up to 3/4 of a 

mile without considering the degree to which [the person’s] functional 

ability was likely to decrease and/or the degree to which her level of effort 

and duress were likely to increase while traversing the greater distance. 

The assessors noted signs of distress along the entire route. ... It is 

impossible to tell from JTA’s documentation of the assessment the 

specifics that led JTA assessors to determine that she would be able to 

ambulate 3/4 of a mile. ...

In addition, not all trips that an applicant might wish to make will begin at 

home, and the environmental conditions around each fixed-route stop, 

whether at the trip origin or destination ... (existence of curb cuts, terrain, 

or accessibility of intersections, for example) are not necessarily identical 

to those around the stop that is closest to her home. Denying or limiting 

an applicant’s paratransit eligibility outright for all trips based on 

proximity to a particular bus stop is unreasonable, as it does not 

take into account all the obstacles an applicant can expect to 

encounter when traveling throughout the JTA complementary 

paratransit service area during the entire term of his or her 

paratransit eligibility. ... Even if it were the case that an applicant could 

travel reasonably and consistently from her home to the nearest bus stop, 

JTA should not deny or limit her eligibility for paratransit simply because 

she lives near a bus route and is able to get to it.158 [emphasis in the 

original]

Considering all these factors, it is highly likely that barriers exist in most or all 

communities that would prevent fixed-route travel at some point during the term of 

eligibility of applicants with significant disabilities. For this reason, people who are blind, 

those who use wheelchairs, and those who have other significant disabilities will likely 
84

receive at least conditional eligibility in any accurate paratransit eligibility determination 

process that is consistent with the ADA.159 

Medical Professionals Who Know the Applicant

In many cases, it is very important for ADA paratransit eligibility decisions to carefully 

consider appropriate information from the applicant’s named medical professionals, 

both when making initial determinations and during the appeal process. Some transit 

agencies do not adequately consider such information. 

For example, in an FTA ADA compliance review of Houston Metro in 2010, reviewers 

questioned certain eligibility denials in part because information from the applicants’ 

health care providers was not given due consideration or was discounted entirely. 

Examples included the following:

● In [one] case, the professional indicated that the applicant had incurred a 

spinal cord injury and indicated poor lower body strength. The applicant 

appeared for the interview and in-person assessment using a leg brace and a 

cane. The customer service representative (CSR) [exact title was not given] 

noted that the applicant indicated he could walk to the intersection nearest his 

home, observed the applicant walking along the indoor course, and 

recommended denying eligibility. ... The applicant appealed and participated 

in an in-person functional assessment at the Memorial Hermann Medical 

Center. Professionals at the center reported that the applicant could walk only 

a very short distance and was affected by tremors. Based on the functional 

assessment conducted in connection with the appeal, the applicant was 

granted unconditional eligibility.

● Another applicant reported congestive heart failure, asthma, and arthritis. The 

professional familiar with the applicant confirmed these health conditions and 

noted a prior stroke as well. The professional said the person could travel 
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only very limited distances and could not travel in extreme temperatures; 

these functional limitations are all consistent with these health conditions. The 

CSR person had the applicant walk along the indoor course and only 

observed that the person’s balance was “not perfect.” The applicant was 

denied eligibility. This applicant also requested an appeal and participated in 

a functional assessment at Memorial Hermann Medical Center. The Center’s 

report noted that the applicant could walk for only 2 minutes and 30 seconds 

and that this distance could only be managed with “several breaks.” Even with 

this information, the Appeal Committee voted to uphold the initial denial of 

eligibility. Following the denial on appeal, the applicant’s physician submitted 

a letter indicating the applicant had Class 3 heart failure. The applicant was 

then approved for unconditional eligibility.

● In another case, the professional familiar with the applicant indicated cervical 

lumbar radiculopathy, weak lower extremities, chronic bronchitis, spasticity, 

and poor lower body strength, coordination, and balance. The professional 

also indicated that the person used a power wheelchair. The applicant 

participated in the interview and in-person assessment using a powered 

scooter. The Metro CSR person observed him traveling along the accessible 

indoor route. He was denied eligibility. The determination did not appear to 

consider whether he needed accessible bus stops in order to use the fixedroute system and whether or not his disability prevented him from traveling on 

an inaccessible path of travel to or from bus stops. Eligibility should have 

been granted on at least a conditional basis for trips where accessible paths 

of travel to or from bus stops did not exist or where those bus stops that the 

applicant needed to use were not accessible.

The reviewers recommended that Houston Metro “consider utilizing professionals who 

are trained to conduct functional assessments, such as physical or occupational 

therapists. ... Consider expanding the indoor walk in the lobby to better determine 

functional abilities and barriers encountered outdoors. In the absence of a complete 
86

functional assessment, Metro staff should consider abilities and limitations indicated by 

professionals named by applicants. Follow up with applicants and professionals before 

discounting the information provided by professionals.”

160 

Weather-Related Eligibility

Some transit agencies apply seasonal eligibility to certain riders; for example, deeming 

them eligible from November to April. This may seem easier than implementing 

conditional eligibility more thoroughly, but since the seasons do not begin and end 

predictably, it inevitably denies some rides to people who should be eligible for them, 

and vice versa.161

If seasonal eligibility is used, it is important to set the date range conservatively, so a 

late snowstorm does not render a seasonally eligible person unable to travel. In a 

related example, an FTA ADA compliance review found that a transit agency set heatrelated seasonal eligibility conditions in an overly restrictive way. Eligibility due to hot 

weather was granted only from June 15 to September 15, even though extreme hot 

weather was sometimes experienced before and after these dates.162

No Blanket Denials Based on Type of Disability

Some transit agencies appear to have denied eligibility based on blanket decisions 

about the type of disability of an applicant. For example, some agencies have denied 

eligibility to most or all riders who use motorized wheelchairs, or to all blind people 

under certain conditions, rather than conducting case-by-case evaluations. Such 

practices inevitably lead to violations of the ADA.163

Some transit agencies appear to have engaged in blanket denials based on other 

disabilities. According to Christopher G. Bell, Esq., a member of the American Council 

of the Blind of Minnesota, 
87

There are also issues I call class denials of people with certain disabilities. 

For instance, people with intellectual disabilities. The paratransit service 

has said, “You can walk, so you can get someplace.” Also, people with 

mental illness[es]—apparently, they don’t think that affects your ability to 

take transit. But for some people, if the bus they’re on must take a detour, 

that throws them all off. They were able to process and remember one 

route, but now they’re thrown off. That’s not really recognized as a 

problem. The agencies have too simplistic a view of what it means to be 

unable to use public transportation.164

People with Variable Conditions

Often, transit agencies can use the eligibility conditions of a rider to determine whether 

fixed-route service is an option for a particular trip. For example, if a person requires 

paratransit service if the walking distance to or from bus stops is more than four blocks, 

the transit agency might be able to examine the locations of bus stops and the origin 

and destination of the rider, and determine that there is an alternative path of travel or a 

fixed-route option with bus stops within two or three blocks.

On the other hand, in some cases, only the rider can decide if fixed-route is an option 

for a particular trip. These include cases in which the functional abilities of a rider are 

variable; for example, some people with multiple sclerosis and some with psychiatric 

disabilities that vary from day to day. Such riders may not know until the day of service if 

they will be able to get to and from, and use, the fixed-route bus or train.165

Travel Training and Eligibility

If people with disabilities can navigate the transit system only with travel training, that 

does not change their eligibility until they voluntarily avail themselves of the training and 

can, in fact, navigate the system. Transit agencies are not allowed to require travel 

training or to base eligibility decisions on the potential of an applicant to be successfully 

trained to use fixed-route service. Decisions must be based on applicants’ current 

abilities to use the bus or train.166
88

For people who voluntarily enter travel training, it is a best practice to give them 

temporary eligibility, because their ability to use the fixed-route service might change in 

the short term; they might be able to make some fixed-route trips after the training that 

they could not make beforehand. Temporary eligibility is appropriate in this case just as 

it is for any applicants whose travel abilities might change in the short term. Before 

temporary eligibility expires, the applicant should be reassessed to determine whether 

he or she still needs paratransit. Transit agencies may not force applicants to take travel 

training and may not condition eligibility on it.167

Prior Use of the Fixed-Route System

It is not a best practice (and will lead to ADA violations) to establish a policy that 

applicants are not eligible if they have ever used the fixed-route system. Some transit 

agencies have posed a question on the application form such as, “Have you ever used 

fixed-route service?” If the applicant marks “yes,” this answer is used as a reason to 

deny eligibility. Use of the bus or train under certain conditions does not mean that a 

person can use the bus or train consistently throughout the service area under all 

conditions. An accurate assessment might show that this person would be conditionally 

eligible for ADA paratransit.168

Especially when ADA paratransit eligibility is an all-or-nothing proposition (i.e., a 

paratransit service allows only two choices, full-time unconditional eligibility or no 

eligibility), paratransit riders who could take some trips on the fixed-route service might 

refrain from doing so out of fear of losing their paratransit eligibility. In some cities, riders 

have reported that the transit agency has made efforts to deny paratransit to eligible 

riders who show that they can use the bus or train at any time. As discussed in the 2005 

NCD report,169 these efforts might discourage people from trying the mainline bus or 

train service. To encourage riders to try using fixed-route service when they can, transit 

agencies should guarantee that they will not lose their paratransit eligibility. Trip-by-trip 

eligibility might be the solution for such riders.170
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Safety and Eligibility

Generally, public safety is not a factor in determining ADA paratransit eligibility. For 

example, a high crime rate in an area does not automatically confer eligibility on people 

with disabilities in that area. However, riders must possess certain personal safety skills 

in order to use public transit safely and independently. These skills should be 

considered in eligibility determinations.171

As the FTA stated in an ADA compliance review,

The review team’s analysis of sample determinations raised questions 

about how personal safety is considered when making ADA paratransit 

eligibility determinations. Documentation related to one determination 

indicated that “personal choice and safety were not ADA issues.” This 

position does not distinguish between safety issues that result directly 

from a person’s disability (e.g., poor decision making resulting from a 

cognitive disability or mental illness) versus general safety concerns (e.g., 

fear of possible crime) that are not directly related to a disability.172

Eligibility Determination Process

Transit Agency Must Provide Service After 21 Days

If the transit agency has not made a determination of eligibility within 21 days after the 

submission of a completed eligibility application, the applicant must be treated as 

eligible and provided with service unless and until the transit agency denies the 

application.173 

One of the most frequent FTA eligibility-related findings is that transit agencies do not 

inform applicants that they have a right to service if eligibility decisions take longer than 

21 days.174 It is not a violation of the ADA to take longer than 21 days to make 

determinations (although it is desirable to complete them before then, so that service is 

not provided and then potentially taken away). However, it is a violation if the decision 

takes more than 21 days and service is not provided after that time.175
90

Many FTA findings indicate that it is not enough to put this information into a rider’s 

guide or general public information. The FTA has stated repeatedly that it should be 

included in information sent to applicants with application materials. In one such finding, 

the FTA indicated that there is an obligation to take affirmative steps to notify riders of 

this right to service:

[The transit agency]’s Rider’s Guide, web site, ADA Eligibility Certification 

Program Brochure, and eligibility application advise applicants that they 

may use ADA Complementary Paratransit service if an eligibility 

determination has not been made within 21 days of [transit agency] receipt 

of a completed application until a determination has been made. If [the 

transit agency] has not made an eligibility determination within 21 days 

after receiving a completed application, [the transit agency] does not 

affirmatively notify applicants that they are temporarily eligible to use [the 

paratransit service]. Should applicants inquire as to the status of their 

application after the 21 days has elapsed, [the transit agency] grants them 

temporary eligibility. [The transit agency]’s lack of notification to applicants 

could limit ADA Complementary Paratransit Service to those applicants 

who do not inquire as to the status of their application after the 21 days 

have elapsed.

176

In-Person Interviews and Functional Assessments

The application process may include functional evaluation or testing of applicants. Many 

transit systems now require in-person interviews or functional assessments to 

determine whether a disability prevents the applicant from using the fixed-route system. 

The functional assessment usually involves observation as an applicant attempts to 

perform functional tasks that simulate a fixed-route trip (such as climbing steps, 

crossing a street, and walking measured courses) as well as cognitive tests and other 

activities.177

As the 2005 NCD report pointed out, some disabilities cannot be evaluated by functional 

assessments, such as seizure disorders, psychiatric disabilities, and variable conditions 

such as multiple sclerosis.178
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Appropriate professionals should perform functional assessments. For example, the 

Easter Seals Project ACTION report mentioned above recommends that physical 

therapists, occupational therapists, or professionals with similar qualifications should 

conduct physical functional assessments.179 If assessments are used for people with 

significant vision loss (legal blindness or greater), the report recommends that 

orientation and mobility specialists conduct these assessments.180

Not Overly Burdensome for Applicants

The eligibility determination process may not be overly burdensome for applicants. 

According to DOT ADA regulation Appendix D:

The [eligibility determination] process may not impose unreasonable 

administrative burdens on applicants.181

For example, if in-person interviews and assessments are part of the process, and 

applicants must travel to and from interview assessment sites, only one trip should be 

involved. The FTA has found that it may be overly burdensome to require applicants to 

take a second trip to get a required photo ID card.182

If Applicant Misses Appeal Deadline, There Is Another Option

The transit agency may require that appeals be filed within 60 days of an eligibility 

denial.183 If an applicant misses this deadline, however, he or she may reapply at any 

time for eligibility and then, if denied again, may file an appeal.184

Recertification and Long-Term Eligibility

To eliminate unnecessary inconvenience for riders and to lower the cost of eligibility 

determination, transit systems that have developed thorough ADA paratransit eligibility 

determination processes are providing long-term eligibility to unconditionally eligible 

riders whose functional ability is not expected to change over time. 
92

The FTA acknowledged that the ADA permits periodic recertification of all riders, but 

pointed out that “waiving recertification for certain customers whose inability to use the 

fixed-route is unlikely to change can avoid associated costs ... and inconvenience to 

customers.”

185

Discrimination Based on Native Language

Another significant problem for some people with disabilities is rare but no less 

important: discrimination based on the native language of the person. Legally, this 

problem is covered by Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.186

For example, a monolingual client of the Asian Pacific Family Center in Los Angeles 

(who speaks a Chinese language) was scheduled for an ADA paratransit reevaluation 

appointment and was told she would need to provide her own interpreter. Her therapist 

offered to provide interpretation over the telephone. An employee and a supervisor with 

the transit agency told the therapist that the agency can only translate into and from 

Spanish, and they declined his offer of assisting over the phone, saying it was “too timeconsuming.”

187

People who face such situations may elect to file a Title VI complaint with the FTA’s 

Office of Civil Rights.188 As always with filing complaints, as much specific information 

as possible should be provided.

Trip Denials

Denials of requested trips on ADA paratransit is still a problem, according to 

spokespersons from the disability community. For example, according to Alice 

Ritchhart, Transportation Committee Chair of the American Council of the Blind,

I would say, yes, trip denials are happening. ... They just say there are no 

available rides at that time. They aren’t supposed to be able to do that, 

especially when you’re calling two weeks to a month out, that’s pretty bad. 
93

It does seem to be still happening quite frequently. I’ve heard that 

complaint from some folks in Missouri, I know it’s an issue here in 

Georgia, some in Illinois. I would say it’s across the country.189

The practice described by this advocate is at odds with the ADA, which requires nextday service.

The 2005 NCD report explained the importance of a key ruling in a 2003 ADA lawsuit to 

establish the right to next-day service in ADA paratransit.190 This case, against the 

Rochester-Genesee Regional Transportation Authority (RGRTA), stemmed from high 

rates of trip denials. The court held that the regular denial of trip requests by RGRTA 

was attributable to its insufficient capacity and deficient booking practices. The court 

also found that while the transit agency projected increases in paratransit trip demand, it 

failed to modify its practices or plans to meet this demand. 

This important case also established the principle that the ADA requires paratransit 

service providers to plan to meet 100 percent of the demand for next-day ride requests. 

The court said that Section 37.131(f) of the DOT ADA regulation recognizes that “even 

well-laid plans may misfire on occasion and permits the denial of an insubstantial 

number of trips, so long as those denials were not attributable to the design of the 

paratransit system.” The court also stated that “the regulations require a provider to 

rethink its plan and implement changes whenever a pattern of noncompliance 

develops.”

191

In addressing the issue of a denial being within the control of the agency, the court 

quoted a letter brief filed by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) on behalf of DOT: 

[A]n excusable cause [of operational problems] must truly be beyond the 

control of the transit provider. A transit agency is expected to anticipate 

recurrent traffic congestion, seasonal variations in weather, and the need 

to maintain vehicles. . . . Indeed, once a seemingly unforeseen pattern 

develops, . . . the recurring event becomes foreseeable, and the transit 

authority can no longer claim the matter is beyond its ability to address.192
94

Transit agencies have suggested other reasons that occasional denials might be truly 

outside their control, such as a significant power outage affecting telephone service, a 

major freeway accident, or an unusual weather event.

This key development has had a significant effect on transit agencies, particularly in 

large cities, reducing their denial rates. But while the improvement has been very 

important, it has often caused a concomitant problem of increasing other deficiencies, 

such as on-time performance problems (see more in the section later in this chapter on 

On-Time Performance). 

Trip denials still occur as a result of all these problems, as well as others. For example, 

FTA officials report that some transit agencies still require trip reservations 24 hours 

ahead of time. John Day, ADA team leader and Senior Equal Opportunity Specialist, 

and Dawn Sweet, Equal Opportunity Specialist (both of the FTA Office of Civil Rights) 

made the following comments in an interview in 2013:

Sweet: What we see a lot are systems that are requiring trip reservations 

24 hours ahead of time.

Day: We would say that’s a capacity constraint. The DOT ADA regulations 

specifically require next-day service. As Appendix D to §37.131 illustrates, 

using an example of a system that operates service between 6 a.m. to 

midnight with administrative offices open between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., 

“[a]ny caller reaching the reservation service during the 9 to 5 period, in 

this example, could reserve service for any time during the next 6 a.m. to 

12 midnight service day. This is the difference between ‘next-day 

scheduling’ and a system involving a 24-hour prior reservation 

requirement, in which a caller would have to reserve a trip at 7 a.m. today 

if he or she wanted to travel at 7 a.m. tomorrow. The latter approach is not 

adequate under this [ADA] rule.”

193

(For more about capacity constraints, see the section below on Telephone Hold Time.)

FTA officials have explained that if a transit provider offers a trip that is outside the 

60-minute window, it needs to be counted as a trip denial, even if the rider accepts the 
95

trip. If a transit provider can schedule only one leg of a trip but not the return trip, that 

must be counted as two denials.194

The FTA has engaged in enforcement actions consistent with this principle; for 

example, in a 2007 FTA ADA compliance review in Fresno, California, where the transit 

agency is known as FAX:

At the time of the review, FAX was not properly recording trip denials, 

resulting in an undercount of denied trips. ... The review team observed a 

total of 214 trip requests, of which 14 resulted in denials; this resulted in a 

denial rate of 6.5 percent. However, not all of the observed denials were 

recorded as such by Handy Ride personnel, such as a rider’s acceptance 

or decline of trip times more than one hour from the requested trip time or 

when no trip was available. To meet the response time requirements of 

Section 37.131(b), FAX must revise its policy and count and track as 

denials any outright inability to serve trip requests, including any trip which 

it cannot schedule within one hour before or after the eligible rider’s 

desired departure time (even if accepted by the rider). If only one leg of a 

round trip can be reserved and the rider declines the trip, it must be 

tracked as two denials. ... FAX must direct contractor(s) to retrain 

reservation agents to record trip denials and establish a procedure for 

reviewing reservation practices to ensure these denials are counted as 

denials.195

DOT’s 2011 amendments to its ADA regulation addressed the counting of trip denials, 

codifying the interpretation described above. The preamble to the regulation explains,

The Department believes that when a denied or missed trip makes a 

subsequent requested trip impossible, two opportunities to travel have 

been lost from the point of view of the passenger. In the context of a 

statute and regulation intended to protect the opportunities of passengers 

with disabilities to use transportation systems in a nondiscriminatory way, 

that is the point of view that most matters. To count denials otherwise 

would understate the performance deficit of the operator.196

A review of ADA paratransit service in the Savannah, Georgia, area also found an 

undercount of denied trips. In December 2009, contractors for the FTA Office of Civil 

Rights conducted a review of Teleride, the ADA paratransit service operated by 
96

Chatham Area Transit (CAT). According to Transit Access Report, the review team 

encountered the following practices:

● “Turndowns” — meaning trip requests for which the reservationist did not 

offer any trip, but not including trip offers more than 60 minutes from the 

requested time.

● “Standbys” — meaning trip requests for which no trip is available, but the 

caller was told one might become available as Teleride worked on the 

schedule.

Reviewers said that in both cases, these should have been counted as denials, which 

are not permitted under the prevailing interpretation of the Department of 

Transportation’s ADA regulations. The reviewers even said that they consider standbys 

to be “a type of waiting list,” which is expressly forbidden by the regulations.197

Telephone Hold Time

The Americans with Disabilities Act does not permit transit agencies to have any 

capacity constraints in ADA paratransit.198 Capacity constraints are defined as any 

operational patterns or practices that significantly limit the availability of service to 

people who are eligible for ADA paratransit.

Some of the prohibited capacity constraints are specifically listed in the DOT ADA 

regulation, such as substantial numbers of significantly untimely pickups, substantial 

numbers of trip denials or missed trips, and substantial numbers of trips with excessive 

lengths. However, any operational practices that significantly limit the availability of the 

service are also capacity constraints and are illegal. One important example is when 

riders must wait on the telephone for an unduly long time to arrange rides.

The 2005 NCD report noted that long telephone holds were a widespread problem.199

Because of staff shortages or telephone capacity in some transit systems, many callers 
97

experience long telephone hold times. The FTA has stated that a transit agency “must 

design and implement its system to ... achieve minimal telephone wait times.”

200

Related problems included situations in which callers hear a telephone network 

message that “all circuits are busy” or they are put on hold and subsequently 

disconnected.201

Measuring Telephone Hold Time: Two Basic Methods

Best Method: Maximum Allowable Hold Times

Two basic methods are used to measure and monitor ADA paratransit telephone hold 

times: maximum allowable hold times and hourly average hold times. The best way is to 

establish standards for the maximum allowable hold time, measure the hold time for 

each caller, and compare the times to the established standards. Some transit agencies 

do not have the technology necessary to measure hold times using this approach. In 

that situation only, the agency will have to measure the hourly average of its hold 

times.202 (See Another Method: Hourly Average of Hold Times below.)

Measuring hold times by the maximum allowable time is superior to measuring the 

hourly average because it is more straightforward, simpler to calculate, and more 

transparent. Measuring by maximums is the method the FTA recommends in 

compliance reviews, as it enables transit agencies to accurately identify instances of 

long individual hold times.203 

A good practice using the maximum allowable hold time method would be to establish a 

standard that 95 percent of calls should be answered within three minutes, and 

99 percent of calls should be answered within five minutes.204

Here is an example of how a transit agency might apply the standard of measuring by 

maximum allowable hold times. Telephone reports typically list how many calls are 

received each day, each week, and each month, as well as what percentage of the calls 

are answered within specified time increments (for example, 60 seconds, 120 seconds, 
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180 seconds, and so forth). The reports should list the percentage of calls answered by 

one-minute increments up to six or seven minutes. If there were 10,000 calls last month, 

how many were answered within three minutes? It should be at least 95 percent, or 

9,500 calls. How many were answered within five minutes? It should be at least 

99 percent, or 9,900 calls.205

Every call group should be subject to this standard, but each call group should be 

analyzed separately. For example, reservation calls should be measured separately 

from “where’s my ride” calls.

Another Method: Hourly Average of Hold Times

If transit agencies do not have the technology to measure maximum allowable hold 

times, they may have to use a less preferred method: measuring the hourly average 

hold time.

Average hold time should be calculated for each hour of the day when calls are taken 

from riders on that telephone line. Averages need to be hourly, at most—it is not useful 

to average hold times over an entire day or over any other period longer than an hour. 

Measuring averages over longer periods of time (such as daily, weekly, or monthly) 

allows significantly longer hold times to be obscured or masked. Thus, hourly averaging 

is necessary for transparency, to determine hold times during various parts of the day. 

Some transit agencies use an even shorter time period—averaging by the half hour—

which is a best practice if averaging must be used at all.

A good practice for hourly averaging would be to establish a standard that 95 percent of 

the hourly periods should have an average hold time of no more than one minute, and 

99 percent of the hourly periods should have an average hold time of no more than two 

minutes.

Here is an example of how a transit agency might apply this standard. An average hold 

time should be calculated for each hour when calls are taken from riders on that 
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particular line. For example, suppose that between 9:00 a.m. and 10:00 a.m. on a 

particular day, the average is 45 seconds. If the telephone line is open for 10 hours a 

day, 31 days in that month, 10 hours × 31 days = 310 hourly averages. At least 

95 percent of those hourly averages should be no more than one minute. 95 percent of 

310 = 295, so at least 295 of the hourly averages should be one minute or less. At least 

99 percent of the hourly averages (307 of the 310) should be two minutes or less.206

Every call group should be subject to this standard, but each call group should be 

analyzed separately. In other words, reservation calls should be measured separately 

from “where’s my ride” calls.

If a transit agency measures hold times only by averaging, it might be helpful to also 

conduct random sampling of maximum hold times. Make test calls during the hours with 

the longest average hold times and record the actual time on hold. This can provide 

more accurate information about the hold times being experienced by callers.207

It should be noted that the FTA rejected the averaging method in a 2007 compliance 

review of the Fresno, California, ADA paratransit program for the transit agency known 

as FAX and the paratransit provider known as Handy Ride. According to Transit Access 

Report, 

On another issue—telephone hold times—reviewers said a monthly 

average “can mask individual call times and periods of poor performance” 

during particular times of the day or days of the week.

“To meet the requirements of Section 37.131(f) to operate Handy Ride 

service without any operational pattern or practice that significantly limits 

the availability of service,” FTA said, “the maximum allowable hold time 

standard must be set to avoid significantly long hold times.”

208

In a letter from Linda C. Ford, Director of the FTA Office of Civil Rights, to Kenneth P. 

Hamm, the transportation director in Fresno, dated July 12, 2013, she wrote:
100

There are four other primary areas where we continue to have concerns. 

The first is that FAX’s performance standard for telephone hold times 

continues to rely on averages as a performance measure, which we have 

noted, on several occasions, is not an appropriate standard as it tends to 

mask the specific periods of poor performance that would constitute 

capacity constraints. We also indicated that if FAX could provide a clear 

methodology for why averages are a valid statistical method for 

determining telephone performance while ensuring the ability to identify 

capacity constraints, we would consider that explanation; however, no 

such rationale was included in the corrective action plan or associated 

documents.209

It is possible that averaging was rejected because FAX never clarified that the 

averaging was hourly—and perhaps it was not. Averaging over a longer period than 

hourly (such as daily) would, as the FTA letter explained, mask periods of poor 

performance by averaging them with periods of better performance.

“Where’s My Ride” Calls

Telephone hold times for calls to dispatch (also called “where’s my ride,” “late ride,” 

“ride check,” and “ride status”) are just as important as reservation hold times, if not

more so. These hold times should be limited to, at most, the same standards as 

reservation calls.

It is a best practice for these calls to have the shortest hold times. Riders making these 

calls cannot wait for lengthy periods while they are attempting to obtain updates on 

pickup information. Callers may have no control over when to make the call; they may 

be calling from a telephone in the doctor’s office or a similarly inconvenient situation. 

They are often at risk of missing the vehicle by making the call. Thus, another reason to 

keep these hold times to a minimum is to avoid the possibility that riders will be 

considered no-shows because they are inside a building on hold.210

On May 15, 2009, the American Public Transportation Association, a national trade 

association for bus, paratransit, and rail transit agencies, published a draft 
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recommended practice for public comment addressing “where’s my ride” calls. The 

APTA draft described best practices in customer service.

Passengers who call the “where’s my ride?” line deserve professional, 

courteous and honest information provided in a patient manner. Accurate 

details of a vehicle’s estimated time of arrival provided with empathy set 

the tone for a good customer service experience. Passengers want their 

calls answered quickly. Upon answering, an agent should give his or her 

name and department and ask, “How can I be of assistance?” An apology 

should be readily offered when appropriate.

Callers want to know the most recent known location of the vehicle, the 

number of other stops before the caller will be picked up, the estimated 

time of arrival, the vehicle number, and any other identifying information, 

such as vehicle type and any identifying name on the vehicle. They do not 

want to be placated with a stock answer such as, “It will be 10 minutes” or 

“Your driver is around the corner.” It is preferable to give an updated 

estimated time of arrival and to confirm the exact location where the

passenger will be waiting. Agents should then ensure that the information 

is received by the driver.

The agent should obtain a contact number, if available. If a delay will 

require rescheduling or conditions are uncertain, the agent should tell the 

passenger how much time will be required to resolve the problem and give 

him or her the option to call back at a specified time, to wait on hold, or to 

be called back. Agents should ensure that follow-up calls are made. ... 

Agents should apologize for the inconvenience and, when appropriate, 

offer a free ride coupon for the inconvenience. If applicable, an agent 

should reassure a caller that he or she will not be penalized with a “noshow” and update the passenger’s record.

Rapid resolution of “where’s my ride?” calls is a priority. Speed of 

resolution is measured by total call time, since the calls often involve 

either the use of personal cell phone minutes or tying up a business phone 

in a reception area.211

Secondary Holds

A secondary hold occurs when a call is answered then placed on hold. Secondary holds 

should be minimized as much as possible.
102

If there are any secondary holds during “where’s my ride” calls, a staff person should 

check with the caller frequently—at least once every minute—to let him or her know that 

the question is still being addressed, because callers are often waiting for a vehicle or 

calling from an inconvenient situation. 

A best practice for minimizing secondary holds is to provide an adequate number of 

dispatchers to handle these calls.212 Sometimes, there are enough reservationists to 

take the initial calls, but a smaller number of dispatchers must then handle the 

transferred calls from reservationists. It is important to avoid creating a bottleneck in the 

system by having too few dispatchers to adequately handle all the calls directed to 

them. 

For additional operational methods to reduce secondary holds, see the Disability Rights 

Education and Defense Fund/TranSystems Corporation’s Topics Guides on ADA 

Transportation.

213

No Busy Signals

There should be no busy signals.214 The FTA has stated that a transit agency “must 

design and implement its system to avoid busy signals and achieve minimal telephone 

wait times.”

215 To avoid busy signals, transit agencies should have adequate incoming 

call capacity to handle the highest expected call volumes throughout the operating day. 

For additional operational methods to ensure that there are no busy signals, see the 

Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund/TranSystems Corporation’s Topics 

Guides on ADA Transportation.

216

Avoid Limits on the Number of Trip Requests per Call

Some transit agencies have placed limits on the number of trips a caller may arrange 

during a single telephone call, but these limits can increase hold times because of the 
103

need for additional customer calls, according to an FTA ADA compliance review.217

Such policies also pose added burdens on riders. For these reasons, it is not a best 

practice. While it might seem to be a good way to limit the time a call taker must spend 

with each caller, it appears to have consequences that outweigh any benefit.218

Communications Access for Taking Telephone Calls

It is important for call takers to understand how to provide equal communication 

accessibility to people with speech impairments who are placing voice calls and to 

people with speech and hearing impairments who place their calls on a TTY or through 

a TTY relay service.

Telecommunications equipment should be maintained in working order. Staff should be 

trained to use both TTYs and the relay service, both of which lengthen calls. Also, staff 

need to understand that riders who use communications devices may be difficult to hear 

on a speakerphone.

Some transit agencies have developed best practices for aiding callers with speech 

impairments. For example, separate files listing the frequently taken trips of each rider 

can make it possible for callers to say a single word, and call takers can confirm where 

they are going. Or call takers can go down the frequently taken trips list. It is easier to 

ask yes/no questions than to ask the caller to spell the destination. Staff should be 

trained in all these telephone techniques.219 (For more information, see Communication 

Access in chapter 6.)

The Role of Riders in Reducing Telephone Hold Times

Riders can help a transit agency reduce telephone hold times.

Call during off-peak times. Callers might know when call volumes are highest and 

hold times are longest. Sometimes this occurs when the reservation service first opens 
104

in the morning or during the last hour of the day, when riders call to make last-minute 

trip requests. Riders can help by calling during less busy times, when possible.

Check on rides only when they are actually late. If the service has an on-time 

window (also called a “pickup window” or “be ready time”)—that is, a period of time 

during which vehicles are considered to be arriving on time—it is helpful to wait until the 

entire period has passed before calling to check on a ride. For example, a system might 

have a pickup window that starts at the scheduled pickup time and goes until 

30 minutes after the scheduled time (a 0/+30 window). The vehicle is not late until after 

this period. Calling during the pickup window, when the pickup is not yet late, increases 

the burden on dispatchers and can cause longer hold times for other riders whose 

vehicles may be truly late.

Origin-to-Destination Service

The Americans with Disabilities Act classifies complementary paratransit service as 

origin-to-destination service. The ADA allows transit agencies to establish whether, or in 

what circumstances, they will provide door-to-door or curb-to-curb service. In door-todoor service, the vehicle operator offers assistance from the rider’s door to the vehicle 

and comparable assistance at the destination. In curb-to-curb service, assistance is 

not provided until the rider reaches the curb. In either case, the driver is required to help 

riders enter and exit the vehicle.220

The original Department of Transportation ADA regulation, promulgated in 1991, 

introduced the requirement for origin-to-destination service [49 C.F.R. § 37.129(a) and 

49 C.F.R. Part 37, App. D, § 37.129]. On September 1, 2005, DOT released formal 

disability law guidance on the subject.221 This guidance explains that the DOT 

interpretation of its ADA regulation requires transit agencies that adopt a policy of curbto-curb service as the standard service mode must provide additional assistance to 

riders who need it on the basis of disability.222 
105

This guidance, which is available at http://www.fta.dot.gov/12325_3891.html, states,

The Department’s ADA regulation, 49 CFR §37.129(a), provides that, with 

the exception of certain situations in which on-call bus service or feeder 

paratransit service is appropriate, “complementary paratransit service for 

ADA paratransit eligible persons shall be origin-to-destination 

service.” This term was deliberately chosen ... to emphasize the obligation 

of transit providers to ensure that eligible passengers are actually able to 

use paratransit service to get from their point of origin to their point of 

destination.

[It complies with the ADA] for a transit provider to establish either door-todoor or curb-to-curb service as [its] basic mode of ... service. Where the 

local planning process establishes curb-to-curb service as the basic 

paratransit service mode, however, provision should still be made to 

ensure that the service available to each passenger actually gets the 

passenger from his or her point of origin to his or her destination point. To 

meet this origin-to-destination requirement, service may need to be 

provided to some individuals, or at some locations, in a way that goes 

beyond curb-to-curb service.

For instance, the nature of a particular individual’s disability or adverse 

weather conditions may prevent him or her from negotiating the distance 

from the door of his or her home to the curb. A physical barrier (e.g., 

sidewalk construction) may prevent a passenger from traveling between 

the curb and the door of his or her destination point. In these and similar 

situations, to ensure that service is actually provided “from the user’s point 

of origin to his or her destination point,” the service provider may need to 

offer assistance beyond the curb, even though the basic service mode for 

the transit provider remains curb-to-curb. 

The guidance concludes:

Under the ADA rule, it is not appropriate for a paratransit provider to 

establish an inflexible policy that refuses to provide service ... beyond the 

curb in all circumstances. On an individual, case-by-case basis, 

paratransit providers are obliged to provide an enhancement to service 

when it is needed and appropriate to meet the origin-to-destination service 

requirement. We recognize that making individual, case-by-[case] 

judgments may require additional effort, but this effort is necessary to 

ensure that the origin-to-destination requirement is met. 
106

Limitations on This Right

In the origin-to-destination guidance, DOT made it clear that this is not an unlimited 

right. The guidance also states,

Transit providers are not required to take actions ... that would 

fundamentally alter the nature of the service or create undue burdens. In 

this respect, the Department interprets the scope of transit providers’ 

origin-to-destination service obligation analogously to the general 

obligations of public entities under the ADA to provide program 

accessibility. For example, ... [d]rivers would not have to provide services 

that exceed “door-to-door” service (e.g., go beyond the doorway into a 

building to assist a passenger). Nor would drivers, for lengthy periods of 

time, have to leave their vehicles unattended or lose the ability to keep 

their vehicles under visual observation. ... These activities would come 

under the heading of “fundamental alteration”

223 or “undue burden.”224

Transit Policies and Operational Issues

In meeting this ADA requirement, transit agencies should make two key decisions:225

1. Whether to provide door-to-door service as their standard service mode for 

all trips or only when needed by the rider.

2. Regardless of their decision on the first question, what policies to establish 

regarding how to provide the required door-to-door service, considering 

many factors including safety and the need for vehicle operators to maintain 

effective control over the vehicle.

Decision #1: Whether to Provide Door-to-Door Service for All Trips

The DOT guidance on origin-to-destination service permits a transit agency to establish 

a basic curb-to-curb policy and make exceptions to that policy for people whose 

disabilities necessitate additional service, or to provide door-to-door service for all 

trips.226
107

Providing door-to-door service only on an as-needed basis adds to the operational 

complexity of paratransit operations. The need for assistance beyond the vehicle must 

be determined and accurately recorded during the trip booking process, then accurately 

transmitted to drivers. Inconsistencies in providing assistance can contribute to missed 

connections and missed trips. As one General Manager stated:

Prior to adopting universal door-to-door service, our system provided 

service to the door upon the passenger’s request. ... We discovered that 

having the service be variable (some passengers got door-to-door, others 

got curb-to-curb) caused significant reliability problems. Passengers would 

wait at the door because this is where they were dropped off, [but] the 

driver who was picking up the passenger would be waiting at the curb 

because he/she was not aware that the passenger had been taken to the 

door by the first operator; or the driver understood that the passenger 

would be waiting at a different door. Even in our relatively small system, 

we discovered that communication between our ... operators and our 

dispatchers to share specialized passenger information was difficult and 

resulted in numerous missed trips and no-shows. ... By having consistent 

service standards, we can more effectively train and inform our operators 

to deliver reliable service.227

Research conducted in 2004 (before the DOT origin-to-destination guidance was 

released) showed that approximately 50 percent of transit agencies provided door-todoor service, so the number is likely to be higher today.228 The vast majority of drivers in 

curb-to-curb systems say they provide door-to-door assistance when it is needed, as 

part of customer service and also for practical reasons. As the 2005 NCD report pointed 

out, general effectiveness is not increased if drivers must wait until a rider notices that 

the vehicle has arrived or watch someone struggle rather than assist the person.229

Thus, a full-time door-to-door policy can be both customer-friendly and operationally 

efficient. It can actually reduce travel times, because the driver can locate the rider 

sooner, help the rider enter the vehicle more quickly, and avoid missing the rider, which 

can cause significant scheduling problems if a vehicle must return to pick the person up. 

Door-to-door service can have a positive impact on on-time performance.
108

Decision #2: Local Policies to Implement Door-to-Door Service

Whether or not transit agencies choose to provide door-to-door service as their 

standard mode for all rides or only as needed, they should still establish local policies 

regarding how to carry out the door-to-door service they do provide under the DOT 

guidance on origin-to-destination service.

Local Policies Vary

Most door-to-door policies do not allow the vehicle operator to go into the dwelling or 

otherwise go out of sight of the vehicle, or to lose effective control over the vehicle, 

particularly if there are other riders on board. The most common ways to define “losing 

effective control over the vehicle” are losing sight of the vehicle or traveling more than a 

certain distance from the vehicle. A distance of 150 feet is typical; for example, that is 

the policy of MetroAccess in Washington, DC.

230

There is a great deal of variation among transit agencies, however. For example, one 

agency reported that, according to its policy, “Drivers are ... instructed to not go through 

any door (although they can open public doors and announce their presence).”

231 The 

MetroAccess policy states, “At public entrances, drivers may open the first exterior door 

to announce their arrival (and if the entrance has a second door nearby that leads to a 

waiting area, drivers may open the second door to announce their arrival).”

232 By 

contrast, in one small California city, vehicle operators will go upstairs to an upper-floor 

office to let a rider know they are there.233

If transit agencies are concerned that riders who remain on the vehicle will put the 

vehicle into motion, they are encouraged to investigate ways vehicles can be secured if 

the driver leaves for short periods. For example, DART First State (Delaware) 

paratransit buses can be safely secured in this circumstance. Another possible variation 

for transit systems is to establish a policy that drivers must keep vehicles in sight if there 

are other riders on board. If there are no other riders and the driver can secure the 

vehicle, the line of sight is not necessary.234
109

As one ADA paratransit Executive Director reported:

Our providers do not have strict policies of keeping visual sight of the 

vehicle—that really is not possible in an urban area—they don’t get too far 

away—but they might have to go around a corner or into the lobby of a 

building to announce their arrival. We have found there is more risk in 

leaving someone at the curb than in leaving the sight line of the vehicle for 

a minute.235

Even for transit providers with clear policies, situations that lie outside the policy often 

can be accommodated informally with riders. For example, if parking is unavailable, 

riders sometimes arrange for a nearby location where the van can reach the curb or exit 

from the street.

Local door-to-door policies often include other limitations based on the transit agency 

policy about what actions drivers can safely perform. The most common is “will assist 

riders who use manual wheelchairs up or down one step or curb.” Some systems allow 

two steps, although rarely more.

Identifying Passengers

One paratransit rider who is blind reported an incident as she waited at length for a ride 

at a busy street: a kind passer-by told her that her van was parked right in front of her. 

The driver said he got there early and had just been waiting; however, he had not 

spoken to her.236 

The driver should have gotten out of the vehicle and asked if anyone was waiting for 

paratransit. Thorough policies for identifying passengers and helping passengers 

identify vehicles are important for riders with vision and cognitive disabilities as well as 

other disabilities, and in situations including inclement weather and low light that make it 

difficult to identify waiting vehicles. Reasonable assistance is sometimes needed to 

make the connection between vehicle operator and passenger, in addition to providing 

physical assistance.237
110

Operational Judgment Needed

All these provisions should be incorporated into formal local policy and included in 

vehicle operator training. But even with thorough training, vehicle operators will need to 

exercise some operational judgment on the street. This is comparable to many other 

jobs, from security to school teaching, in which situations arise that could not be 

predicted. Training should provide as much basic understanding as possible, including 

when to call for backup from a dispatcher or superintendent.238

When Is Door-to-Door Service Required?

The following questions present additional examples that illustrate how to apply the 

DOT origin-to-destination service guidance.239

A. Steps—Rider Using Wheelchair 

Must a paratransit vehicle operator help a wheelchair user down a flight of steps?

A flight of steps presents too great a risk of harm (direct threat), and vehicle operators 

are generally not required to assist. Many transit agencies will provide assistance up or 

down one step or curb, and a few will provide assistance up or down two or, in rare 

cases, more steps. For example, the Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority (MBTA) in 

Boston will help riders who use manual wheelchairs over one curb or step.240 Similarly, 

New York City Transit will help riders up or down the curb or one step.241 These are 

good customer service policies.

B. Steps—Ambulatory Rider with Mobility Disability 

If a rider walks with limited mobility, must a paratransit vehicle operator help him or her 

up and down steps?
111

Yes. Assistance up and down the steps of the vehicle, as well as steps going to and 

from the vehicle, would be reasonable assistance for someone who needs it due to a 

disability, assuming other safety policies (such as maintaining effective continuing 

control of the vehicle) are not compromised. 

C. Clear Path of Travel 

A customer has requested door-to-door service, but his accessible entrance is blocked 

by debris, tree branches, a garbage can, and toys. Can the transit agency require the 

customer or his family to provide a clear path of travel?

The vehicle operator is not required to do extensive work to clear a path of travel, which 

would be a fundamental alteration of ADA paratransit service. However, a more easily 

performed action, such as moving one or two objects out of the path of a wheelchair 

user, would be required.

D. Doors and Ramps 

Does the origin-to-destination guidance require opening a door for a rider, such as at 

the dialysis unit? Must a vehicle operator push a manual wheelchair user up a ramp, 

even if the ramp complies with the ADA?

Yes. The DOT origin-to-destination guidance requires both of these actions if the rider 

needs them. Opening the first exterior door to a dialysis unit or other public waiting 

space is required if needed by the rider. However, pushing a person up an excessively 

steep slope that presents too great a risk of harm (direct threat) is not required. 

E. Carrying Packages 

Does the DOT guidance on origin-to-destination service require a driver to carry 

groceries and other packages? 
112

Many transit agencies will provide assistance carrying a limited amount of groceries and 

other packages, if these services are permitted on the fixed-route service and if the rider 

needs assistance due to his or her disability. However, the need for assistance with 

packages is not, in and of itself, a basis for ADA paratransit eligibility.

For example, Karen Hoesch, Executive Director of ACCESS Transportation Systems 

and the featured speaker in an Easter Seals PROJECT ACTION distance learning 

session on March 18, 2010, on the subject of “Determining ADA Paratransit Eligibility: 

An Approach, Guidance and Training Materials,” stated that her own system’s policy 

was to provide a reasonable level of assistance for “a reasonable number of bags.” 

Hoesch gave the example that a couple of grocery bags is “generally within the realm of 

reasonableness.”

242

F. Snow

Does the origin-to-destination service guidance require pushing someone through 

snow?

Yes. This is the kind of action that was contemplated by the guidance when it discussed 

adverse weather conditions.243 Some situations—such as deep snow or very icy 

conditions—may constitute a fundamental alteration or direct threat, so assistance is not 

required. But in many other circumstances—such as one or two inches of snow—the 

operator can reasonably help the person reach the vehicle. A vehicle operator is not 

required to shovel a driveway or walkway.

G. Doorbell

Must the vehicle operator ring at the apartment door?

Yes. Going to the outside door of a building is required. Knocking or ringing the doorbell 

at the outside building door can be part of required door-to-door service, particularly if it 

is needed to communicate to the rider that the vehicle has arrived.
113

H. Two Staff Persons

If needed door-to-door service requires two transit agency staff persons to come on the 

vehicle, rather than one vehicle operator, is that required?

No. This would be a fundamental alteration of ADA paratransit service and is not 

required.

Public Input in the Planning Process

Any revision of a transit agency’s rider assistance policies should include full public 

input. Rider assistance is a key element of ADA paratransit service design, and the 

public should be consulted on the details of the proposed policy changes.244

Vehicle Operator Training

Regardless of whether assistance is the norm or is provided on an as-needed basis, 

drivers should be trained on transit agency policies and on how to provide assistance 

properly to and from the vehicle to riders with various types of disabilities.245

Transfers Must Be Attended When Needed by a Rider

In an ADA compliance review, the FTA found that transit agencies may not establish 

policies that require riders who cannot navigate the transit system to undergo 

unattended paratransit transfers between vehicles. The FTA thus reinforced the 

principle that, when a vehicle drops a rider off at a transfer point, the vehicle may not 

depart if the person cannot be left unattended; it must wait. In this compliance review, 

the FTA called for attended (direct vehicle-to-vehicle) transfers for riders who cannot be 

left unattended. 
114

The finding stated,

For paratransit trips that require a vehicle transfer, [the transit agency]’s 

policy allows a passenger to “be dropped off and left unattended for up to 

1 hour at a transfer point. ... The drivers operate according to a schedule 

and cannot wait with clients for the next vehicle to arrive ...” This policy 

requires, de facto, that individuals who cannot be left unattended due to 

their disability must travel with attendants. This does not meet the DOT 

ADA regulatory criteria in § 37.5(e), which do not allow systems to require 

that individuals travel with attendants. It also does not meet the intent of § 

37.123(e)(1), which does not consider a transit service to be accessible to 

individuals with disabilities if these individuals cannot use the service 

independently. It also does not meet § 37.129(a), which requires that 

service be “origin-to-destination.”

246

Some Transit Agencies Disregard the Origin-to-Destination Service 

Requirement

Some transit agencies appear to disregard the DOT origin-to-destination service 

requirement. For example, the Utah Transit Authority Paratransit Rider’s Guide states,

Paratransit is a curb-to-curb service. Do not expect extra assistance 

beyond the curb, as the driver cannot leave the bus or riders unattended 

due to safety and security concerns. Unless you are deemed eligible in 

advance for additional individual assistance, drivers will only assist you as 

you enter and exit the vehicle. Drivers also operate the wheelchair ramp or 

lift and will assist you with the securement of wheelchairs and mobility 

aids, and with seatbelts.

If you need assistance getting to the curbside or from the vehicle to your 

destination, please arrange to have someone other than the driver assist 

you, as the driver needs to depart immediately after arriving at your 

destination.247

Deborah Mair, Executive Director of the Utah Independent Living Center in Salt Lake 

City, and Andy Curry, Director of Roads to Independence, an independent living center 

in northern Utah, concur that Utah Transit Authority (UTA) will not provide door-to-door 

service without extensive advocacy, even for people who need it due to a disability or 
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during bad weather. Riders who are strong advocates will insist that the driver must call 

a particular person at UTA who will give them the okay to assist the rider.248

On-Time Performance

Poor on-time performance remains the most significant and pervasive problem 

experienced by riders of ADA paratransit. Richard Devylder, former Senior Advisor for 

Accessible Transportation for U.S. DOT, reported that he has continued to hear from 

the disability community about significant on-time performance problems in ADA 

paratransit across the country.249

Alice Ritchhart, Transportation Committee Chair of the American Council of the Blind 

stated,

Regarding ADA paratransit, we hear the same complaints that all people 

with disabilities have: problems with pickups, the time, how long it takes, 

and missed trips.250

And according to Tracee Garner, Outreach Coordinator of the Loudoun (Virginia) 

ENDependence Center,

For us in the rural area, [paratransit doesn’t] have the rides you need at 

the times you need them. You have to either go way early or way late. For 

example, if I had a noon appointment, I would probably have to take a 

10:00 appointment on paratransit, then take a 10-minute ride and wait for 

nearly two hours.251

Many factors contribute to on-time performance. This section will address scheduling 

practices, pickups, drop-offs, will-calls, travel time, and other important factors. 
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Scheduling Practices for On-Time Performance

Using the One-Hour Negotiation Window Correctly

The ADA allows a transit agency to negotiate pickup times with an eligible rider, but the 

transit agency may not require him or her to schedule a trip more than one hour before 

or after the desired departure time. This is called the “negotiation window” and is the 

first of several types of windows used in ADA paratransit.

It is important for transit agencies to consider the overall travel needs of riders when 

negotiating pickup times. For example, if a rider indicates that she needs a ride home 

from work, gets off work at 5:00 p.m. and requests a 5:15 p.m. pickup, the appropriate

one-hour window would be from 5:15 p.m. to 6:15 p.m. It is not consistent with the DOT 

ADA regulation to offer only pickup times that would require her to leave work early. 

Similarly, if a rider indicates that he needs to be at work by 9:00 a.m., it would not be 

correct to offer a pickup time that would require him to arrive at work late.252

The FTA has addressed the importance of using the one-hour window correctly. For 

example, in an ADA compliance review, the FTA stated,

The ADA Paratransit Handbook, developed by FTA to provide guidance to 

transit systems in designing ADA complementary paratransit services, 

indicates that “suggesting a 4 p.m. pickup knowing that the person works 

until 5 p.m. would not be in keeping with the concept of comparable 

service.” Similarly, offering a 9 a.m. pickup if a person requests an 8 a.m. 

ride to get to work by 9 a.m. would not be in keeping with the concept of 

comparable service.253

The one-hour window should be applied as follows:

● When there is a latest arrival time (for example, a doctor appointment), the 

window should be used on the early side to ensure that the rider gets to the 

appointment on time.
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● When there is an earliest departure time on a return trip (for example, a time 

when the rider gets off work and so cannot leave before then), the window 

should be from that time to one hour after.254

Scheduling to the Appointment or Desired Arrival Time

The FTA has found repeatedly in ADA compliance reviews that a needed arrival or 

appointment time must be taken into account by transit agencies in scheduling the 

ride.255 The FTA also stated that this is important for trips “with an appointment time, 

such as trips to work, school, medical appointments, recreational events, etc.”

256 For 

example, in an ADA compliance review, the FTA stated,

[The transit agency] procedure of applying a full two-hour scheduling 

window to requested pickup times and not allowing riders to schedule trips 

based on appointment/desired arrival times or departure times from an 

appointment appears to make responsive scheduling of trips very difficult. 

Scheduling trips in a manner that is unresponsive to customers’ needs 

could be discouraging some riders from using the service and could be 

considered a practice that limits the use of the service.257

The best way to ensure that riders arrive at their appointments on time is to book and 

schedule trips based on the stated appointment or desired arrival time. Most software 

scheduling programs accommodate this by allowing the user to enter an appointment 

time, indicating that this is the latest time that the drop-off can be made, and then letting 

the system generate a pickup time that is appropriate for the trip distance.258

The Importance of a True Negotiation of Trip Times

While the DOT ADA regulation allows paratransit trips to be scheduled within an hour of 

the requested time, it also states that trip times must be negotiated with riders. The FTA 

has questioned whether it is consistent with the ADA for a transit agency to offer only 

one pickup time, even if it is within an hour of the requested time, because such an offer 

is not a negotiation. For example, the FTA pointed out in one ADA compliance review 

that “in most cases, only one pickup time is generated and offered to callers [by the 
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transit agency] for each trip requested.” The FTA recommended that the transit agency 

procedures should “address appropriate negotiation of trip times that respond to stated 

rider needs.”

259

Negotiated Time Versus Scheduled Time

Sometimes there is a difference between the negotiated time given to the rider on the 

telephone and the scheduled time according to the transit agency, which may have 

made changes without notice to the rider. Changes sometimes occur because the 

paratransit service is using a computerized system that changes the time to make the 

printed driver schedule conform to certain parameters. For example, the negotiated time 

may be 7:15 a.m., but the vehicle operator is told 7:30. If the rider is not informed about 

this relatively small change, he (expecting a 30-minute pickup window [-15/+15]) goes 

outside to wait for the vehicle at 7:00 and, at 7:30, assumes the vehicle is not coming 

and goes back inside. Meanwhile, the vehicle operator expects that this pickup is on 

time between 7:15 and 7:45. When the vehicle arrives at 7:35, the driver records the 

rider as a no-show when, in fact, he was present according to the information he was 

given.260

For these reasons, the FTA has made many determinations that the negotiated time 

given to the rider needs to be protected in the system.261 The transit agency must notify 

the rider of any changes to ensure that all parties—the transit system, the vehicle 

operator, and the rider—are informed.262 If transit agencies wish to make changes to 

any original negotiated times so that trips fit better on final schedules, riders should be 

called and new times negotiated. If a rider cannot be reached to renegotiate a new 

pickup time, the original time should not be changed. Per the ADA negotiation window, 

any changes may not be more than one hour from the rider-requested time.263

The FTA reinforced these points in its response to an ADA complaint against the 

Winston Salem Transit Authority (WSTA) in North Carolina in an FTA letter of finding 

issued July 30, 2013. The FTA Office of Civil Rights became involved after learning that 

paratransit riders were not being told of changes in scheduled pickup times. “What is 
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not clear from the information provided by WSTA,” the Office of Civil Rights stated, “is 

whether or not the passenger is actually aware of the scheduled pickup time around 

which the ... pickup window revolves. The [WSTA] letter provides an example of a 

passenger requesting a pickup time of 7:30 a.m. where the reservationists are able to 

schedule a 7:15 a.m. pickup time. Providing a trip at 7:15 in response to request for a 

7:30 trip is within the negotiation window permitted under ADA regulations; however, if 

the passenger is not aware of the scheduled pickup time—i.e., the 7:15 pickup time has 

not been negotiated as required—the result would be a pickup window that begins 

15 minutes earlier than the passenger expects, which could result in the vehicle arriving 

and departing before the passenger is ready to board.” 

The FTA letter, written by ADA team leader John Day, said, “It appears that WSTA is 

not providing paratransit passengers with adequate information concerning their 

agreed-upon pickup times. ... Unilaterally changing a trip time without negotiating 

pickup times with WSTA riders is in violation of Section 37.131 of the DOT ADA 

regulations.” Day added that WSTA would be instructed to take “corrective action.”

264 

Pickups, Drop-Offs, Will-Calls: Consider All Aspects of On-Time 

Performance

Providing timely paratransit service is more than ensuring that pickups are on time. It 

also means delivering riders to their destinations in a timely manner. And poor 

performance is not just being late but also includes very early pickups or drop-offs.265

The Pickup Window

It is current practice in the paratransit industry to view an on-time pickup as a vehicle 

arrival within an on-time window established by the transit agency (alternatively termed 

the “pickup window” or “be ready time”). This is the next important window in ADA 

paratransit. The pickup window distinguishes between an on-time pickup and a late or 
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early one; it also defines the period during which the rider is expected to be ready and 

waiting for the vehicle to arrive. Riders need to be ready throughout the pickup window.

Large transit agencies frequently use 20 to 30 minutes as their on-time pickup window; 

30 minutes or less is standard in the industry.266 The FTA letter of finding to the Winston 

Salem Transit Authority in North Carolina quoted above notes that pickup windows are 

“usually 30 minutes.”

267 The FTA has found 60 minutes to be too long.268

Avoid Very Early and Late Pickups

The pickup must occur during the window, not earlier or later, to be considered on time. 

In some locations, vehicles frequently arrive well before the announced pickup window, 

and if passengers are not ready, they are given a no-show. This practice is not 

consistent with the ADA. If a passenger rejects such a ride, the transit agency should 

consider it a missed trip unless the vehicle waits until the prearranged pickup window or 

until another vehicle returns for the rider during the window. It is a best practice, if the 

vehicle arrives early, for the driver to park around the corner so riders do not feel 

pressured to leave early.

Early pickups—before the pickup window—impose very real difficulties on many riders. 

One difficulty is that riders have no way of knowing when to be ready. Also, although 

some riders may not mind leaving early for certain trips (such as shopping), other trips 

(including medical and work trips) are time-specific. In addition, early departures to 

some destinations may result in drop-offs earlier than riders should arrive and may even 

be dangerous, such as arriving at work on cold winter days long before the building is 

open.269

The FTA has expressed concern in ADA compliance reviews that transit agencies have 

too many early pickups and that some transit agencies appear to be pressuring riders to 

accept pickups before the pickup window, sometimes even considerably before.270 For 

example, one review stated, “It is not acceptable to pressure customers into accepting 

early pickups when they are not prepared or do not wish to board.” Another review 
121

recommended that “[the transit agency] should instructor reinstruct its carriers that 

drivers are not to request passengers to board the ... vehicle before the beginning of the 

pick-up window.” 

The Five-Minute Wait Time

Typically, transit agencies establish a five-minute wait time to designate a clear limit on 

how long the vehicle will wait for the rider at pickup.

Where transit agencies have adopted a five-minute wait time, the FTA has determined 

that the five minutes may not begin until the start of the pickup window.271 If a vehicle 

arrives early, the driver should wait until the window plus five minutes. Dispatchers 

should consider this before approving any no-shows. (See more about such policies in 

the section below on No-Shows.) 

On-Time Drop-Offs and the Drop-Off Window

For many trips, an on-time drop-off is as important as, or more important than, an ontime pickup. The FTA has been clear that timely drop-offs are an important part of ontime performance. A 2003 letter from the FTA Office of Civil Rights stated,

Just as substantial numbers of untimely pickups limit the utility and, 

therefore, availability of service to people with disabilities, so do a 

substantial number of untimely arrivals. For many passenger trips, the 

timeliness of the drop-off is more critical to the utility of the service than 

the timeliness of the pickup. Such trips are those with an appointment 

time, such as trips to work, school, medical appointments, recreational 

events, etc. Substantial numbers of significantly late arrivals for 

appointments can limit the utility of the service to customers and would 

constitute a capacity constraint.272

A number of other FTA ADA compliance reviews found problematic patterns of late 

arrivals.273
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In a similar vein, drop-offs at a destination should not be earlier than a half hour.274

Transit agencies should also establish a window for timely drop-offs (the “drop-off 

window”).275 The window should not exceed “from thirty minutes before the appointment 

time to the appointment time (-30/0).”

276

How the drop-off window should interact with other operational procedures by transit 

agencies was discussed in a 2010 Easter Seals Project ACTION teleconference. 

Russell Thatcher and Tom Procopio of TranSystems Corporation addressed ADA 

paratransit scheduling, and Thatcher stated,

Your drop-off on-time parameter would read something like ... “drop-offs 

are on time if [riders are] not dropped off after the appointment time and 

no earlier than ... 30 minutes before the appointment time.” 

That particular parameter would then be used with your travel time 

parameters to allow your scheduling software to decide how far in 

advance to move the pickup for the appointment to ensure that the dropoff takes place within that window.277

Too often, discussions of on-time performance have disregarded boarding and 

disembarking time, which can be slowed down by dealing with wheelchair securements 

and other factors. A particularly important point addressing this problem was made in a 

draft FTA ADA circular:

Some transit agencies schedule drop-offs no later than five minutes before 

appointment times to allow riders time to get from vehicles to 

appointments.278

To apply this important approach, if a medical appointment or job interview is at 

2:00 p.m., the vehicle should reach the destination by 1:55 at the latest.

The draft FTA ADA circular added an additional important point about on-time drop-offs:

When considering drop-off times, it can be important to ensure that dropoffs do not occur before a facility opens. For example, if a medical office 
123

building does not open its doors until 8 a.m., a policy might restrict dropoffs at this location to “no earlier than” 8 a.m.279

Will-Calls

Will-calls are typically return trips without a specific scheduled time; instead, the riders 

call in when they are ready to return.

Will-calls can provide significant rider benefits for a limited number of trips, when the 

rider cannot predict the return time. In some medical situations, will-calls are vital, and it 

is a good practice for a transit agency to make them available. However, they are 

workable only if limited in number, particularly during peak operating times, when a 

large number of will-calls can overburden a system and make it difficult to deliver 

service on time. 

Will-calls are not required by the ADA, but if a transit agency allows them, it is a good 

practice to establish a window for will-call trip pickups (also called the “will-call response 

time”) so riders know how long they may need to wait if they book a will-call. A typical 

and reasonable policy would be no more than 60 minutes (0/+60).

Travel Time

An issue closely related to paratransit timeliness is trip length, also called travel time or 

ride time. In some locations, riders and advocates report very long travel times and 

frequently ask how long is too long. The approach increasingly used in the transit 

industry, which is consistent with FTA determinations in several ADA compliance 

reviews and letters of finding,280 is to compare travel time with that on the fixed-route 

bus or train system. If a paratransit ride takes much longer than the same ride on the 

fixed-route system, that may be too long. For example, if the total fixed-route time is 

60 minutes (including the time on each end of the ride to go to and from the bus or train 

stops, and to wait for the bus or train), a paratransit trip that is more than 15 or 

20 minutes longer might be considered excessive. A substantial number of such trips 
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would be an illegal capacity constraint under the ADA. Transit agencies should monitor 

trip length and regularly evaluate travel times.

Subscription Service

Misinterpretation of the 50 Percent Cap

Understanding the ADA regulation regarding subscription trips (that is, repeat trips to 

and from the same locations at the same times) and carefully managing and scheduling 

such trips can improve on-time performance as well as service productivity and 

efficiency.

As the 2005 NCD report explained, many transit agencies have misinterpreted the DOT 

ADA regulation as capping subscription service at 50 percent of paratransit capacity, 

regardless of the circumstances.281 The cap applies only when there is no 

nonsubscription capacity; that is, when there are capacity constraints.282 The 

“subscription ‘cap’ ... only applies if your system is experiencing capacity constraints 

and you’re denying next-day trips. ... If you aren’t denying next-day trips, you can 

provide any level of service on subscription that you want, provided that you can still 

meet all your requests for next-day service.”

283

Thus, many transit agencies have unnecessarily limited subscription service. An 

increase in such service can improve on-time performance and service productivity, as 

well as providing significant benefits to riders.284

Subscription Service Is Not a Premium Service

The FTA’s draft ADA circular makes the point that subscription trips are considered to 

be ADA paratransit trips:

FTA notes that subscription trips are still considered [ADA] complementary 

paratransit trips. Even if transit agencies choose to reserve and schedule 

certain trips in this way, trips reserved and scheduled on a subscription 
125

basis remain subject to the regulatory requirements (e.g., agencies must 

ensure trip lengths are comparable to the fixed-route and pickups are 

timely).285 

Thus, it would be inappropriate for transit agencies to classify subscription trips as a 

premium service that is not subject to the ADA paratransit service criteria. 

Monitoring 

Careful, thorough monitoring of paratransit is critical, particularly when the service is 

contracted out to other providers. Monitoring should go well beyond reliance on 

contractor reports; effective monitoring is often accomplished by stationing transit 

employees onsite in sufficient numbers to monitor contractor operations. Transit 

agencies should set standards for on-time pickups and drop-offs, and for what is too 

early and too late. They should monitor service for compliance with these standards, 

both on paper and by actually spot-checking pickup and arrival times at destinations.

Transit agencies should measure and respond when documentation and data indicate 

that their service does not meet their standards. They should be aware that on-time 

performance is more than just a percentage, such as 90 percent or 95 percent. ADA 

compliance is also about operating policies and practices that cause late or very early 

trips.

Monitoring should include not only establishing a percentage rate for on-time 

performance but also tracking other practices related to on-time performance and other 

ADA-related requirements.

The following are recommended resources for more information on monitoring:

● Federal Transit Administration, Americans with Disabilities Act Circular C 

4710.1, Amendment 1, Draft Chapters for Public Comment. The “On-Time 

Performance Monitoring” section, pp. 8–13, is among the many helpful 
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sections. February 2014. http://www.fta.dot.gov/documents/Proposed_ADA_

Circular_Amendment_1.pdf

● “Innovative Practices in Paratransit Services,” Easter Seals Project ACTION, 

April 2002, pp. 17–21, “Service Monitoring.” 

● Federal Transit Administration ADA Compliance Review Final Reports. 

http://www.fta.dot.gov/civilrights/12875_3899.html

● Topic Guides on ADA Transportation, Disability Rights Education and 

Defense Fund (DREDF) and TranSystems Corporation, funded by the 

Federal Transit Administration, Washington, DC, published June 2010. 

http://www.dredf.org/ADAtg/

● “Strategy Guide to Enable and Promote the Use of Fixed-Route Transit by 

People with Disabilities,” TCRP Report 163, TranSystems et al., 

Transportation Research Board, Washington, DC, 2013. 

http://www.trb.org/Main/Blurbs/170626.aspx

The Role of the Rider in Keeping Service on Time

Good on-time performance in ADA paratransit requires actions by riders as well as 

transit agencies.

● Cancel: A rider should call to cancel as soon as possible if he or she will not 

be taking a trip.

● Pickup window: Riders should be aware that most ADA paratransit systems 

use a pickup window of up to 30 minutes, depending on the agency. The ride 

is not required to come at a particular time but rather is allowed to come at 

any time during the pickup window. Riders should confirm the pickup window 

when they make their reservations.
127

● Be ready: Riders should ready to leave throughout the pickup window. 

Delays in boarding can throw off the rest of the schedule and cause all 

subsequent pickups and drop-offs to be late.

● Shared ride: Riders should be aware that, in many cities, paratransit is 

generally a shared-ride experience. When a ride is shared, the vehicle will not 

necessarily take a direct route to one person’s destination.

No-Show Policies

The 2005 NCD report286 explained that the DOT ADA regulation allows transit agencies 

to suspend, for a reasonable period, the provision of paratransit service to riders who 

establish a pattern or practice of missing scheduled trips, also known as no-shows.287 In 

permitting no-show service suspensions, the DOT ADA regulation acknowledges that 

paratransit riders who repeatedly fail to appear for their prearranged rides can have a 

detrimental effect on operational efficiency, cost, and the quality of the service for other 

riders. Yet people with disabilities experience the same kinds of unexpected schedule 

changes as everyone else, and some people with disabilities have variable conditions 

that change from day to day. For these reasons, the plans of ADA paratransit riders 

sometimes change. The challenge of no-show policies is to balance these needs.

As the 2005 NCD report also explained, it is advisable to identify and focus on the real 

abusers and establish a policy that is customer-friendly and respectful of the average 

rider.288 Sending letters to riders about their no-shows that suggest the riders are 

irresponsible or costly to the transit agency is likely to trigger a negative public response 

and is not recommended.

Transit agencies should emphasize working with riders in a positive way to reduce noshows, as well as implementing the warnings and suspensions allowed by the ADA. 

Approaches that work with riders to address the root causes of no-shows and 

incorporate incentives tend to be the most effective.289
128

Pattern or Practice of Missed Trips by the Rider

The 2005 NCD report discussed important principles about how the ADA allows transit 

agencies to impose service suspensions based on passenger no-shows.290 Appendix D 

of the DOT ADA regulation, which provides interpretive guidance on the regulation, 

states,

It is very important to note that sanctions could be imposed only for a 

“pattern or practice” of missed trips. A pattern or practice involves 

intentional, repeated, or regular actions, not isolated, accidental, or 

singular incidents. Moreover, only actions within the control of the 

individual count as part of a pattern or practice. Missed trips due to 

operator error are not attributable to the individual passenger for this 

purpose. If the vehicle arrives substantially after the scheduled pickup 

time, and the passenger has given up on the vehicle and taken a taxi or 

gone down the street to talk to a neighbor, that is not a missed trip 

attributable to the passenger. If the vehicle does not arrive at all, or is sent 

to the wrong address, or to the wrong entrance to a building, that is not a 

missed trip attributable to the passenger. There may be other 

circumstances beyond the individual’s control (e.g., a sudden turn for the 

worse in a variable condition, a sudden family emergency) that make it 

impracticable for the individual to travel at the scheduled time and also for 

the individual to notify the entity in time to cancel the trip before the vehicle 

comes. Such circumstances also would not form part of a sanctionable 

pattern or practice.291

Do Not Count No-Shows That Are Beyond the Control of the Rider

The 2005 NCD report292 explained that the ADA does not allow transit agencies to base 

a suspension of service on any trips missed by a rider for reasons beyond his or her 

control,293 including trips missed due to transit agency error or lateness. Those trips 

may not be a basis for determining that a pattern or practice of missing scheduled trips 

exists. Yet riders are not always informed of their right to contest particular no-shows 

and transit agency missed trips. In some cases, riders with disabilities express the 

concern that they are penalized despite their best efforts to contact the transit agency to 

establish that particular no-shows or transit agency missed trips were beyond their 

control.
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What Is Beyond the Rider’s Control?

Since the publication of the 2005 NCD report,294 it has become clear that many 

circumstances may be beyond the rider’s control, including but not limited to these:

● Family emergency arose.

● Illness precluded the rider from calling to cancel.

● Personal attendant or another party did not arrive on time to assist the rider.

● Rider was inside calling to check the ride status and was on hold for an 

extended time.

● Rider’s appointment ran long and did not provide an opportunity to cancel in a 

timely way.

● Another party canceled the rider’s appointment.

● Rider’s mobility aid failed.

● Rider experienced a sudden turn for the worse in a variable condition.

● Adverse weather affected the rider’s travel plans and prevented the rider from 

canceling in a timely way.

Transit agency errors, which may not be counted as rider no-shows, include but are not 

limited to the following:

● Vehicle arrived after the pickup window.

● Vehicle arrived before the pickup window, and the rider was not ready to go.
130

● Vehicle never arrived.

● Vehicle went to the wrong location.

● Driver did not follow correct procedures to locate the rider.

● Rider canceled in a timely way but the cancellation was not recorded correctly 

or was not transmitted to the driver in time. 

Transit agencies should provide a telephone number for riders to inform the transit 

agency that particular no-shows were beyond their control. In large systems, this 

telephone number should be different from the regular reservation line. In general, the 

calls should go to the staff who are tracking and tabulating no-shows and preparing noshow suspension letters.295

Proportion of Trips Missed, Rather Than Absolute Number

Many Policies Are Too Restrictive

In 2005, the Transportation Research Board published a study called Practices in NoShow and Late Cancellation Policies for ADA Paratransit. The survey of transit 

properties showed that, at that time, the most common policy was that riders could be 

suspended if they had three no-shows in 30 days.296 However, as explained in the 2005 

NCD report, the FTA has stated that three no-shows do not necessarily constitute a 

pattern of rider abuse of the paratransit service, particularly for frequent riders.297 Thus, 

using this stringent standard to suspend service would unfairly deny some riders their 

right to paratransit eligibility.298

Transit agencies with no-show policies that penalize riders after three no-shows in 

30 days should reconsider their policies in light of the FTA statement that this may not 

constitute a sufficient showing of pattern or practice of no-shows to justify a suspension 

of service for regular riders. 
131

FTA ADA compliance reviews have found that certain transit agency policies “may be 

an overly restrictive interpretation of the DOT ADA regulations.” This includes policies in 

which— 

● Any combination of three no-shows or late cancellations in one month could 

result in a suspension.

● Eight no-shows in 12 months could result in a suspension.

● Three no-shows in 90 days (or in a calendar quarter) could result in a 

suspension.

● Six no-shows in a calendar year could result in a suspension.299

Consider the Frequency of Trips Missed

The 2003 letter from the director of the FTA Office of Civil Rights quoted above 

addressed another important consideration, which was first explained in Appendix D: 

No-show suspensions may be imposed only when the rider’s record involves intentional, 

repeated, or regular actions rather than isolated, accidental, or single incidents. Three 

no-shows in a month for a regular rider who uses the service to get to and from work 

each day, as well as for other trips, is very different from three no-shows by a rider who 

schedules only five trips a month. Frequency of use or proportion of trips missed should 

be considered in determining a pattern or practice. 

The FTA has repeatedly found in ADA compliance reviews that no-show suspension 

policies should not be based solely on a set number of no-shows per month. Rather, the 

frequency of a person’s rides in relationship to the frequency of his or her no-shows 

should be considered to determine whether a true pattern or practice exists.300

An appropriate policy considering the proportion of trips was adopted in Ann Arbor, 

Michigan. As reported in Transit Access Report in 2010,
132

The transit authority in Ann Arbor, Michigan, has implemented a no-show 

policy for its paratransit service that takes percentage of no-shows into 

account. This is the type of policy that has been encouraged [by] the 

Federal Transit Administration in various reviews of compliance with the 

Americans With Disabilities Act. ...

Transit Access Report quotes a letter from John R. Day, then acting ADA team leader in 

the FTA Office of Civil Rights, to a rider who had submitted a complaint. Day wrote, 

“The new missed trip policy includes, among other changes, consideration of the 

frequency of a rider’s no-shows in proportion to that rider’s overall use, rather than a 

strict numerical threshold for defining excessive missed trips.” 

Transit Access Report continued,

Day’s letter, saying the FTA was “taking no further action,” appears to 

suggest at least tacit approval by the FTA of the new policy.301

Pattern or Practice Means Both Substantial Number and Above Average 

Frequency

In determining what frequency of no-shows constitutes a pattern or practice of abuse, 

transit systems should also consider the overall no-show rate for all riders and adjust 

upward, so as not to penalize riders with average no-show records. If the overall noshow rate is 5 percent, for example, a rider who no-shows only 5 percent of her 

scheduled trips should not be considered an abuser of the service, because this is the 

average. In this case, a no-show rate of 15 percent could be considered abuse.

The number of no-shows should be considered in addition to frequency. A person who 

schedules one round-trip in a month and no-shows both ends of that trip would have noshowed 100 percent of his scheduled trips, but this does not constitute a pattern or 

practice. It is not clear whether scheduling only two round-trips and no-showing both is 

a pattern or practice. A minimum number, such as five no-shows in a month, would 

seem to be a more appropriate. When this minimum number is exceeded, that could 

trigger a review of the rider’s no-show frequency.302
133

Do Not Cancel the Return Trip

The FTA has made the policy interpretation that if a rider misses a scheduled outbound 

trip, transit agencies may not automatically cancel the return trip.303 Each leg of a trip 

must be treated separately. Without an indication from the rider that the return trip is not 

needed, it should remain on the schedule.

The FTA determination is based on the impact on riders when a return trip is 

automatically canceled. For example, if a vehicle operator had an incorrect rider 

address on the outbound trip and the trip was missed but the rider reached her 

destination another way, she might still need a way to get home. Canceling the return 

trip could strand her.304

The FTA has made this finding several times. In 2013, Transit Access Report gave the 

example that “if an ADA paratransit rider in Houston no-shows for one trip, the rider has 

to let Houston Metro know if a subsequent scheduled trip that day is still needed. The 

transit agency was chastised for this policy in a compliance review conducted for the 

Federal Transit Administration Office of Civil Rights. ... The compliance review said 

procedures must be revised ‘so that subsequent trips for the day are not automatically 

canceled or put on hold if a rider misses one trip.’”305

In a later 2013 ADA complaint investigation, 

... the FTA Office of Civil Rights dealt with a complaint by an ADA 

paratransit rider against Montachusett Regional Transit Authority (MART) 

in Fitchburg, Mass. Among other issues in the complaint ... the rider said 

a return trip was automatically canceled following a disputed “no-show” 

one day in June 2013. ... The FTA responded, in an August 23, 2013 

letter, that after receiving the rider’s complaint and reviewing FTA policy, 

MART said it will no longer automatically cancel return rides for riders who 

are marked as no-shows for the initial trip.306
134

Suspensions

Alerting the Rider of No-Shows

It is a good practice for transit agencies to alert riders about no-shows on their record as 

they occur. If transit systems do not alert riders along the way, they should at least bring 

the no-shows to the rider’s attention before proposing a suspension. Notifying the rider 

after each no-show is preferred for many reasons, including that it is not reasonable to 

expect riders to remember the specific circumstances of each day of the past several 

weeks or even months.

Whether the transit agency informs riders about no-shows as they occur or only after 

some have been recorded, any rider notification should restate the agency policy and 

inform riders that they can contact the agency if they think any of the no-shows were not 

under their control or were charged in error.307

Notification Before Suspensions

Before any suspension of service due to no-shows, the transit agency must notify the 

individual rider in writing, specifically citing the full reason for the proposed suspension 

and its length, including the exact no-show dates, times, pickup locations, and 

destinations on which the proposed suspension is based and using accessible formats 

when necessary.

The notification must include information about the appeal process, including how to file 

an appeal. It should also include a statement that the suspension may not be based on 

any no-shows beyond the rider’s control nor on any trip missed due to transit agency 

error or lateness, even if the transit agency has notified the rider of no-shows as they 

occurred. The statement should include how to contact the transit agency about noshows beyond their control. This procedure helps prevent going to a full appeal. If the 

rider contests one or more no-shows and the transit agency agrees, there may be no 

need for an appeal.308
135

The FTA has made the finding that time is needed for the filing of an appeal before 

suspensions become effective, recommending that a transit agency should allow at 

least 15 days between receipt of a notice of a proposed suspension of service and the 

proposed date on which the suspension becomes effective.309

Length of Suspensions

It is important that any suspension of service be limited to the reasonable period of time 

envisioned in the DOT ADA regulation. As an FTA representative explained,

We are, in most cases, looking for a suspension on a progressive system 

so that the first offense ... should probably only be for a couple of days, 

maybe a week. Thereafter, the second time ... you could allow for a more 

severe punishment, say twice as long as the first suspension, and so on ... 

with the goal ultimately of not denying the person service but of correcting 

the behavioral problem or the lack of attention problem that is leading to 

disruption to your service. In summary, we are looking for suspensions of 

days, maybe weeks, not suspensions, typically, of months and especially of 

years.310

Financial Penalties—Optional Only

Some transit agencies allow riders to pay a fine or other financial penalty instead of 

receiving a no-show service suspension. However, the ADA permits a financial penalty 

only as an option instead of a suspension. A fine or financial penalty may not be 

mandatory and may not be charged in addition to a suspension.311

Moreover, the ADA does not allow a transit agency to charge any fee or financial 

penalty (whether optional or mandatory) because of a single no-show, nor for any 

number of no-shows short of a suspension. This includes fares for trips not taken for 

any reason by a rider or a rider’s companion. Requiring payment of fares for trips not 

taken is disallowed by the ADA. A financial penalty is legal only as an alternative to a 

suspension, not as a punitive measure for one or more no-shows.312
136

The FTA made a similar finding in 2012, when the Office of Civil Rights (OCR) rejected 

mandatory fines for no-shows by ADA riders. Monica McCallum, chief of the FTA OCR 

Regional Operations Division, in a July 9, 2012 letter, conveyed the OCR position to the 

Capital Area Transit Authority, the Lansing, Michigan, transit agency. McCallum wrote,

FTA has consistently found mandatory financial penalties to be impermissible under the 

ADA. The U.S. Department of Transportation’s regulations only address a pattern or 

practice of customer no-shows in terms of a suspension of service. Transit agencies 

may not impose a mandatory punishment that is outside the framework of the 

regulations.313

Appeal Process for No-Show Suspensions 

The ADA guarantees that a rider may file a local appeal of a transit agency decision to 

suspend the provision of paratransit service due to a pattern of missing scheduled trips. 

If a rider requests an appeal, paratransit service must continue to be provided until the 

appeal is heard and decided. According to Appendix D of the DOT ADA regulation:

We would emphasize that, prior to a finding against the individual after this 

due process procedure, the individual must continue to receive service. 

The entity cannot suspend service while the matter is pending.314

The local appeal process must include an opportunity to be heard and to present 

information and arguments. Moreover, according to Appendix D, “If there is a hearing, 

and the individual needs paratransit service to attend the hearing, the [transit agency] 

must provide it.”

315 

The decision on an appeal must be made by a person or panel of people uninvolved 

with the initial decision to suspend service. The DOT ADA regulation requires a 

separation of authority between those making the initial determination to suspend 

service and those making the decision on an appeal. For example, neither a 

subordinate nor a supervisor of the person who made the initial decision should hear 

appeals.316
137

Written notification of the result must be provided, with detailed, specific reasons 

stated.317

No-Strand Policies

Many transit agencies have a no-strand policy stating that if the ADA paratransit system 

takes a rider to a destination, the rider will not be left stranded there, even if the rider 

no-shows for the scheduled return ride. It is a good practice to establish and implement 

such a policy. Return service is provided as soon as possible, but without a guaranteed 

on-time window.318

Late Cancellations

As the 2005 NCD report explained,319 some transit agencies have defined a category of 

late cancellations that can contribute to a rider’s no-show suspension. Some have even 

extended the definition of a late cancellation to be any time after 5:00 p.m. the previous 

day, or earlier. One transit agency required riders to cancel at least 24 hours in advance 

or be penalized.

The FTA has found repeatedly in ADA compliance reviews and letters of finding that 

such penalties may only be used if the late cancellation is the functional equivalent of a

no-show. The FTA findings state that the DOT ADA regulation permits service 

suspension only for rider no-shows and not for late cancellations. They explain that in 

order to count toward a no-show suspension, the effects of a late cancellation must be 

operationally equivalent to a no-show in terms of the negative impact on service. The 

FTA does not consider cancellations after the close of business on the day before the 

service day, or even several hours ahead of the pickup time, to be the functional 

equivalent of a customer no-show.320

The FTA has found it acceptable to consider a late cancellation as one made less than 

one to two hours before the scheduled trip. For example, the FTA suggested that “a ... 
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reasonable threshold might be two hours before the scheduled pickup time.”

321 Some 

transit agencies use a one-hour cancellation policy; they do not consider a cancellation 

late until after one hour before the trip, which is also a good practice.322

Extending the definition of a late cancellation much longer than two hours before the 

scheduled pickup—for example, to several hours ahead of the pickup—does not appear 

to satisfy the FTA threshold that a late cancellation that penalizes the rider must be the 

functional equivalent of a no-show. For example, the FTA Office of Civil Rights 

challenged transit agency penalties for cancellations of ADA paratransit trips in Tulsa, 

Oklahoma. The issue involved Tulsa Transit, which published the following definitions in 

connection with its Lift program, the paratransit service operated under the ADA, as 

quoted in Transit Access Report in 2013:

Same-Day Cancellations: Trips that are canceled between 4:30 p.m. the 

day prior to the trip and up to two (2) hours before the scheduled pickup 

time.

Late Cancellations: trips that are not canceled at least two (2) hours 

before the scheduled pickup time.323

Tulsa Transit published the following penalty scheme:

For every three (3) Same-Day Cancellations, a rider will be charged one 

(1) No-Show. Customers will be charged one (1) No-Show for every Late 

Cancellation (including cancellations at the door).324

Although the penalties are reduced for cancellations more than two hours before the 

scheduled pickup, the Office of Civil Rights did not find any penalties acceptable that far 

ahead. However, the OCR did not object to penalties for avoidable cancellations within 

two hours of the scheduled pickup. 

An FTA letter to Tulsa Transit stated,
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The [Department of Transportation] ADA regulations do not expressly 

permit any penalty for late cancellations. ... As an allowance to the 

industry, however, FTA has permitted transit agencies to count late 

cancellations in the same manner as a no-show but only when the late 

cancellations have the same effect on the system as a no-show. .... Tulsa 

Transit’s policy of penalizing riders who cancel scheduled trips after 

4:30 p.m. the day prior to the trip is not consistent with our expectation.

In most cases, a transit provider should be able to absorb the capacity of a 

trip canceled one or two hours before the scheduled pickup. An hour or 

two is typically sufficient notice for a transit provider to redirect the vehicle 

without any negative operational consequences.325

The Role of Riders in Reducing No-Shows

Reducing no-shows in ADA paratransit requires action by riders as well as transit 

agencies.326

● When calling to book a trip, confirm the beginning and end of the pickup 

window and the amount of time the vehicle will wait. 

● Call to cancel, as soon as possible, if you will not be taking a scheduled trip.

● Be ready for vehicles during the full on-time pickup window.

● Provide detailed pickup instructions (e.g., side or rear door) for large facilities, 

for pickup locations that may be difficult for drivers to find, and for locations 

where a needed pickup is not at the main entrance.

● Provide all telephone numbers, including at each destination, and confirm that 

they have been correctly recorded by the reservation agent.

● Subscription riders should call to inform the transit agency of any changes in 

plans, such as a vacation or other absence. Telling a driver is not sufficient.
140

Using Taxis in ADA Paratransit Service

In many cities, so-called nondedicated vehicles, usually contracted taxis, are used in 

ADA paratransit service. While taxis on contract can have many benefits in ADA 

paratransit—including cost-efficiency, rapid deployment, and the ability to make sameday changes—certain problems are associated with taxi use. The vehicles, their drivers, 

and the service they provide can be difficult to monitor. It may be more difficult to 

implement uniform, rigorous driver training. Other facets of service that are standard 

with dedicated ADA paratransit vehicle fleets and their drivers (such as drug and alcohol 

checks and vehicle maintenance) may be difficult to do in contracted taxi service. 

Service quality problems can result.

Contracting with taxis to supplement a dedicated vehicle fleet in ADA paratransit works 

best if the taxis are equipped with technology that allows the ADA paratransit service 

provider to monitor their location and communicate directly with them, rather than 

relying on the taxi company dispatch. Also, the transit agency should use a taxi 

company that employs the drivers rather than companies whose drivers are 

independent operators who lease their cabs from the company. If drivers are 

independent, the taxi company has little control over them, so contractual provisions 

with the taxi company would not yield much control over the drivers. With these controls 

in place, the use of taxis in ADA paratransit can provide all the benefits associated with 

nondedicated vehicles while significantly reducing the disadvantages.327

Equal Respect for ADA Paratransit

Victor Burke, former Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Dallas 

Area Rapid Transit (DART), described in 2007 how he and his colleagues effected 

changes within DART and with the American Public Transportation Association to raise 

the level of respect for paratransit:

Paratransit at DART is on an equal footing with every other mode we 

have. That’s not how it used to be. When I first came to DART, paratransit 
141

was a section, not a division, under Operations. They didn’t have much 

status within the organization. It was called HandiRide. What does that 

even mean? We made it a self-sustaining, self-supporting department 

called Paratransit Services, headed up by a vice president, not just a 

manager. After all the shock and disbelief that caused, people started to 

say, wow, they really mean business. We found that all eyes were on it. It 

changed people’s perspective. We feel that every dime we spend on it is a 

worthy cause. People sometimes don’t want to change. But now, if you 

look at everything that comes out of DART, you see that paratransit 

vehicle somewhere! Now it’s a natural thing for us. 

And if you look at any APTA [American Public Transportation Association] 

correspondence, there is the vice chair of bus and paratransit! You see 

national recognition of paratransit as a full mode. It is the fashionable thing 

to do! Don’t make it a hiccup when you say paratransit; it’s a viable mode 

just like any other mode. And it’s the “Bus and Paratransit Conference.” 

People don’t give it any thought anymore—it’s become natural.328

Feeder Service

Some transit agencies have implemented feeder service as part of their ADA paratransit 

service. In some cases, it is provided at the request of a rider; in other cases, it is the 

only form of ADA paratransit service the agency makes available to particular riders for 

particular trips. 

Paratransit-to-fixed-route feeder services can facilitate greater use of mainline public 

transit. Riders who are not able to get to fixed-route transit stops or stations can be 

given rides to nearby stops to enable them to complete trips on the fixed-route system. 

However, feeder service can be very problematic for riders without thorough planning. 

National research suggests that feeder service typically applies to less than 5 percent of 

all paratransit rides and is often only 1 percent to 2 percent of all rides.329 Significant 

cost savings typically do not result from the implementation of feeder service, but it can 

be cost-effective for the longest trips in the system.

The following are important considerations if feeder service is used in ADA paratransit 

as an alternative to direct origin-to-destination service:330
142

● Feeder service is an operational choice that transit agencies may consider for 

specific trips. Feeder service is not a type of eligibility. Applicants for ADA 

paratransit eligibility should not be determined “feeder-only” eligible. This 

would mean that the only service options provided to these riders would be 

complementary paratransit feeder service at both ends of a fixed-route transit 

trip. This is operationally infeasible and would result in unreasonable total 

travel times for many trips.

● A good practice is for transit agencies to evaluate individual riders and trip 

requests to determine whether feeder service is appropriate. Important 

considerations in evaluating riders and trips include the following:

○ Functional abilities of the rider: Riders must have the functional ability 

to independently complete the fixed-route portion of the trip, including 

transfers. (Also see Transfers Must Be Attended When Needed by Rider 

above.)

○ The total length of the trip: Providing feeder service for short trips can 

result in total travel times that would become a capacity constraint. Feeder 

trips are typically not considered for trips shorter than five to seven miles.

○ Proximity of the fixed-route alighting stop to the destination: To avoid

having to provide complementary paratransit connections at both ends, 

one end of the trip should be near the fixed-route stop and accessible for 

riders. Typically, feeder service is only arranged if riders are able to get to 

the fixed-route service independently at one end (commonly the 

destination). Because it is so operationally difficult, “double feeder” is 

typically unrealistic except for very long trips, such as those over 15 to 

20 miles.

○ The headways of the fixed-route transit service: Attempting feeder 

service to a route that runs infrequently could become a problem if the 

connection is not made on time.
143

○ Fares: Charging fares for both the paratransit and the fixed-route portions 

of trips will make feeder an unattractive option for riders. Since paratransit 

is really being provided to enable use of fixed-route transit, it is 

recommended that the paratransit fare be waived and a fare collected only 

for the fixed-route portion of the trip. In Pittsburgh, where feeder service is 

used and only the fixed-route transit fare is charged, the service has come 

to be known as the “free van to the bus service.” 

○ Amenities at the transfer point: If riders might have to wait at the stop, it 

might be important that the stop have a bench or shelter. Access to a 

telephone (or staff who can make a call) could also be important if there is 

a connection issue and the rider needs to contact the complementary 

paratransit dispatch center.

○ Special scheduling of feeder trips: To avoid excessively long travel 

times, a good practice is to consider shorter on-time windows for feeder 

trips. For example, the drop-off window might be shortened to 5 or 

10 minutes rather than 30 minutes, so riders do not have long wait times 

at stops for connection to the fixed-route transit service. In some transit 

agencies, schedulers manually adjust the schedules for feeder trips to 

shorten the connections.

○ Guaranteed ride: A good practice is to provide a direct trip as a backup 

when connections are missed.

○ Total travel time: The total travel time for the trip should be considered 

before feeder service is used as an alternative to direct origin-todestination service. The total travel time for both the feeder and fixedroute transit portions of the trip should be comparable to the travel time for 

the same trip made without feeder on the fixed-route system.331
144

Must a Transit Agency Send a Specific Type of Vehicle? 

Other than in the obvious case that an ADA paratransit program must send a 

wheelchair-accessible vehicle for a person who uses a wheelchair or similar mobility 

device, the Federal Transit Administration has, on a number of occasions, declined to 

require transit agencies to send the type of vehicle a rider requests.332

However, an FTA letter of finding from August 2008 that did not require this as a 

reasonable modification of policy (due to an FTA ruling that it was a fundamental 

alteration) also stated, “If some vehicles in [the transit agency’s] fleet were not 

accessible, it would be more feasible to accommodate your request for a specific type of 

vehicle, since having inaccessible vehicles would require a reservation system that 

allowed certain types of vehicles to be designated for certain classes of passengers.”

333 

In other words, a system with both accessible and nonaccessible vehicles must already

send only wheelchair-accessible vehicles to pick up wheelchair users and thus must have 

the operational capacity to designate which type of vehicle is assigned to pick up which 

rider. This appears to suggest that it is not always necessarily assumed by the FTA to be 

a fundamental alteration, depending on the specific system and its configuration.

Some ADA disability advocates have argued that an ADA paratransit provider must 

send a specific type of vehicle (assuming that doing so is not a fundamental alteration of 

the service) if the person with a disability requires it rather than just preferring it.334

Transitions Between Contractors and Service Models

When transit agencies make major changes in ADA paratransit service—such as 

shifting from one service model to another or from one private contractor to another—

service disruptions can be very significant and can persist. For example, Dallas Area 

Rapid Transit, long known for dedication and success at improving its ADA paratransit 

service and candor about acknowledging problems, changed both its contractor and its 
145

service model on October 1, 2012, and experienced significant, persistent disruptions. 

As the Dallas Morning News reported on November 17, 2012,

Complaints about Dallas Area Rapid Transit’s recently revamped 

paratransit service remain as loud as ever, weeks after the agency 

acknowledged [that its ADA paratransit service] wasn’t up to par.

And while DART officials are confident they’re finally on the road to solving 

things, many passengers who attended a DART paratransit meeting 

Saturday in Dallas expressed frustration that the kinds of problems 

plaguing the operation are largely unchanged.

Rides aren’t on time or don’t show up. Vehicles aren’t always the best fit for 

the riders using them. And there are long waits on the phone lines, which 

get only longer if rides are delayed or if the vehicles are unsuitable. ...

DART officials have been open in apologizing and acknowledging the 

agency’s missteps ever since its new paratransit contractor, Dallas-based 

MV Transportation, took over the service Oct. 1 from Veolia 

Transportation.

...

“We’re still dealing with the fallout from what didn’t go right on Oct. 1,” 

Doug Douglas, DART’s vice president of mobility management, said in an 

interview before Saturday’s meeting.

The paratransit service’s on-time performance rate for the week starting 

Nov. 5 was 79 percent. That’s an improvement from the 73 percent ontime rate during the disastrous first week of service in October, but it’s well 

below the goal of having 95 percent of rides on time.

Phone calls on the reservation line during the week of Nov. 5 were 

answered within 3 minutes about 94 percent of the time and within 

5 minutes 98 percent of the time. But on the “where’s my ride?” line, the 

3-minute threshold was met only 64 percent of the time and the 5-minute 

barrier, 80 percent.

But DART and MV Transportation officials said they’ve finally made some 

breakthroughs on the 2,700 rides provided each day.

...
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[Hiring back more of the local management team from the prior contractor, 

Veolia] helped boost on-time performance last week to nearly 90 percent, 

even though delays on the phone lines remained a mixed bag. ... DART 

officials said the steady performance gave them hope that service would 

be top notch by the end of the year.

Parents Traveling with Children

Parents traveling with children on ADA paratransit face a number of persistent 

challenges. Richard Weiner, principal at Nelson\Nygaard Consulting Associates, has 

been involved in two major projects on the subject—one for the National Institute on 

Disability and Rehabilitation Research with the organization Through the Looking Glass, 

and the other setting up a pilot project with Access Services, the ADA paratransit 

provider in Los Angeles County. Weiner described these challenges:335

1. Policies limiting the number of companions for people who have more than 

one child. While there is usually space, that cannot be relied upon. 

It should be noted that the DOT ADA regulation requires that not only must 

one companion be allowed to ride with the eligible rider, as well as a 

personal attendant if one is needed (who is not counted as the one 

companion), transit agencies must also carry the additional companions of 

an eligible rider if space is available.336

2. ADA paratransit policies requiring a certain time gap between trip requests; 

for example, that two trips may not be requested less than 45 minutes 

apart. The purpose of such policies is to allow time to meet the on-time 

performance requirements of the ADA, but parents taking what are known 

as chain trips—for example, dropping a child off at school and then going to 

work—often cannot wait the needed time to get another pickup.

3. The cost of multiple fares. If traveling with more than one child, the fares 

can become prohibitively expensive.
147

4. Finding vendors willing to provide this service. Weiner says agencies have 

encountered vendor reluctance to try something new.

5. The fact that parents often need to sit in close proximity to their children, 

which may be difficult to guarantee on ADA paratransit. 

6. Driver assistance with car seats and packages. Riders without manual 

dexterity are dependent on the driver to carry the car seat for them and to 

secure it. In addition, the parent may be unable to carry the car seat to the 

destination.

The ADA already addresses at least one of these problems: difficulties related to car 

seats. A 2003 Federal Transit Administration letter of finding to the Maryland Transit 

Administration (MTA) analyzed the question, “What level of assistance, if any, is 

required of MTA operators when an eligible paratransit rider, riding with her child as her 

companion, needs assistance to properly secure the child safety seat that is required by 

Maryland State law?” The rider in question has cerebral palsy, uses a wheelchair, and 

had ridden the Baltimore MTA paratransit system between 1994 and 1999 using a child 

stroller connected to her wheelchair, with a child in a car seat in the stroller. The FTA 

letter of finding explored some state law issues and concluded that, based on several 

ADA protections, the driver must help secure the child safety seat, including handling 

the child if necessary. The letter also stated that this requirement is present 

notwithstanding any previous or existing contractual provisions or policies by MTA, 

because MTA may not agree to do something contrary “to the force and effect of the 

Federal law.”

337 In some cities, local nonprofits will help transit agencies obtain car 

seats, perhaps putting one in every van. 

At the Alameda County Mobility Workshop at the Ed Roberts Campus in Berkeley, 

California, in 2012, Karen Hoesch, a guest speaker and Executive Director of ACCESS 

Transportation in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, described what could be considered best 

practices on the car seat issue. She stated that her program has established a car seat 

loaner project through the children’s hospital and the county health department, which 
148

have lending libraries of car seats. She addressed concerns from transit agencies about 

liability and about the logistics of car seats. Regarding liability, she stated that the way 

to deal with potential liability is to have sound policies and stick to them. Her program 

has never experienced assistance by drivers as a liability issue; most liability problems 

are from trips and falls on van steps. She also said that a transit agency might be 

opening itself up to greater liability by leaving the person on the sidewalk. Regarding the 

logistics of parents leaving their own car seats on the vehicle, she stated that on the 

community circulator vehicles in her program, car seats are permanently installed. While 

they are not perfectly suited to every child, they meet the requirements of Pennsylvania 

law. She added that ACCESS does not have many parents traveling with children on 

ADA paratransit, so if a rider brings a car seat, he or she is allowed to leave it on the 

vehicle and ACCESS makes sure that the same vehicle picks the rider up later that 

day.338

Weiner sees a need for premium service (service that goes beyond the minimum 

requirements of the ADA) that allows same-day changes without trip-purpose 

restrictions for child-related emergencies, such as when a child becomes ill. Even 

flexible taxi service may have insufficiently trained staff to provide this kind of service. A 

premium service could be established with longer driver wait times for dropping off 

children and special training for reservationists, dispatchers, and drivers.

Passengers with Dementia

The 2005 NCD report addressed some of the ADA paratransit issues faced by 

passengers with dementia and their families.339 Today, NCD can present a fuller picture 

of best practices in this area.

During the eligibility determination process, transit agencies should identify riders who 

cannot be left unattended, clarifying this with the applicant, caregiver, or guardian. If it is 

agreed that the rider needs to be met at destinations, the system should make the limits 

of the service clear to the guardian or caregiver. The caregiver needs to know that 
149

drivers will not leave a rider at a destination unattended, but if no one is there to meet 

the rider, he or she might be taken to a safe location or kept on the vehicle until 

someone is contacted (or some other solution that the stakeholders agree on). The 

system should make sure that information such as “should not be left unattended” is in 

the notes on the driver manifest. 

If problems arise—such as a person having to be kept on the vehicle or taken to a safe 

location—the situation should be documented and discussed with the caregiver or 

guardian. If the problem continues, the caregiver or guardian should be made aware 

that, if a solution cannot be developed, the system may need to either refuse service or 

condition service on the person being accompanied, which is a better practice. If the 

problem continues, service can be conditioned or refused. Again, the best solution 

would be to condition service on the rider being accompanied, rather than refusing 

service.340

Chapter 3 recommendations are listed at the end of the report.
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CHAPTER 4. Enforcement

Chapter Overview

Federal civil rights requirements governing transportation for people with disabilities are 

enforced in a variety of ways by a number of different agencies. The effectiveness of 

enforcement efforts varies greatly, judging by the level of agency activities and the 

thoroughness of those activities, by government reviews of those efforts, and by the 

views of spokespersons from the disability community. The effectiveness of 

enforcement appears to range from very effective on some matters to completely 

ineffective on others.

The reason so many agencies are involved is that some types of public transportation 

are provided by government entities, such as transit agencies, for which enforcement is 

generally provided by the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), while other types 

are provided by private entities, such as taxicabs and tour companies, for which 

enforcement is generally provided by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ). However, 

one agency within DOT has enforcement authority over certain private providers, and 

DOJ engages in enforcement activities of public transit agencies.

Within DOT, several “modal administrations” or “modes” have civil rights enforcement 

authority over various types of transportation providers. Activities by transit agencies—

including buses, ADA paratransit, and passenger trains other than Amtrak—are 

enforced by the Federal Transit Administration (FTA). Amtrak’s activities are enforced 

by the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA). Requirements related to public rights-ofway are enforced by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). Another DOT modal 

administration, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), has 

enforcement authority over private transportation providers that use over-the-road 

buses, because it licenses interstate bus carriers and interstate trucking companies. 
152

FMCSA administers this authority in coordination with the Department of Justice. All 

these agencies are discussed in this chapter.

DOJ enforces privately funded transit, including intercity bus carriers such as 

Greyhound and other over-the-road bus service providers, as well as taxicabs and 

airport shuttles, including those provided by hotels. DOJ also engages in some 

enforcement activities over publicly funded transit agencies, because a provision in the 

2010 changes to the DOJ ADA regulation allowed DOJ to retain and investigate 

individual complaints filed by members of the public, rather than sending them to other 

federal agencies.

Partly due to the variety of enforcing agencies and partly because information about 

how to obtain action by enforcers is not widely understood, people with disabilities in 

communities across the country often do not know where to turn to deal with 

noncompliant or discriminatory transportation conditions. Sometimes well-meaning staff 

at transportation providers want to do the right thing but do not know where to turn, or 

they encounter obstacles to making their agencies comply with the law. As Tracee 

Garner, outreach coordinator of the Loudoun (Virginia) ENDependence Center stated,

I think that a lot of groups don’t even know what the rules are, so they 

can’t follow them. I can’t prove this, but I think someone at one of the 

agencies in Loudoun was let go because they were trying to follow the 

ADA and get help from a nonprofit that knows a lot about following the 

letter of the law for transportation. They were in touch with someone at 

that nonprofit, and the next week they were gone. The person was trying 

to find out, “Well, what’s the rule? What are we supposed to do?” and the 

next week they were back to being a bus driver, whereas before, they had 

been in the office working on accessibility. And that happened to one 

person before this person. They don’t fire you, because that would be 

against the law, but they just move you to another position. Then they get 

a new person who is green and just goes along. Then that person tries to 

implement change and the same thing happens. There is no policing. 

There is no enforcement. I think they don’t know what the law is and I 

think it’s hard to follow the law when you don’t know what it is.341
153

People in the disability community face other obstacles on the road to effective 

enforcement. As Jan Campbell, Chair of the Committee on Accessible Transportation 

for TriMet in the Portland, Oregon, region pointed out, 

For the ADA, enforcement is really difficult. I don’t think the requirements 

are being enforced. It takes somebody very, very, very, very smart to 

prevail with a complaint. If you’re a person with a disability, and you have 

a grievance and want to work it internally, there is so much to take into 

account. We just got [our transit agency] recently on poundage. [It] was 

saying that anyone with a combined weight of 800 pounds couldn’t use the 

lift. I went to a conference and learned that isn’t correct. I wouldn’t have 

known if I hadn’t gone to the conference. For a regular rider, it’s very 

difficult to know your rights and all the rules. If you go to the agency, they 

just say, “Oh, no, we’re in compliance.” It’s very hard to beat the larger 

systems and make the changes.342

Information regarding enforcement related to public rights-of-way under the Federal 

Highway Administration can be found in chapter 10 (Public Rights-of-Way). Information 

regarding enforcement related to Amtrak under the Federal Railroad Administration can 

be found in chapter 2 (Rail Transit). The disability community has experienced 

considerable gaps and frustrations with these areas of enforcement.

DOT Guidance

On September 1, 2005, DOT released four new documents providing guidance on 

interpreting the DOT ADA regulation. Key among them are “Origin-to-Destination 

Service” and “Paratransit Requirements for §5311-Funded Fixed-Route Service 

Operated by Private Entities.”

343 This guidance explains DOT’s interpretation of the 

regulation and signals the Department’s enforcement posture. (For more on the originto-destination service guidance, see chapter 3 on ADA Paratransit.)

Not long after the guidance was released, an FTA official said that the administration 

would enforce it, including guidance related to federal paratransit rules. According to 

Transit Access Report, 
154

The official, Cheryl L. Hershey, said in a conference call for transit 

providers and other listeners on November 9, 2005, that the new guidance 

would be applied in compliance reviews and complaint investigations. ...

[The guidance was] said to have come down from the Office of the 

Secretary of Transportation. Hershey referred to the material in the 

documents as “formal guidance.” ...

Hershey stated, “The Secretary’s office, through the Disability Law 

Coordinating Council, has put these out as formal guidance. That formal 

guidance is an interpretation of what [U.S. DOT’s legally binding] 

regulations mean. As a result, when we, the agency, go out to visit you on 

a compliance review, or when we do a complaint investigation, what 

standard are we going to apply? We’re going to apply what the Secretary’s 

office tells us those regulations ... mean.”

344

ADA Compliance Reviews (FTA) 

As reflected in the 2005 NCD report, the FTA Office of Civil Rights began to conduct 

ADA compliance reviews in 1998 (they were sometimes referred to as “assessments” 

during the earlier years). The FTA conducted approximately six per year; after each 

one, the FTA required quarterly monitoring of transit agency progress in correcting 

deficiencies.345 The FTA still conducts compliance reviews, and most are posted on the 

FTA ADA website, with one list for fixed-route operations and one for ADA paratransit. 

The final reports can be found at http://www.fta.dot.gov/civilrights/12875_3899.html, or 

go to http://www.fta.dot.gov/ada and select ADA Compliance/ADA Compliance Review 

Final Reports.346 

This commendable program has led to positive results, and the 2005 NCD report gave 

examples of local disability community spokespeople describing improvements, 

sometimes significant ones, in the wake of the reviews. Many of the reviewed agencies 

have implemented service improvements since their reviews.347 

Until the past few years, the FTA ADA website that posts new compliance reviews 

showed relatively consistent progress, but that has changed. The most recently posted 

ADA paratransit review for several years (until approximately February 2014) was 
155

conducted in South Bend, Indiana. The final report was dated April 2011, showing a gap 

of several years. Before that, the last posted ADA paratransit review was for San Diego, 

California, with a final report date of June 2009. For fixed-route system reviews, the 

latest posted as of February 2014, from Los Angeles, California, shows a final review 

date of September 2010.348

2012 GAO Report Addressed FTA ADA Compliance Reviews

The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) recommended the posting of 

compliance reviews by the FTA Office of Civil Rights. In 2012, the GAO conducted a 

review of ADA paratransit services and FTA compliance review of these services. The 

title of the November 15, 2012, GAO report was Demand Has Increased, but Little Is 

Known About Compliance.

349

Among the GAO findings and conclusions:

Little is known about the extent of transit agencies’ compliance with the 

Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) paratransit service requirements. ... 

According to FTA officials, all finalized ADA paratransit compliance review 

reports are to be available on FTA’s website, but GAO identified nine final 

review reports—conducted from 2004 to 2010—that have not been posted 

to FTA’s website.

The Secretary of Transportation should direct the FTA Administrator to 

(1) document and make publicly available a formal approach for selecting 

transit agencies for ADA paratransit compliance reviews, (2) post the 

backlog of ADA’s compliance-review final reports and establish a process 

for the timely posting of future reports, and (3) provide guidance to transit 

agencies on how to accurately complete existing ADA paratransit data 

fields in the NTD [National Transit Database]. The Department of 

Transportation neither agreed nor disagreed with the recommendations 

and provided clarifying comments, which GAO incorporated.

The GAO report confirmed the importance of FTA ADA compliance reviews. For 

example, the GAO researchers report being told by transit agencies and industry groups 
156

“that they look to these compliance reviews as a form of guidance on FTA’s 

interpretation of ADA requirements.” Transit Access Report added:

Yet literally years are known to pass before many of the reviews are 

publicly posted. The report said that as of Sept. 5, 2012, nine final ADA 

compliance review reports had not been put up on the Web site. ... The 

researchers said they analyzed 15 final reports from January 2005 

through April 2011 and found that all of them “had findings of 

noncompliance or recommendations related to ADA paratransit service.” 

... With regard to posting the final reports, GAO said FTA officials 

acknowledged that the lag in making them available “is a problem area 

that they are actively working to address.”

350

A few months later, the FTA responded to the GAO report and made this point:

GAO Recommendation 2: “Post the backlog of ADA compliance review 

final reports on ADA’s website and establish processes for the timely 

posting of future compliance review reports.” 

DOT/FTA Response: “Concur. FTA has a long-established process of 

making ADA compliance reviews available on its website. The vast 

majority of these reviews have been posed in a timely manner; however, a 

small number of reports include material provided by the transit agency 

that cannot readily be made Section 508 compliant. As a result, a small 

number of reviews have not been posted while FTA evaluated whether 

there is a potential technical solution for making these few reports 

508 compliant. FTA intends to make these reports available, to the 

maximum extent practicable, by Oct. 31, 2013. FTA will emphasize to 

transit agencies the importance of providing Section 508 compliant 

materials when responding to ADA Compliance Reviews.” 

Transit Access Report commented,

“Section 508” is an amendment to the Rehabilitation Act requiring federal 

agencies to make electronic information accessible to users with 

disabilities. ...

The GAO report observed that the FTA Office of Civil Rights, which 

conducts the ADA paratransit compliance reviews, has not posted any 

final reports of compliance reviews recently. The reports traditionally have 

been posted in Microsoft Word, an inherently [largely] accessible format.
157

The compliance reviews do not ordinarily include images. Nor has the civil 

rights office historically included material provided by transit agencies in 

the versions made available online. The reports—in Word, minus 

appendices—have nonetheless been posted.351

While disability advocates agreed with this recommendation, they were also concerned 

about the content of the compliance reviews. They believe it is important that the FTA 

not relax the rigor and thoroughness that has characterized this enforcement program in 

past years. For example, Richard Devylder, former senior advisor for accessible 

transportation for U.S. DOT, known for bringing together the concerns of the disability 

community and representing them at DOT, echoed a concern about whether the slower 

posting of compliance reviews reflected a weaker enforcement posture by the FTA. He 

stated, “FTA should maintain and strengthen its oversight efforts, not cut them back.” 

Other disability advocates expressed similar concerns, including Christopher S. Hart, 

U.S. Access Board public member and former director of urban and transit projects, 

Institute for Human Centered Design, and Cliff Perez, systems advocate for the 

Independent Living Center of the Hudson Valley and chair of the National Council on 

Independent Living Transportation Committee.352

However, some observers in the disability community did not agree with another GAO 

recommendation, that the FTA should develop a formal approach for selecting transit 

agencies for FTA ADA compliance reviews, particularly given limited FTA resources in 

civil rights oversight. The Office of Civil Rights already likely knows what the hotspots 

are and has a fairly accurate list of systems in need of review. If FTA OCR staff receive 

a number of complaints out of City X, City X goes on the list. Moreover, these disability 

community observers believe there should be respect for the FTA’s expertise regarding 

where oversight funds should be spent.353
158

The FTA Resumed Posting ADA Compliance Reviews, Some with New 

Format and Content

In March 2014, marking a significant change, additional ADA compliance reviews began 

to appear on the FTA website, reflecting reviews completed in 2011 and 2012 in 

11 cities.354 Additional reviews have been posted since then.355 The 2014 postings, 

covering reviews completed in 2011 and 2012, likely addressed the backlog noted by 

GAO.

The additional posted reviews have allowed interested outside parties to see the 

changes the FTA has made in the compliance review program, at least to the extent 

that these changes appear in the posted final reports. For example, according to Toby 

Olson, executive secretary of the Washington State Governor’s Committee on Disability 

Issues and Employment, the latest two ADA paratransit compliance reviews posted as 

of August 12, 2014—one conducted in Columbia, South Carolina (Central Midlands 

Regional Transit Authority, or CMRTA),356 and one conducted in Minneapolis and St. 

Paul, Minnesota (Metropolitan Council, or Met Council)357—showed a major change in 

format as well as content. Olson lamented that the concerns of advocates may be 

justified, in that the FTA’s earlier level of rigor and thoroughness of analysis did not 

appear in the newest reviews. He regarded this as a setback in the form of a weaker 

enforcement posture by the FTA. Olson added that these issues had been brought to 

the attention of the FTA.358

One difference in content that Olson observed was the lack of FTA contact with the 

disability community. Previous compliance reviews always had sections summarizing 

those contacts and including what the FTA heard from the disability community in each 

subject area. 

Olson reported that another significant difference is that the new format is lighter on 

background information, data, and analysis on the part of the reviewers. He said that 

previous compliance review reports were very helpful in identifying transit agency 
159

operational practices in detail and that some of the benefits of the older, in-depth 

reviews appear to be lost in the new approach.359 

As one example, he pointed to section 5.8 in the South Carolina review regarding 

Reasonable Policies for Proposed Service Suspensions for Missing Scheduled Trips 

and the Right to Appeal360 (i.e., ADA paratransit no-shows). The final paragraphs stated 

that reviewers examined nine no-shows, and two were found not to have enough 

documentation to be coded as no-shows. Yet, no background was provided regarding 

how reviewers reached this determination. Did drivers not call ADA paratransit dispatch 

to obtain authorization and simply marked riders as no-shows? Or did drivers arrive too 

early or too late, or not wait the full five minutes that policy generally requires? Or did 

dispatchers receive calls from drivers but not adequately check to make sure that the 

vehicles were at the right location at the right time? Perhaps most important, what were 

the reviewers’ firsthand observations about what dispatchers were doing? All such 

information, generally available in previous compliance review final reports, has been 

absent in the new format; at least, so far. In the past, such background has been a key 

to determining exactly where deficiencies lie and ensuring that these problems are 

corrected before the FTA closes out its findings with the transit agency.361

Olson concluded that the FTA should return to its time-honored earlier approach, in 

which reviewers’ detailed observations and in-depth analysis of transit agencies’ ADA 

operations were reflected in the final reports, providing transparency and serving as a 

model for other transit agencies that wish to learn how to change their own operational 

practices. Olson also thought the FTA would have stronger grounds with its previous 

approach to compliance reviews for ensuring that transit agencies are truly making 

operational changes before reviews are closed. 

Finally, after lauding how the FTA ADA compliance review program has, over time, 

developed the state of the art in public transportation for people with disabilities, Olson 

questioned how, using the new approach, FTA findings can continue to add to the store 

of knowledge without including detailed operational data and in-depth analysis about 

how to make specific changes at the local level. He expressed the hope that the FTA 
160

has that background data and analysis somewhere but said it is unfortunate that the 

new compliance reviews do not share it with the public.362 

Administrative Complaints (FTA)

The Federal Transit Administration Office of Civil Rights has conducted an active 

program of investigating administrative complaints submitted by people with disabilities 

who believe they have encountered noncompliant or discriminatory conditions in public 

transit. FTA letters of finding, issued in response to these complaints, are quoted 

throughout this report. 

Individuals may file ADA administrative complaints with the FTA Office of Civil Rights.363

As always with filing complaints, as much specific information as possible should be 

provided.

The FTA website contains many of the letters of finding—those from 2005 through 

2012—by subject.364 The Transit Cooperative Research Program gathered many of the 

earlier letters of finding in TCRP Legal Research Digest 23. In the TCRP compendium, 

the letters are listed by subject, by federal region, and alphabetically by the name of the 

transit agency.365

The FTA has clarified that its enforcement priority in administrative complaints is 

overarching systemic issues rather than isolated service problems. In an Easter Seals 

Project ACTION program, FTA spokespersons stated,

Our enforcement priority is on repeated and not one-time isolated 

breakdowns. For late pickups, for example, section 37.131 of the [DOT 

ADA] regulations prohibit transit agencies from limiting paratransit service 

to customers through a pattern or practice, or a substantial number, of 

untimely pickups. We frequently get complaints of one or two late pickups, 

and unfortunately we can’t act on them. While these situations can cause 

considerable inconvenience, they wouldn’t rise to the level of a pattern or 

practice. So we recommend to riders contemplating filing a complaint that 

they maintain a log of trip requests for at least 30 days—more if they ride 

the service infrequently—that records the dates and times for the 
161

requested and actual pickup times. An investigator would need these 

details to determine whether they were experiencing a pattern or practice 

of untimely pickups. We would want similar logs of allegations pertaining 

to lengthy trips, trip denials, et cetera. For any complaint, documentation 

and details are key.366 

In addition to FTA oversight and enforcement efforts over public transit, via compliance 

reviews and administrative complaints, the Department of Justice has conducted 

enforcement actions related to privately funded transit. (See the section below on DOJ 

Independent Transportation Enforcement.)

Triennial Reviews, State Management Reviews, Key Station Reviews 

(FTA)

In a 2013 interview, John Day, ADA team leader and Senior Equal Opportunity 

Specialist, and Dawn Sweet, Equal Opportunity Specialist, both of the Federal Transit 

Administration Office of Civil Rights, described additional types of ADA oversight 

activities by the FTA. 

What about triennial reviews, the reviews the FTA performs of every 

transit agency every three years?

To an increasing degree over the past several years, the Office 

of Program Management (which does the triennial reviews and 

the state management reviews) and the Office of Civil Rights have 

coordinated in capturing ADA information in the triennial reviews. We’ve 

got over 500 grantees, and they’re all assessed every three years. 

It’s potentially a way to get a better idea of what all the systems are doing.

What are state management reviews? 

They are like the triennial reviews, except they review state departments 

of transportation rather than transit agencies.

Is the FTA Office of Civil Rights still reviewing key stations and other 

rail stations?
162

That’s ongoing. We review key stations, we review new stations, and we 

review stations that have been improved or altered, because all of those 

are required to be accessible under the ADA regulations. In the case of 

key stations, there are still a few that have deadlines that haven’t expired 

yet. It’s mostly, ”Have they done the work correctly?” If we’ve assessed it 

before and there were findings that they said they fixed, we’ll go back and 

say, “Okay, is it really fixed?” We’ll go in and make sure that it was built 

according to the ADA requirements that were in place at the time it was 

built, which changed in 2006 when DOT adopted the revised ADA 

Accessibility Guidelines. We’ll look for elements including the accessible 

route, the detectable warnings, the signage, and the fare machines. These 

reviews are not something that we’ve posted, but they’re public 

documents.367

There is ample evidence of increased FTA ADA oversight through triennial reviews. For 

example, in 2012, Transit Access Report addressed an ADA paratransit compliance 

problem by Capital Area Transit Authority (CATA) in Lansing, Michigan:

The Federal Transit Administration has advised a transit agency that 

“mandatory financial penalties” cannot be imposed on riders for missing 

ADA paratransit trips. At the same time, the FTA indicated it does not 

object to the use of “optional fines” as an alternative to suspension of the 

rider’s service.

The issue came up in the triennial review of Capital Area Transit Authority 

in Lansing, Michigan [in 2012]. CATA was gigged for fining violators of its 

policy on “no-shows.” ...

Monica McCallum, chief of the FTA Regional Operations Division, 

conveyed the position of the civil rights office to CATA in a letter ...

“FTA has consistently found mandatory financial penalties to be 

impermissible under the ADA,” McCallum wrote. “The U.S. Department of 

Transportation’s regulations only address a pattern or practice of customer 

no-shows in terms of a suspension of service. Transit agencies may not 

impose a mandatory punishment that is outside the framework of the 

regulations.” McCallum went on to say that some transit agencies “allow 

riders to pay a fine instead of being suspended,” indicating that FTA does 

not object to such a practice.368
163

In late 2013, the FTA addressed gaps in ADA compliance through triennial reviews of 

two other transit agencies:

● St. Louis Metro was advised to consider the frequency of a rider’s trips before 

issuing a no-show suspension, rather than using a strict numerical threshold. 

Metro was advised to provide better procedural protections to riders who are 

facing such suspensions. The final report on Metro’s triennial review stated 

that, by “March 2014, Metro must submit to the FTA regional civil rights officer 

a revised no-show policy to only suspend riders who have established a 

pattern or practice or missing scheduled trips. Metro must also submit 

evidence that their appeals process is consistent with 49 CFR 37.125(g). The 

process must substantiate how Metro ensures [that] no-shows that are not 

under the rider’s control are not counted against the rider.”

369

● The FTA focused attention on the Port Authority Transit Corporation (PATCO) 

regarding elevator and escalator maintenance on a rail transit line between 

Philadelphia and points in southern New Jersey (although no problems 

appeared to be mentioned for stations in New Jersey). The FTA also 

expressed concern about an “apparent lack of accommodation” through 

failure to offer shuttle service to passengers with disabilities who might 

otherwise become stranded by elevator outages. The FTA pointed out that 

§37.161(b) of the DOT ADA regulations requires “reasonable steps to 

accommodate individuals with disabilities” (by, for example, providing shuttle 

bus service) if an “accessibility feature” (such as an elevator or escalator) is 

out of service. The FTA required PATCO to make monthly reports, beginning 

in early 2014, on the availability of elevators and escalators at stations on the 

PATCO Speedline. The triennial report said that PATCO monthly reports 

should be submitted “until DRPA/PATCO achieves its goals of 97 percent and 

90 percent for its elevators and escalators, respectively, for three consecutive 

months.”

370
164

FTA ADA Circular

Another FTA activity is the release of portions of the proposed FTA ADA circular, a 

document for FTA grantees that explains transit agency responsibilities under the ADA. 

Approximately half of the chapters have become available for public comment at the 

time of this writing. The proposed circular, a recommended resource, integrates the 

requirements of the DOT ADA regulations, FTA enforcement findings, good operational 

practices, and new examples to explain the principles of the ADA transportation 

requirements.371

Over-the-Road Bus Enforcement by DOJ and FMCSA

Over-the-road buses are high-floor buses with baggage compartments underneath. 

They are used by a variety of carriers, usually private companies, particularly those 

providing intercity transit. Tour bus companies also use over-the-road buses.

For the past several years, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, a modal 

administration of the Department of Transportation, has conducted an active program of 

ADA enforcement efforts, taking action against many private over-the-road bus 

companies on the basis of ADA violations. FMCSA works closely with the Department 

of Justice Disability Rights Section, since DOJ has enforcement authority over private 

transportation under the ADA. Working jointly, FMCSA and DOJ have undertaken 

enforcement actions resulting in 12 settlement agreements and 10 letters of resolution 

regarding various companies, including these:

● Tornado Bus Company (2010) regarding vehicle access, employee training, 

and wheelchair lift maintenance.372

● Omnibus Express (Autobuses Ejecutivos) (2011) regarding vehicle access.373
165

● Jet Set Line (2012) regarding accessible service and operations, employee 

training, and failing to file required annual reports.374

● VIP Jet Tours Corp./Pegasus Transportation (2012) regarding accessible 

service and operations, employee training, and lift maintenance.375

DOJ Independent Enforcement Actions 

The DOJ Disability Rights Section has also conducted independent ADA transportation 

enforcement actions. This activity appears to have grown more robust in the wake of a 

change in the 2010 DOJ ADA regulation that allows DOJ to keep and investigate ADA 

complaints it receives, at its own discretion, rather than referring them to another 

designated federal agency. This new DOJ ADA provision states,

When the Department receives a complaint directed to the Attorney 

General alleging a violation of this part that may fall within the jurisdiction 

of a designated agency or another Federal agency that may have 

jurisdiction under section 504, the Department may exercise its discretion 

to retain the complaint for investigation under this part.376

In addition to its teamwork with FMCSA, DOJ conducted the following enforcement 

actions independently:

Privately Funded Transit

● Megabus (2011) regarding vehicle access, online reservation services, and 

denial of appropriate carriage to a wheelchair user. This person was forced to 

transfer out of his wheelchair rather than being secured using his wheelchair 

as he wished and as is required of the company by the ADA.377

● DeCamp Bus Lines (2013) regarding DeCamp requiring advance notice when 

that was no longer legal.378
166

● SuperShuttle (2013) regarding the SuperShuttle requirement that a 

passenger with a service animal take a separate van with her companions.379

Publicly Funded Transit

● JATRAN (Jackson, Mississippi, Public Transportation System) (2010) 

regarding wheelchair lift maintenance, employee training, and many aspects 

of meeting the required level of service to passengers of Handilift, the 

JATRAN ADA paratransit service.380

● City of Detroit (2005) regarding buses with inoperable wheelchair lifts and 

poor maintenance programs.381 (See more about this lawsuit in the section on 

Equipment Maintenance.)

Chapter 4 recommendations are listed at the end of the report.
167

CHAPTER 5. Fixed Route Deviation 

Chapter Overview

The 2005 NCD report addressed fixed route deviation services, describing them as 

vehicles that deviate from an established route to pick up or drop off passengers at or 

closer to their origin or destination, as long as it is within a designated service area. In 

some cases, such service constitutes the entire transit service for a small city, lowdensity suburban area, or rural area .

382

In some systems, any rider can request deviations. In other systems, deviation requests 

are accepted only from certain riders, such as people with disabilities. Systems that 

accept requests from all riders are considered to be “demand-responsive” services by 

DOT, and ADA paratransit is not required as a complement to these services. But if 

deviation requests are accepted only from certain riders, such as riders with disabilities, 

DOT considers the service to be fixed-route, and ADA paratransit is required.383

Deviations Only for Some: Meeting the ADA Paratransit Requirements

Some transit systems have attempted to fill the ADA paratransit requirement with only 

the deviations from fixed-route deviation service. Such a service often has gaps, so it 

does not meet all the requirements for ADA paratransit, and it may fall short of being a 

proper fixed-route service as well.384

For example, the FTA challenged the use of route deviation to comply with paratransit 

obligations under the Americans with Disabilities Act in El Dorado County, California, a 

semi-rural jurisdiction east of Sacramento where buses on five local routes will deviate 

up to three quarters of a mile to pick up or drop off passengers with disabilities. 

According to Transit Access Report in October 2013, “El Dorado Transit reportedly 

consider[ed] this service to meet the ‘spirit and intent’ of the ADA,” but the FTA 
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contended, “in effect, that route deviation cannot be used to provide a fixed route’s own 

... ADA [paratransit] service. Which implies that a separate vehicle is needed for ADA 

[paratransit] passengers.” 

Linda Ford, then acting director of the FTA Office of Civil Rights (she was later named 

Director), wrote a letter to El Dorado Transit in August 2013, advising Mindy Jackson, 

Executive Director, that “it is unclear how fixed-route and paratransit service can be 

provided using the same vehicle, simultaneously meeting the paratransit service 

requirements while also providing reliable, on-time service to fixed-route passengers.” 

The letter further stated,

For example, the description for Dial-A-Ride service ... lists operating 

hours of 7:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., while [a chart of fixed-route services] 

includes routes that begin as early as 6:25 a.m. and end as late as 

8:00 p.m. Under 49 CFR 37.131(e), complementary paratransit service 

must be available throughout the same hours and days as the fixed-route 

service. It also states that Dial-A-Ride service is provided on a “first-come, 

first-served” basis, suggesting capacity constraints that would be 

prohibited for paratransit under Section 37.131(f). Finally, it describes a 

fare structure that consists of a base fare plus a $0.50 charge for crossing 

each of up to 12 zones. Under Section 37.131(c), paratransit fares are 

limited to not more than twice the regular fixed-route fare.

The description of complementary paratransit ... is similarly problematic. 

The service is described as “curb-to-curb” service provided “to and from 

the closest bus stop,” for which reservations are required 24 hours in 

advance. This is inconsistent with 49 CFR 37.129(a), which requires 

service to be provided on an origin-to-destination basis; Section 

37.131(a)(1), which requires the paratransit service area to include all 

origins and destinations within a 3/4-mile radius of a fixed-route; and 

Section 37.131(b), which requires service to be provided on a next-day 

basis (i.e., a trip to be taken at any time during tomorrow’s service hours 

can be reserved at any time during business hours today).

It is particularly difficult to determine how El Dorado Transit’s route 

deviation service ... provides service in compliance with the required 

paratransit criteria. In addition to the requirement that deviations be 

reserved 24 hours in advance (not next-day, as discussed above), it is 

unclear how fixed-route and paratransit service can be provided using the 

same vehicle, simultaneously meeting the paratransit service 
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requirements while also providing reliable, on-time service to fixed-route 

passengers.385

Toby Olson, Executive Secretary of the Washington State Governor’s Committee on 

Disability Issues and Employment, praised the FTA for firmly expressing concerns with 

the limitations in El Dorado Transit services for people with disabilities. He pointed out 

that, according to his reading of the letter, El Dorado was not trying to claim that the 

service is demand-responsive. The agency acknowledged that, because it deviates for 

only some riders, it is a fixed-route service, and ADA complementary paratransit is 

required. The agency said that between the deviations and the local dial-a-ride service, 

it met the ADA paratransit requirements. The FTA named areas where the dial-a-ride 

system did not, or might not, meet the ADA paratransit requirements: fare, hours of 

service, service area, next-day service, lack of origin-to-destination service, and the 

suggestion of ride limits and, thus, possible capacity constraints.386

Olson pointed out other aspects of required ADA paratransit service that might be 

challenging to meet using only the typical fixed route deviation service model:

● Providing attended transfers for those individuals whose disabilities 

necessitate it, when the vehicles aren’t on a fixed time schedule. 

● Providing unconstrained deviations; that is, not limiting the number of 

deviations. 

● Serving individuals who cannot navigate the system, such as a person with 

an intellectual disability that is significant enough that she doesn’t know where 

to get off the vehicle.

● Establishing an accurate eligibility assessment process.387

Olson also made the point that having route deviation and then expanding existing dial-aride service to meet the ADA paratransit requirements is better than adding a separate 
170

ADA paratransit service. If transit systems deviate specifically for people with disabilities 

and ADA paratransit must be provided, it is probably necessary to supplement the 

deviations with some paratransit service, but the deviations can certainly be part of 

meeting the required level of service. The transit agency must ensure that the 

combination of deviations and expanded dial-a-ride service meets the ADA paratransit 

requirements. The FTA letter seemed to suggest that El Dorado Transit must, instead, 

provide a completely separate ADA paratransit system. That approach is more 

segregated and could lead transit agencies away from offering both deviations and an 

expanded dial-a-ride service. They could simply deviate for all riders, becoming demandresponsive services without the onus of having to meet the ADA paratransit requirements, 

thus disadvantaging riders with disabilities in a potentially far more significant way.388

Deviations for All: What Level of Service for People with Disabilities?

When a fixed route deviation service will deviate for all riders as opposed to a limited 

group, such as riders with disabilities, it is considered a demand-responsive service and 

is not subject to the ADA complementary paratransit requirements. How to ensure that 

such a system provides reliable, unconstrained service to people with disabilities is a 

challenging issue. 

Urban Density Can Drive Constraints

The 2005 NCD report observed that whether it is possible to provide equivalent service 

to people with disabilities on a route deviation service depends largely on the locale. If 

the area is rural and the service will cover long distances with a low population density, 

so that vehicles have to stop only every mile or so, making enough deviations to meet 

all requests will be operationally feasible because there is sufficient recovery time. 

However, in a suburban or small city setting, it would be more difficult to operate in a 

way that provides equivalent service to people with disabilities.389 
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The NCD report also observed that most route deviation systems must constrain their 

capacity to remain viable, either explicitly—usually by limiting deviations to a first-come, 

first-served basis (that is, after a certain number of deviation requests, the system will 

not accept additional ones)––or less overtly, for example, by not advertising. 

Nonetheless, a first-come, first-served route deviation service does not provide an equal 

service. Nondisabled people whose requests for deviation are not accepted can walk to 

the bus stop, but people with disabilities who cannot get to or from the bus stop and 

who do not or cannot call soon enough are completely without transportation.390 

Toby Olson pointed out that if a fixed-route service cannot provide unconstrained 

deviations without an unsustainable impact on its schedule, fixed route deviation is not 

the right mode of transit service for that community. Rather, the community might need an 

ordinary fixed-route service with a dependable schedule, complemented by ADA 

paratransit. This is why fixed route deviation is most appropriate for low-density (rural) 

areas. The more densely populated an area, the less well a fixed route deviation service 

will work, because providing unconstrained deviations will have too great an impact on 

the schedule.391 

Deviations Are Constrained in Many Systems

It is common to find fixed route deviation systems that impose limits on deviations; a 

simple Internet search for “route deviation” reveals many. As a rural example, in 

Casper, Wyoming, the website for the route deviation service states, “When time allows, 

The Bus can deviate from its fixed route and stop at another location within a two-block 

radius of the bus route/stop”

392 [emphasis added]. It is not known whether this system 

meets the demand for deviations from riders with disabilities.

At least one urban system, Utah Transit Authority (UTA), which includes Salt Lake City, 

has turned a number of its bus routes into “flex routes,” a form of fixed route deviation. 

Its website shows that many of its route names include the term “FLEX,” which indicates 

this status.393 As one of many examples, UTA Route F94, the Sandy Flex, includes a 
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hospital and a senior center as destinations, suggesting that the route runs through 

some higher density areas. Specifically, this route includes— 

9400 S 2000 E Park & Ride

Alta View Hospital

Sandy Senior Center

Historic Sandy Station

As with every UTA FLEX route, the F94 schedule states, “These scheduled deviation 

requests are taken on a first-come, first-served basis and the bus may deviate up to two 

times each trip ...”

394 [emphasis added]. Again, it is not known whether UTA meets the 

demand for deviations by people with disabilities, but the higher an area’s population 

density, the more challenging it becomes to meet that demand without imposing 

limitations.

Olson added that when a fixed route deviation service has a pattern or practice of failing 

to meet the demand for deviations from people with disabilities, the limitations that are 

imposed on deviations to control the problem constitute capacity constraints solely for 

people who must have deviations to use the service (i.e., people with disabilities) and 

therefore are a form of discrimination. In this situation, a fixed route deviation system is 

being used in an area in which the population density is too high for it. Such locations 

should have a fixed-route service with ADA complementary paratransit.395

How to Measure Performance for People with Disabilities

What ADA standard should be used to measure service to people with disabilities 

provided by route deviation systems that are considered demand-responsive because 

they accept deviation requests from anyone? “The responsibility to answer this question 
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lies, not only with transit agencies, but also with DOT and FTA, which should look 

closely at this type of service,” Olson stated. 

Should it be the equivalency standard? If so, should it be applied specifically to 

deviations or to the system in its entirety? Olson suggested another possible approach:

Route deviation is, at its base, a fixed-route service. The ADA and the DOT 

ADA regulation found that fixed-route transit, without a comprehensive 

accommodation for individuals with disabilities who cannot use the fixedroute system due to their disabilities, is inherently discriminatory. They 

required ADA paratransit as the necessary accommodation. 

DOT and FTA should consider requiring fixed-route deviation service 

policies to be consistent with the requirements for ADA paratransit, which 

was DOT’s view of what defined a comparable service for people with 

disabilities who can’t use the fixed-route system due to their disabilities.396 

Another part of the DOT ADA regulation is also relevant, according to Olson: the 

general provision disallowing discrimination in the provision of transportation service.397

Do all fixed-route deviation services meet that nondiscrimination standard? Which 

deviation policies would be considered discriminatory? 

These questions do not have clear answers. DOT and the FTA should reexamine this 

issue to ensure that fixed route deviation services that are classified as demandresponsive provide people with disabilities with adequate, reliable, and appropriate 

service that does not discriminate against them.398

Other Implementation Considerations

Other important implementation considerations for fixed route deviation service include these: 

● For the service to be effective, all riders need to know that deviations are 

possible. Information about the availability of deviations and how to request 

them should be included in route schedules and other public information. 
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● Riders who are boarding at designated stops need to be informed that 

vehicles might go off-route and that arrival times at designated stops might 

vary. Such communication can help manage rider expectations and avoid 

misunderstandings if vehicles run slightly off schedule. 

● It is helpful if the staff designated to handle and schedule deviation requests 

has some experience with demand-responsive operations. For this reason, 

some transit agencies use paratransit operations staff rather than fixed-route 

transit dispatchers to take and schedule route deviation requests.399 

Fixed-route deviation services should also consider stop announcements. There should 

be an announcement when the vehicle is going off route for a deviation, and 

announcements should continue when the vehicle returns to the fixed-route.400 (See 

more about stop announcements in chapter 1 on Fixed-Route Bus Transit.)

Chapter 5 recommendations are listed at the end of the report.
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CHAPTER 6. Issues for All Modes of Public Transit

Subpart A. “Common Wheelchair” Section Removed from DOT ADA

Regulation

The “Common Wheelchair” Problem 

The 2005 NCD report described how the Department of Transportation ADA regulation 

originally stated that transit agencies were only required to serve people using so-called 

common wheelchairs, described as “a three- or four-wheeled mobility device that, when 

occupied, does not exceed 600 pounds or 30 inches in width by 48 inches in length, 

measured 2 inches above the ground.”

401 The 2005 NCD report explained that, at the 

time the ADA regulations were developed in 1991, this “wheelchair envelope” 

encompassed more mobility devices than had previously been accommodated on many 

of the common bus lifts of that day.402 In the intervening years, however—as 

wheelchairs, scooters, and similar devices became more varied, and as the body sizes 

of Americans continued to increase—escalating numbers of people with disabilities 

were no longer accommodated by the ADA definition. The transit industry called these 

people’s devices “oversized wheelchairs.” Although the unaccommodated group 

numbered relatively few at the outset, it has included more disabled people every year. 

There was a significant need to revisit this standard.

In a 2006 notice of proposed rulemaking, DOT asked about the use of wheelchairs and 

other devices that did not fit the common wheelchair definition.403 Comments from the 

disability community described several aspects of this problem. One aspect was that 

users of devices that truly did not fit within the common wheelchair limits were denied 

transportation, even when the vehicle could accommodate them. A second aspect was 

labeled “questionable exclusions.” Anecdotal evidence suggested that some transit 

agencies, in an effort to cut costs on ADA paratransit, had refused to serve people 

because they said their mobility devices did not fit within the common wheelchair limits, 
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even in cases in which DOT would likely have viewed the device as perfectly 

acceptable. For example,

● A woman used a wheelchair that was capable of reclining. She never reclined 

the chair when using the lift or ramp to enter or exit the vehicle. During the 

ride, she would recline to relieve her severe chronic back pain. She had done 

this for years; there was always adequate space on the agency vehicles, 

even on shared rides. But one day she was told that she would no longer be 

provided with ADA paratransit because, in the reclining position, her 

wheelchair exceeded the common wheelchair length limit.

● A man had a fused knee and used one elevated footrest to support his leg. In 

this position, the wheelchair exceeded the length limit of the common 

wheelchair description. He was denied transportation by the transit agency, 

although he had ridden with an elevated footrest without incident for some 

time.

● A man used a wheelchair that could recline, although he never put it into a 

reclining position. During his ADA paratransit eligibility assessment, the transit 

agency required him to recline the chair and then measured it. Because it 

exceeded the common wheelchair envelope in this position, he was denied 

eligibility.404

Removal of the Common Wheelchair Provision and Related 

Wheelchair Rule Changes

In 2011, DOT published a final rule that amended the Americans with Disabilities Act 

regulations in a number of ways.405 In a dramatic change, DOT completely deleted the 

provisions concerning the common wheelchair. The amended regulation states,
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§ 37.165 Lift and securement use.

(b) Except as provided in this section, individuals using wheelchairs shall 

be transported in the entity’s vehicles or other conveyances.

(1) With respect to wheelchair/occupant combinations that are larger or 

heavier than those to which the design standards for vehicles and 

equipment of 49 CFR part 38 refer, the entity must carry the wheelchair 

and occupant if the lift and vehicle can accommodate the wheelchair and 

occupant. The entity may decline to carry a wheelchair/occupant if the 

combined weight exceeds that of the lift specifications or if carriage of the 

wheelchair is demonstrated to be inconsistent with legitimate safety 

requirements.406

These new provisions require transit agencies to carry any wheelchair and occupant 

that a vehicle lift can accommodate as long as there is space for the wheelchair on the 

vehicle. However, a transportation provider is not required to carry a wheelchair if the lift 

or vehicle is unable to accommodate the wheelchair and its user consistent with 

legitimate safety requirements. DOT warned transit agencies that— 

... transportation providers should be aware that to be a legitimate safety 

requirement, any limitation must be based on actual risks, not on mere 

speculation, stereotypes, or generalizations about individuals with 

disabilities or their mobility devices. The transportation provider bears the 

burden of proof of demonstrating that any limitation on the accommodation 

of a wheelchair is based a legitimate safety requirement.407

The later FTA draft ADA circular provided additional, important information:

DOT’s October 19, 2011, Final Rule amending the regulations specifically 

states that legitimate safety requirements “[include] such circumstances as 

a wheelchair of such size that it would block an aisle, or would be too 

large to fully enter a railcar, would block the vestibule, or would interfere 

with the safe evacuation of passengers in an emergency.” Other factors 

are not legitimate safety requirements under the DOT ADA regulations. 

For example, legitimate safety requirements do not apply to securement; a 

transit provider cannot impose a limitation on the transportation of 

wheelchairs and other mobility aids based on the inability of the 

securement system to secure the device to the satisfaction of the 

transportation provider.408 
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(For more information, see Securement of Mobility Devices, below.)

The draft ADA circular further stated,

To help comply with the requirements in § 37.165(b)(1), FTA encourages 

transit agencies to maintain inventories of detailed design specifications 

and dimensions of lifts, ramps and securement areas for all vehicles. 

Transit agencies can then use the capacity specifications to determine the 

maximum sizes and weights of wheelchairs they can accommodate on all 

vehicles. FTA also encourages transit agencies to provide information 

about the maximum sizes and weights of occupied wheelchairs their 

vehicles can safely accommodate so that riders can consider any system 

limitations when purchasing wheelchairs or deciding to use the service.409

DOT changed the phrase ‘‘three- or four-wheeled devices’’ to ‘‘three- or more-wheeled 

devices.’’ In the new regulation section, called Mobility Device Size and Type, DOT 

explained,

This change recognized that, in recent years, devices that otherwise 

resemble traditional wheelchairs may have additional wheels (e.g., two 

guide wheels in addition to the normal four wheels, for a total of six). The 

Department believes that devices of this kind should not be excluded from 

the definition of ‘‘wheelchair’’ solely on the basis of a larger number of 

wheels.410

DOT also stated, regarding nontraditional powered mobility devices that are not 

wheelchairs or scooters, including but not limited to Segways,

With respect to Segways or other nontraditional powered devices that do 

not fit the definition of ‘‘wheelchair,’’ [the DOT] position has been influenced 

by the approach taken by the DOJ in its recently issued ADA rules. DOJ 

has created the category of ‘‘other power-driven mobility devices’’

(OPMDs). DOJ does not require OPMDs necessarily to be accommodated 

in every instance in which a wheelchair must be accommodated, but 

provides that entities must allow such devices unless the entity 

demonstrates that allowing the device would be inconsistent with legitimate 

safety requirements. Legitimate safety requirements must be based on 

actual risks, not on mere speculation, stereotypes, or generalizations about 

individuals with disabilities or about the devices they use for mobility 

purposes. We believe that language based on the DOJ approach is a good 
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way of addressing the issues discussed by the Department in its 

September 2005 guidance and in comments to the docket for this 

rulemaking. Consequently, we are [following] the DOJ approach.411

In a 2013 interview with Federal Transit Administration Office of Civil Rights officials 

John Day, ADA team leader and Senior Equal Opportunity Specialist, and Dawn Sweet, 

Equal Opportunity Specialist, they discussed this significant change:

(Dawn Sweet) There’s no longer any such thing as a common wheelchair, 

and the reason the department took that issue on had to do with a couple 

of things. The whole common wheelchair concept was developed to give 

vehicle and equipment manufacturers a set of parameters around which to 

design things such as the lift and the ramp; to make sure they have 

adequate clearance inside the bus; to get from the door to the securement 

location; and so forth. And what it turned into over time was something 

that the transit systems were trying to use to regulate your wheelchair.

(John Day) ... which DOT certainly doesn’t have the authority to do and 

DOJ doesn’t have the authority to do. Neither of our regulations had the 

authority to do that, so it wasn’t proper to say, “We’re not going to serve 

you if your wheelchair doesn’t meet this regulation.” That’s backwards and 

inside out. We also saw that it was being applied arbitrarily. We would find 

systems that had vehicles and equipment with a larger capacity than the 

minimum but were still denying service because, as they would 

tell wheelchair users, “Your wheelchair doesn’t meet the definition, the 

regulatory definition, of a common wheelchair, and therefore we don’t 

have to take you.” 

And so that provision was removed to instead say, if it fits, you’re on. 

That’s pretty much all there is to it. There’s nothing that says that a transit 

agency has to acquire vehicles that exceed the design standards that are 

in Part 38 for lifts, ramps, buses, vans, and rail cars; those haven’t 

changed. The minimum design load of the lift is still 600 pounds; nothing 

says you have to buy anything with any more capacity than that. The 

difference is, if you do, you can’t turn around and then say, “You can’t ride 

if you’re more than 600 pounds anyway.” 

(Interviewer) Do you hear about instances where something happened to 

obstruct service because the wheelchair was too heavy or because it was 

too wide or long?

(Dawn Sweet) Well, we hear about lifts being broken.
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(John Day) Or damaged.

(Dawn Sweet) Or damaged once in a while, but I think the inclination 

whenever there’s a wheelchair user on a lift and it stops is to blame the 

wheelchair user.

(John Day) That’s always our first question: “How can you be sure it was 

this person’s ‘oversize/overweight’ mobility device and not a maintenance 

issue or something to do with the lift itself?” We hear, anecdotally, that 

some of the interlocks that NHTSA [the National Highway Traffic Safety 

Administration] requires on lifts can be touchy, and if by “breaking the 

lift” somebody means, “it triggered an interlock and the lift wouldn’t 

move anymore,” that may or may not have had anything to do with the 

passenger and his or her wheelchair, and more to do with the quality of 

the lift, its components, or its maintenance.

(Dawn Sweet) Or its settings.412

Enforcement of the New, Stricter Standard

The FTA appears to be making good on its intention to enforce this DOT ADA regulation 

change. According to Transit Access Report, the FTA demonstrated how it applied the 

rule to a specific situation: the reported denial of service to a bus rider in Laramie, 

Wyoming. The rider filed a complaint with the FTA against the Albany County 

Transportation Authority and received the following response:

In September 2012, you were informed ... that your wheelchair was “too 

heavy for the lift” and that you could no longer be transported, despite 

riding the route without incident in the past. You were then provided 

service on a different type of vehicle for a short period, until you were 

again informed that you could not be transported, this time because your 

wheelchair was approximately an inch too wide. ...

Please be advised that in October 2011, DOT revised the ADA regulatory 

requirements regarding the accommodation of wheelchairs. Under 49 CFR 

Part 37, transit operators must carry a wheelchair and occupant if the lift and 

vehicle can physically accommodate them. At a minimum, transit vehicles 

must have lifts that can accommodate an occupied wheelchair weighing 

600 pounds and devices that are 30 inches wide and 48 inches long. ... If a 

lift has the minimum design load of 600 pounds required by the regulations, 
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there is no obligation for an agency to transport a heavier occupied device. 

However, if the vehicle lift has a design load of 800 pounds, the agency

would need to transport an 800-pound wheelchair/passenger combination, 

but not a combination exceeding 800 pounds. Similarly, as long as your 

wheelchair fits on the lift, it must be accommodated. ...

While we understand your issue has been resolved, if you have difficulty 

accessing transit in the future due to the size or weight of your wheelchair, 

we encourage you to contact us promptly with details and we will follow up 

with the transit provider as appropriate.413

Lift Capacity Issues

In considering the impact of the removal of the common wheelchair provision, the 

question arises of the lift capacity of most buses and vans. How many additional 

wheelchair users will the change affect, considering vehicles in current use in public 

transit across the United States?

Karen Hoesch, Executive Director of ACCESS Transportation Systems in Pittsburgh, 

Pennsylvania, and widely considered a top national expert on ADA paratransit, reported 

the following real-world information:

We completed the inventory of all the lift-equipped vehicles in our fleet—

they range in age from 11 years to brand new, and are different makes 

and models. There are a total of 198.

100% of them have a lift capacity of 800 lbs.

Only 4 of the 198 have a lift platform size smaller than 33 inches by 

50 inches, and 45% are 35 inches by 53 inches. Doubt anyone would have 

a more diverse fleet than we have, or many vehicles that are older.414

Best Practices and Questionable Practices

The Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) and its coordinated transportation 

brokerage for providing ADA paratransit—managed by Outreach and Escort Service, Inc. 
182

(OUTREACH) in San Jose, California—provides an example of best practices in this 

area. When a person becomes eligible for ADA paratransit, a van comes to take his or 

her picture and weigh the wheelchair or scooter. If the mobility device is large, 

OUTREACH uses this information to ensure that it always sends a vehicle that will 

accommodate the device. Katie Heatley, president/CEO of OUTREACH, pointed out that 

the cutaway vehicles used by her agency can carry 1,100 pounds.415

Andy Curry, Director of Roads to Independence, an independent living center in 

northern Utah, described a practice of great concern to him, the clients of his center, 

and the community of people with mobility impairments who use ADA paratransit in the 

Salt Lake City region and the broad region of northern Utah served by Utah Transit 

Authority. When UTA conducts an ADA paratransit eligibility assessment of someone 

using a mobility device, such as a wheelchair or scooter, it weighs and measures the 

device and places a sticker on the mobility device if it does not exceed the old “common 

wheelchair” weight and dimensions (despite the fact that those dimensions no longer 

have any meaning in federal law). UTA refuses to allow people ride ADA paratransit, 

even if they are eligible, if they are using a wheelchair that has no such sticker. 

Curry described how, for example, a client was denied a paratransit ride because the 

wheelchair had a motor for the tilt feature that made it an inch or two longer, so it no 

longer fit into the “one wheelchair square” marked on the floor of the agency van, even 

though this wheelchair has never posed a problem fitting on ADA paratransit vehicles or 

obstructing space for other riders. 

To get a wheelchair weighed, measured, and stickered, its user must travel to a 

particular location in Salt Lake City. Curry commented, 

We are up in Ogden, and at that distance, it might take a whole day to do 

this. Once you’re there, UTA makes you wait until people who are going 

through their full eligibility process are finished, even though it would only 

take you a few minutes to weigh and measure your chair, because you are 

already ADA paratransit-eligible. UTA has refused to establish another 

location for weighing and measuring wheelchairs in Ogden, so already 
183

eligible riders who acquire a new wheelchair may need to take a full day 

off work to accomplish this burdensome task.

One of my staff had to get her new wheelchair restickered, despite the fact 

that the new chair was almost exactly identical to her old one. She 

submitted a complaint to FTA in May or June of 2013, but the FTA response 

is unclear because of the individual’s unfortunate sudden death last July.416

This is from the Utah Transit Authority Paratransit Rider’s Guide:

What If My (Wheelchair/Scooter) Breaks Down, Can I Use Another One?

If your wheelchair or scooter that has an approved UTA sticker on it 

breaks down, you must contact UTA Paratransit services to get temporary 

approval before your next ride if you are going to use another mobility 

device that does not have a UTA sticker on it. Contact the Mobility Center 

(see phone number on back page) for information.417

Subpart B. Reasonable Modifications of Policies, Practices, and 

Procedures, and Other ADA General Nondiscrimination Requirements

Introduction

The 2005 NCD report extensively described a transportation dilemma created by 

several adverse court decisions regarding the general nondiscrimination requirements 

of the ADA and their relationship to transportation.418

The scheme of coverage envisioned by the framers of the ADA regulations was that the 

Department of Transportation would be responsible for spelling out the specific 

transportation requirements of the ADA, but the Department of Justice would detail the 

more general nondiscrimination requirements that apply to all areas of American life, not 

only to transportation (e.g., hotels, stores, government buildings, and services). 

The biggest problem, and the one that has received the most attention, is the requirement 

for any entity covered by the ADA—whether a government program, a private business, 
184

or a transportation provider—to make reasonable modifications of policies, practices, and 

procedures when necessary in order to avoid discrimination on the basis of disability, 

unless the covered entity can demonstrate that making the modifications would 

fundamentally alter the nature of the service, program, or activity.419 The 2005 NCD 

report gave these examples of what this requirement could mean in the transportation 

context:

● If there is a no-eating policy on the subway train, the transit agency must 

allow a modification of the policy in the case of an individual with diabetes 

who needs to eat on a particular schedule. 

● On the bus, if there is a policy that bus drivers may not touch bus fare money, 

the policy must be modified in the case of an individual with a disability who is 

unable to physically deposit the fare into the fare box and requests assistance 

from the driver to help deposit the money.420

Here is another example:

● On the bus, if there is a policy that bus drivers may stop only at designated bus 

stops, there may occasionally be a barrier at a bus stop (e.g., construction, 

snowdrifts) that blocks use by passengers with disabilities. In such a case, 

when it would not be unduly burdensome or dangerous, it would be appropriate 

for the bus to move a short distance from the stop to pick up a passenger using 

a wheelchair at a place where the passenger could readily board.

The reasonable modification requirement appears in the Department of Justice ADA 

regulation but was always intended to cover all public transportation activities, whether 

publicly or privately funded. However, several court decisions have stated that the 

provision does not apply, particularly to ADA paratransit.421 

This result is at odds with the strong preponderance of legal authority which states that 

transit agencies are still required to comply with the DOJ regulation. This legal authority 
185

was discussed in the 2005 NCD report422 and includes the DOT regulation under 

Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973,423 another court decision interpreting the 

ADA,424 the views of DOJ as expressed in a “friend of the court” brief,425 and a number 

of Federal Transit Administration findings, described below. 

The Department of Transportation, disability advocates, and many other observers have 

disagreed with these decisions. For example, as early as 2005, Bob Ashby, former DOT 

deputy assistant general counsel for regulations and enforcement, who oversaw all 

DOT rulemaking under disability rights laws for many years until his retirement in 2012, 

took the public position that the Melton case was incorrectly decided.426

Compounding the problem, as the 2005 NCD report explained, is the fact that transit 

agencies are often unaware of their obligations under the DOJ ADA regulations, because 

they are familiar only with the transportation-specific rules in the DOT ADA regulation.427

DOT Proposed Regulation to Fix the Problem

On February 27, 2006, in response to the Melton decision, DOT issued a notice of 

proposed rulemaking, proposing to amend its ADA regulation to add a provision 

requiring ADA transportation providers to make reasonable modifications to policies, 

practices, and procedures when necessary to avoid discrimination on the basis of 

disability. 

DOT proposed to adopt the provision into its own regulation in order to clarify that 

publicly funded transit agencies must comply with this requirement. 

DOT noted that the requirement is not absolute; if modifying the policy or practice would 

result in an undue burden or fundamental alteration of transit agency services, the 

modification need not be made. The head of the agency would be required to make a 

written determination to that effect. The agency would still be required to make an 

alternative modification of policy, practice, or procedure that would not result in an 

undue burden, fundamental alteration, or direct threat.
186

The disability community strongly supported the DOT proposal, while the transit industry 

strongly opposed it. These two contrasting viewpoints are expressed in the following 

statements made in 2010, one from a transit agency and the other by DOT, both 

published in Transit Access Report.

428

Access Services, the transit agency that provides ADA paratransit services in Los 

Angeles County, has been one of the most outspoken opponents of the DOT proposal. 

A 2010 Access Services comment on the proposed rule stated, 

The rule is ... unnecessary because transit agencies do make best efforts to 

provide modifications requested by their riders. It is essential, however, for 

the good and safety of all passengers, as well as to contain the costs of this 

service, which was intended to be a limited service for a limited group of 

people, that these decisions remain within the discretion of the accountable 

parties, the transit operators. There is still no public data indicating that there 

is a problem needing correction. A few complaints or lawsuits, given the 

number of paratransit trips given each year (83 million in 2006 and surely 

more today) and the billions of bus and subway rides annually, suggests 

overwhelmingly that riders’ needs ... are being met. ... It is inexplicable why 

DOT would promulgate a regulation on this subject at all, and especially one 

that imposes a burdensome and vague administrative process to determine 

whether an individual’s request is “reasonable” and to document compliance.

DOT’s viewpoint is clear: The Department included the same provision in its ADA rules 

for passenger vessels:429

“‘Reasonable modifications” is a central idea of disability law, occurring in 

many applications of Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act.

A similar provision was adopted in a rulemaking concerning the Air Carrier 

Access Act, and it has caused no problems of which we are aware.

Department of Justice ADA rules have long included the concept. While 

the Department’s surface transportation ADA rule (49 CFR part 37) does 

not presently include this language, the Department, in a pending 

rulemaking concerning Part 37, has proposed to add it. The Department 

believes it is appropriate for a [passenger vessel operator] to modify 

policies so that accessible service is actually made available to 

passengers, absent a [fundamental] alteration. Commenters were unable 

to provide any examples of how doing so would be inimical to passenger 

vessel operations or safety.
187

A final rule by DOT on this matter (initially expected in October 2014) was issued on 

March 13, 2015 and clarifies that public transportation providers are required to make 

reasonable modifications to their polices, practices and procedures to avoid 

discrimination and ensure programs and services are accessible to individuals with 

disabilities. DOT Secretary Anthony Foxx said: “Ensuring equal access to public 

transportation enables individuals with disabilities to have access to jobs, school, 

medical care and a better quality of life...Making reasonable modifications to transit 

services helps bring everyone on the path to access the ladders of opportunities that all 

Americans strive for.”

430

FTA Decisions Requiring Reasonable Modifications of Policies, 

Practices, and Procedures

On a number of occasions both before and since the DOT proposed rule, the Federal 

Transit Administration issued findings indicating that transit agencies should make 

reasonable modifications of policies, practices, and procedures, based on the 

requirement to do so in the DOJ ADA regulation:

● Dec. 23, 2002: The FTA Office of Civil Rights (OCR) told the Central Florida 

Regional Transportation Authority that the DOJ’s reasonable modification rule 

may require asking a front-seat paratransit passenger to give way to a rider 

with claustrophobia. 

● March 12, 2003: The OCR advised the Jacksonville Transportation Authority 

that the DOJ rule may require it to ask a front-seat passenger in a paratransit 

van to move for a rider who experiences significant back pain when sitting in 

the rear. 

● Dec. 31, 2003: The OCR told the Maryland Transit Administration that the 

DOJ rule may apply to a situation in which a paratransit passenger needs

help from the driver to secure a child in a child safety seat. 
188

● Nov. 8, 2005: The OCR ordered Santa Cruz (CA) Metro to provide the 

reasonable modification requested by a disabled woman who said she 

needed to ride in paratransit vans facing sideways. 

● March 26, 2006: Indicating that the decision on side-facing securement is 

actually up to the transit agency, the chief counsel of the FTA called on Santa 

Cruz Metro to make the decision in light of the DOJ’s “reasonable 

modification” rule. 

● Oct. 15, 2007: The OCR explicitly stated that the DOJ rule applies to transit 

agencies, although it allowed Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) to prohibit a 

disabled person from wearing in-line skates on trains. 

● Aug. 14, 2008: Although explicitly stating that the DOJ rule applies to transit 

agencies, the FTA Office of Civil Rights reversed its Nov. 8, 2005, ruling and 

upheld Santa Cruz Metro’s decision to deny side-facing securement.431 

Consequences of Not Requiring Reasonable Modifications of Policy

Indicating the dire consequences that may occur if reasonable modifications of a policy, 

such as door-to-door assistance in ADA paratransit, are not required, the American 

Council of the Blind (ACB) submitted the following example to the docket in the DOT 

2006 rulemaking:

Opponents of the DOT proposed rule, including the American 

Public Transportation Association, have claimed in their comments that 

imposing a ”reasonable modification” requirement, which might compel 

curbside-to-curbside paratransit agencies to provide door-to-door service 

under certain circumstances, would create serious safety problems. ACB 

contends, however, that actual experience with door-to-door service 

demonstrates that it is far safer for disabled passengers than curbside-tocurbside service is. For example, in St. Paul, Minnesota, several winters 

ago, a quadriplegic woman using a wheelchair died because her 

paratransit driver failed to accompany her to the front door at 

her destination. Instead, the driver left her at curbside and drove away. 
189

Before she reached the door to enter the building, her wheelchair slid on 

the ice and tipped over. The woman froze to death because no one was 

available to assist her.

Subpart C. Securing Mobility Devices

Overview

As the 2005 NCD report explained, the use of tie-downs (“securement devices”) to 

secure mobility devices on public transit vehicles is a critical safety issue for 

transportation providers and for many people with disabilities.432 Failure to secure and 

improper securement are still major causes of wheelchair accidents.433 Poor mobility 

device securement remains a significant problem, although the issue has been the 

focus of important developments since the 2005 NCD report was researched.

The disability community has real concerns about wheelchair securement on vehicles. 

Tracee Garner, Outreach Coordinator for the Loudoun (Virginia) ENDependence Center 

expressed some of these concerns:

Once you’re on the bus, I think that some of the people that load you, they 

aren’t properly aware of how to load a person who uses a wheelchair. 

They’re not very accommodating. They might ask if you need assistance 

to be locked in. Some people don’t like to be strapped in, so the drivers 

leave it up to you. Some drivers don’t know where the straps go, and it’s 

hard for the person in the wheelchair because you can’t see the back of 

you to tell the driver where to tie your wheelchair down. You can’t tell if 

you’re strapped in securely. Some new wheelchairs have built-in tiedowns that are clear, but older wheelchairs don’t have that.434

The 2005 NCD report addressed securement problems on buses and other vehicles, 

claims of difficulty of securing certain mobility devices, resolving securement problems, 

and so-called oversized” wheelchairs.435 (See the earlier section on Common 

Wheelchairs.) This section addresses common misinterpretations of the ADA 

securement requirements, voluntary standards related to wheelchair securement, the 
190

current proposal by the U.S. Access Board to enhance the dimensional requirements for 

wheelchair securement areas, and issues related to scooter securement and rear-facing 

securement locations.

Common Misinterpretation of Lift and Securement Requirements

Federal Transit Administration ADA compliance reviews show that transit agency staff 

sometimes fall short of carrying out the ADA regulatory requirements for mobility device 

use of lifts and securement. Some common problems are discussed below.

One finding from FTA ADA compliance reviews is that vehicle operators are not always 

aware of the requirement to allow ambulatory people with disabilities to ride on the lift as 

standees. This is key for people who do not use wheelchairs but cannot (or cannot 

without difficulty) enter the bus via the stairs. Driver interviews conducted as part of the 

FTA ADA compliance reviews have documented a lack of understanding of this 

regulatory requirement.436

Some drivers are not aware that they must help riders on and off lifts and up and down 

ramps as needed. FTA ADA compliance review observations indicate that some drivers 

appear to think that they simply need to operate the lift/ramp and that it is the rider’s 

responsibility to get on and off the lift or up and down the ramp.437

FTA ADA compliance review observations also indicate that some drivers 

inappropriately rely on the passenger restraint system (the lap belt and shoulder strap) 

to provide securement of the passenger’s wheelchair to the vehicle. This is a dangerous 

practice. In an accident, the full force of the wheelchair would be applied to the rider if 

only a lap belt or shoulder strap were being used. The securement system should be 

separate from the passenger restraint system. This practice is also dangerous because 

passenger restraint systems are typically not “positive locking.” That is, unless there is a 

sudden force on the lap belt or shoulder strap, the belt and strap do not resist 

movement.438 In one compliance review, tapes from an onboard camera showed a rider 
191

who used a scooter falling over as the bus went around a corner, because only a lap 

belt and shoulder strap were being used. Because the person fell over relatively slowly, 

the belts extended and never locked.

The draft FTA ADA circular also makes this clear:

Seatbelts must never be used without first ensuring that the passenger’s 

wheelchair is properly secured. The use of seatbelts and shoulder 

harnesses in lieu of a device that secures the wheelchair itself is 

prohibited under § 38.23(d)(7).439

There is also some confusion about the regulatory allowance for systems to establish 

policies that allow riders to travel unsecured. It has been noted in some FTA ADA 

compliance review interviews that this allowance has been interpreted to mean that the 

transit agency does not have to use securement devices. Transit agencies should be 

sure that their drivers understand the regulatory requirement: In systems that require 

securement, the requirement should be made clear to all operators (drivers); in systems 

that permit some riders to choose to travel unsecured, the transit agency should 

ensure—via training, monitoring, and progressive discipline—that drivers understand 

that they are still required to secure other riders and certainly to secure wheelchairs if 

riders request it.440

The draft FTA ADA circular points out,

[Transit] agencies can require riders in complementary paratransit 

vehicles to use lap and shoulder belts. That being said, ... a transit 

agency’s securement policy should allow for a rider to present 

documentation demonstrating that using seatbelts and shoulder belts 

would pose a health hazard and allow that rider to travel without lap and 

shoulder belts.441

The circular also notes,

The definition of wheelchair does not require specific elements or 

equipment such as front rigging (footplates or leg rests), wheel locks or 
192

brakes, push handles, or positioning belts or harnesses. Transit agencies 

may not require passengers’ wheelchairs to be equipped with specific 

features such as these as a condition of transportation and may not deny 

service on the basis that the condition of a passenger’s mobility device be 

regarded as “good” according to some standard.442

(See more about securement in the earlier section on Removal of the Common 

Wheelchair Provision.)

Proposal to Enhance Dimensional Requirements

The U.S. Access Board has proposed to enhance the required dimensions for 

wheelchair spaces on vehicles such as buses. Rules proposed in 2010 would— 

● Require additional maneuvering clearance to the basic 30 × 48 inch 

wheelchair space when this space is confined to a certain degree; either 

31 × 48 inches (for spaces entered from the front or back) or 30 × 54 inches 

(for spaces entered from the side).

● Add the requirement that paths connecting wheelchair spaces to doorways be 

at least 34 inches wide.443

(For information about the significant change in the DOT ADA regulation to remove the 

provision about common wheelchairs, Common Wheelchair Section Removed from 

DOT ADA Regulation, above.)

At least one transit agency has chosen to acquire vehicles with three securement areas 

rather than the required two. According to research published in 2014, the Corpus 

Christi Regional Transportation Authority (CCRTA) has purchased only buses with three 

securement areas, as well as state-of-the-art securement systems, since 2008. As a 

result of these and other efforts, lift boarding on CCRTA’s fixed-route transit service 

increased from 27,475 in 2006 to 110,961 in 2012.444 (Also see chapter 1 on FixedRoute Bus Transit.)
193

Voluntary Standards

Certain precautions are deemed critical to avoid or prevent safety and securement 

issues for all riders. Where no across-the-board standards exist (to address the needs 

of people who use mobility devices), the public transit industry has established voluntary 

standards that apply to motor vehicles for wheelchair users’ safety and securement.

Voluntary Standard for Wheelchairs in Motor Vehicles

Because there were no safety standards for wheelchairs used as seating in a bus or 

van, the Subcommittee on Wheelchairs and Transportation—under the auspices of the 

American National Standards Institute, the Rehabilitation Engineering and Assistive 

Technology Society of North America, and the International Standardization 

Organization—developed a voluntary industry standard commonly known as WC-19. 

WC-19 addresses issues of wheelchair design and performance related to the use of a

wheelchair as seating in a bus or van. The purpose of WC-19 is to improve the safety 

and security of wheelchair users during normal transportation and in the event of a 

vehicle crash. For these reasons, WC-19-compliant wheelchairs (transit wheelchairs) 

are equipped with an array of features such as anchor points for securing the 

wheelchair to the frame of the bus or van and an attachment point for occupant 

restraints to protect the safety of the wheelchair user. 

An increasing number of wheelchair models, both manual and power, incorporate WC19 specifications as an optional, extra-cost feature. The Rehabilitation Engineering 

Research Center (RERC) on Wheelchair Transportation Safety listed approximately 

200 models of wheelchairs crash-tested according to the standard as of April 2013.445

However, too many wheelchairs are still purchased without these features. Putting WC19-compliant wheelchairs into widespread use will require the education of people with 

disabilities, health care practitioners, and mobility device vendors, as well as 
194

acceptance by health care funders/insurance agencies, and perhaps government 

regulation.446

Information about WC-19 is available at— 

● Vehicle Safety for People Who Use Wheelchairs, University of Michigan 

Transportation Research Institute, http://www.travelsafer.org

● The WC19 Information Resource: Crash-Tested Wheelchairs & Seating 

Systems, Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center (RERC) on Wheelchair 

Transportation Safety, http://www.rercwts.org/WC19.html

Voluntary Standard for Tie-Downs 

In addition to some technical requirements in Access Board guidelines, there is an 

industry standard for wheelchair securement devices: Society of Automotive Engineers 

(SAE) J2249, Wheelchair Tie-downs and Occupant Restraints for Use in Motor 

Vehicles—Design and Performance Requirements. 

Like WC-19, SAE J2249 is voluntary. However, vehicle and tie-down manufacturers 

have taken a great deal more care to adhere to this standard, due to the nature of the 

intended purpose of vehicle-mounted tie-downs: It would be difficult to escape product 

liability if it were not met and a problem occurred, because they are always used as 

safety devices.447

Scooter Securement

The securement of scooters on vehicles is required. Transit agencies have sometimes 

complained about the perceived difficulty of securing scooters, but there are methods 

for doing so. One is to hook two belts to each other around the base of the seat post, 

and two more around the steering post (tiller) at the bottom, over the platform where the 

rider puts his or her feet. The securements must be tightened.
195

As with wheelchairs, vehicle operators sometimes forgo mobility aid securement and 

only use a lap belt and shoulder strap. The details given start of this section on 

Common Misinterpretation of Lift and Securement Requirements (paragraph 5, p. 218) 

illustrate relevant issues. 

The transit agency in Eugene, Oregon, has developed its own specialized scooter 

securement system.448

Rear-Facing Securements

Transit agencies in Canada and Europe are more likely to use rear-facing securements 

than agencies in the United States. Rear-facing securements allow the wheelchair users 

to station themselves in a securement station facing the rear of the bus, with the back of 

the wheelchair against a padded backrest. According to research by Katherine HunterZaworski and Joseph R. Zaworski,

Passive wheelchair securement such as the rear-facing approach used in 

some countries is attractive to providers of mass transit because it 

requires no operator assistance and it is fast. The results of this project, 

however, demonstrate the importance of proper implementation. During 

normal driving conditions, users of manual wheelchairs and three-wheel 

scooters must expect some normal movement of their wheelchairs. The 

securement stations in buses using rear-facing securement must be 

equipped with handrails, stanchions, or armrests in addition to the 

necessary backrest so that users can assist in preventing the incidental 

movement of their wheelchairs.

In the event that extreme maneuvering is required, such as swerving to 

avoid an accident or making an emergency stop, catastrophic motion 

(tipping over) of an occupied wheelchair may result if the rear-facing 

securement station does not provide support on both sides as well as the 

front. If containment on three sides of the station is provided, it can be 

reasonably expected that a wheelchair will move but stay upright and not 

be seriously damaged during extreme maneuvering.

The results of this project make it clear that rear-facing securement of 

wheelchairs, a fast and independent approach that has important 

advantages for BRT [bus rapid transit], can be successful. More work 
196

needs to be done to identify the best ways to minimize incidental 

movement and prevent catastrophic movement for all types of 

wheelchairs, but there are no inherent barriers to successful 

implementation of this approach.449

Some riders do not like these securement areas because they prevent them from 

seeing where the vehicle is going. Other riders, particularly on bus rapid transit, prefer 

rear-facing securements because there is no need for driver assistance to secure the 

wheelchair.450

Subpart D. Service Animals

Overview 

Despite the clear rules in the ADA about service animals, discrimination persists against 

people who use them in transportation and in other contexts. This section on service 

animals addresses current rules, the persistence of continued discriminatory incidents,

and proper procedures for boarding a wheelchair user with a service animal on a 

vehicle with a lift.

ADA Transportation Rules for Service Animals Did Not Change

The Department of Transportation posted a technical assistance note on its website in 

2011 clarifying the fact that there has been no change in ADA regulations for service 

animals and mobility devices. DOT explained,

Please be advised that the U.S. Department of Transportation has issued 

no changes to its ADA regulations, which cover transportation provided by 

both the private and public sector.

The cause of any confusion has been a Final Rule issued several months 

ago by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), which made a number of 

changes to their ADA regulations that went into effect on March 15, 

2011.451
197

The DOJ ADA regulation update that was issued in 2010 and became effective in March 

2011 largely limited ADA coverage of service animals to dogs, with an exception related 

to using miniature horses. These DOJ changes affect many facilities, such as 

restaurants, hotels, city and state parks, and government buildings. However, DOT has 

not made this change. The DOT ADA requirements on service animals, still in effect, 

cover transportation provided by both public and private entities, including buses, trains, 

taxis, and ADA paratransit vehicles.

The draft FTA ADA circular restated some aspects of the DOT service animal rules with 

added detail:

Service animals must be “individually trained.” This training can be by an 

organization or by an individual, including the individual with a disability. 

Transit agencies do not need to transport animals that have not been 

individually trained. If an animal’s only function were to provide emotional 

support or comfort for the rider, that animal would not fall under the

regulatory training-based definition of a service animal. Simply providing 

comfort is something that [an] animal does passively, by its nature or 

through the perception of the owner. However, the ADA does not prohibit 

a transit agency from choosing to [go beyond the ADA rule by 

accommodating] pets and comfort animals, which would be a local 

decision.452

The draft circular further stated, regarding the number of service animals a passenger 

may bring,

Transit agencies cannot impose limits on the number of service animals 

that accompany riders on a single trip. Different service animals may 

provide different services to riders during trips or at riders’ destinations.453

The circular also stated, regarding a service animal’s decorum,

Transit agencies can require service animals to remain under riders’ 

control and can require that service animals pose no direct threats to the 

safety or health of drivers or other riders or create a seriously disruptive 

atmosphere. For example, a rider with a service dog is responsible for 

ensuring that the dog does not snap or lunge at the driver or other riders. 
198

Conversely, a dog that barks occasionally would not likely pose a direct 

threat or be seriously disruptive.454

Discrimination Persists

There are many well-documented examples of the persistence of discrimination by 

operators of public transportation vehicles, both publicly and privately owned and 

operated, against people with a variety of types of disabilities who use service animals.

For example, in 2010, the Equal Rights Center (ERC) in Washington, DC, and two other 

organizations published a report titled No Dogs Allowed—Discrimination by DC 

Taxicabs Against People Who Use Service Dogs. The report stated, 

After receiving complaints from ERC members ... who are blind or use 

service dogs and have experienced refusals of service by DC taxicabs, 

the ERC launched an investigation into taxi discrimination against 

individuals who use service dogs. ... The ERC conducted 30 tests in the 

District ... Each test included two individual “testers,” one with a service 

dog and one without, who stood on the same side of a District street and 

attempted to hail a cab. In 60% of these tests, the blind tester with a 

service dog was subjected to at least one form of discriminatory 

treatment.

The results of this investigation demonstrate both the taxicab industry’s 

lack of knowledge of their legal obligations to serve individuals with 

service dogs and the need for more rigid enforcement of these laws. Many 

of the tools needed to address this discrimination are already in place with 

the DC Human Rights Act and DC Municipal Regulations.455

In a 2013 example, the U.S. Department of Justice announced a settlement with 

SuperShuttle over a similar issue. According to the DOJ press release,

The Justice Department announced today that it has reached a settlement 

with SuperShuttle, a shared-ride transportation company based in 

Arizona, to resolve a complaint that it discriminated against a blind person 

who uses a service animal. Specifically, the Justice Department 

determined that SuperShuttle violated the Americans with Disabilities Act 

(ADA) by forcing a blind person who uses a service animal and her party 
199

to ride in a separate van and charging them a higher rate than other 

individuals who are allowed to share a van and pay a reduced fare. ...

Under the terms of the settlement agreement, SuperShuttle will adopt a 

revised service animal non-discrimination policy; train all employees, 

franchisees and independent contractors on the requirements of the ADA; 

and pay $1,000 in damages to the complainant.456

In 2013, New York City Transit announced a settlement with a person with a psychiatric 

disability who uses a psychiatric service animal. According to Transit Access Report, 

A $150,000 settlement is reported in a psychiatric service animal case in 

New York City.

The case involved a transit rider with a history of depression and 

posttraumatic stress disorder, as well as loss of hearing in one ear, who 

said she travels with a large dog to alert her to dangerous sounds and 

help keep her from “disassociating on the street.” Over a period of time, 

she used dogs of three different breeds. ... Despite repeated complaints 

she made to transit supervisors, the rider claimed she continued to be 

challenged by bus operators in violation of her rights under the Americans 

With Disabilities Act.

The case ... was in federal court in Brooklyn, New York, for more than 

nine years. ...

Although the transit authority had developed a policy stating that 

identification is not required for service animals, [the rider] complained 

[that] it was not followed. Even when she produced an ID card that the 

transit authority had given her for the dog, she was still given a hard time, 

she said. The Federal Transit Administration interprets the ADA to mean 

that a person with a disability cannot be required to show verification that 

an animal is a service animal. ...

Judge Townes acknowledged new rules put out by the Department of 

Justice in 2010, expressly recognizing psychiatric service animals as 

service animals covered by the ADA. Like other service animals, a 

psychiatric service animal must be trained to perform some task to 

distinguish it from an emotional support animal.

DOJ said a dog would qualify as a psychiatric service animal if, for 

example, it “senses that a person is about to have a psychiatric episode 
200

and it is trained to respond, by nudging, barking, or removing the 

individual to a safe location until the episode subsides.”

457

Wheelchair User with Service Animal Using a Lift

There has been much discussion and some confusion over proper techniques for 

boarding a wheelchair user who is traveling with a service animal onto a lift-equipped 

vehicle. The following are not legal requirements but technical assistance suggestions 

from several knowledgeable sources.

Service dog schools say not to leave the dog unattended on the street or loose without 

someone or something holding the leash; some animals are well enough trained to be 

off leash, but that is rare. For example, when boarding, the dog is boarded first by 

handing the leash to the driver (who may need to come down the steps to get the 

leash), then the driver deploys the lift and boards the person, turning the leash back to 

the passenger as part of the securement process. 

When deboarding, the reverse happens: The rider is taken down on the lift, then the dog 

is brought down the stairs and the leash handed over (not sent down the steps with the 

leash flapping). Some say it is fine to temporarily tether the animal to a pole on the bus 

during the boarding/deboarding process. It is always important to ask the rider, who 

knows his or her service animal best. 

Some people think it is dangerous to board both rider and service animal together on 

the lift, unless the animal is on the person’s lap, because there are so many moving 

parts and so many things that can get caught in such a small space, including tails, 

toes, noses, leashes, and harnesses. 

In ADA paratransit, it is an aspect of origin-to-destination service for the driver to hold a 

leash for someone traveling with a service animal. (See more in the Origin-toDestination Service section above.) In fixed-route service, it may be a part of required 

driver assistance. Often, drivers resist holding the leash, so in practical terms, riders 
201

often must decide whether to leave the animal waiting curbside while they board then 

calling to the animal to come up the steps, or leave the animal unattended on the 

vehicle while the driver goes back to help the passenger board. Some animals become 

stressed when they are passed off to strangers. Ultimately, the customer must decide 

what level of risk to take in boarding the animal. Bringing it along on the lift may be less 

risky than leaving it unattended, either on or off the vehicle. Transit agencies may 

establish a policy but should be ready to modify it on a case-by-case basis. 

A best practice is for transit agencies to offer a practice session while the bus is not in 

revenue service (sometimes called a “nonrevenue service practice session”) to work out 

how best to board and alight with a service animal. It can almost always be worked out 

satisfactorily for everyone involved with a little free practice for both the rider and the 

transit agency, to reassure them both about the solution. Another opportunity to work 

through this issue is when someone comes in for ADA paratransit eligibility 

certification.458

Subpart E. Communication Access

The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) draft ADA circular stated,

Transit agencies must “make available to individuals with disabilities 

adequate information concerning transportation services.” This obligation 

includes making “adequate communications capacity available, through 

accessible formats and technology, to enable users to obtain information 

and schedule service” (§ 37.167(f)). This includes schedules, routes and 

fares as well as information about service rules and temporary changes. 

Whenever possible, FTA encourages transit agencies to employ 

information systems such as those that report the next bus/train arrival 

and to provide this information in both audio and visual formats.459

The circular further stated,

Transit agencies must offer accessible alternatives to voice telephone 

communications. This could include using (and having appropriate 
202

personnel trained to use) the national 711 relay service or other relay 

services available through states or telecommunications companies.460

In a workshop titled “Reviewing ADA Paratransit Policies: Are You In Compliance?,” 

Karen Hoesch, Executive Director of ACCESS Transportation Systems in Pittsburgh, 

Pennsylvania, and a top national expert on ADA paratransit, offered a number of 

important do’s and don’ts for transit agencies to make their communications more 

accessible to people with hearing, speech, vision, and cognitive disabilities.461 Many of 

these actions are specific regulatory requirements; others are best practices that will 

bring a transit agency closer to ADA compliance.

People with visual impairments should have an equivalent response time for 

information. It is not equivalent if people who are blind receive their requested 

information in two weeks while everyone else receives it in a day or two.

All public information should state where to request alternative formats, and such 

formats should be readily available. Any type of intake process should allow people to 

determine whether they need an alternative format, and which type.

If a transit agency has user guides, an audiocassette and digital audio version should 

be available. Ensure that a competent reader has made the recording. He or she need 

not use a great deal of inflection; the reader should simply read clearly.

It is important to provide large-print materials. Fourteen point type is the minimum size, 

but larger is better, up to 24 point. Some people may want 14 or 16 point, while others 

may need a larger size. It only takes a few minutes to reformat a handout on the 

computer in a different font size. Sans serif fonts are easier to read (serifs are the little 

hooks at the ends of letters in some typefaces). 

E-mail, MS Word, or text documents should be offered, as well as audiocassette and 

digital audio files. 
203

Braille has become less often requested over time, but some people who are blind still 

use braille, especially for documents that need to be consulted regularly. Braille copies 

should be readily available. If bus schedules are requested in braille, riders usually want 

the portions that apply to them, so if a braille schedule is requested, it is best to find out 

which routes and stops are needed.

Written material should use black and white for contrast; color should add meaning. 

Glossy paper creates glare and is not accessible for some people with low vision. 

Attractive brochures with glossy paper can be used if an alternative form is available. 

Printed columns are usually right-justified, but they can be harder to read for people with 

low vision. 

Print material should be developed with accessibility for people with cognitive disabilities 

in mind. Simple writing and sentence structure does not mean the handouts are 

“dumbed down.” User guides should emphasize clear language.

Website accessibility is a requirement; focus on compliance with the Section 508 and 

W3C standards. Keep in mind that people who are blind or have vision impairments and 

who are navigating the website using screen reader programs must skip the graphic 

elements if they are not made accessible. The affected community should review the 

website before it is made public.

Staff should understand that various speaking devices used by people with speech 

disabilities may take additional time. Staff should not assume that a person is finished 

when he or she is only partly through a sentence. People with speech impairments 

frequently report that they are regularly hung up on when they have not finished 

speaking. Staff should be trained to be patient and to ask questions with yes/no 

answers.

Deaf people need sign language interpreters in certain situations. Any public meeting or 

in-person contact should be advertised as “interpreter available,” at least upon request. 
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A public hearing should have interpreters regardless of advance request. Sign language 

interpreters come in many types; most typical is an American Sign Language (ASL) 

interpreter. Sometimes an interpreter for deaf-blind people is needed. A request for a 

particular type of interpreter should be honored.

In addition, people who are deaf or have hearing impairments as well as other 

disabilities may need another accommodation: Communication Access Realtime 

Translation (also known as real-time captioning or CART). CART converts words to a 

text format on a screen. It is a professional service that can be delivered on location or 

remotely. The National Court Reporters Association describes CART services as “the 

instant translation of the spoken word into English text using a stenotype machine, 

notebook computer and realtime software.” The text produced by the CART service can 

be displayed on a person’s computer monitor, projected onto a screen, combined with a 

video presentation to appear as captions, or made available using other transmission 

and display systems.462 A slight delay may occur because of the captioner’s need to 

hear and enter the words and the computer’s processing time.463

Films and DVDs should be open-captioned. Many people with hearing loss need the 

captioning, and it will benefit others as well.

Make sure the teletypewriter (TTY) or relay service phone is prominently displayed. The 

hold time for a TTY call should not be any longer than for any other phone call. If the 

general public can call a toll-free number but a TTY user cannot, that is not equivalence. 

TTY service must be available the same days and hours as all other phone service.

(For more information on communications access in ADA paratransit operations, see 

Communications Access for Taking Telephone Calls in chapter 3.)

Subpart F. Traveling with a Respirator or Portable Oxygen Supply

The FTA draft ADA circular clarified the rights of people with disabilities to travel with a 

respirator or portable oxygen supply on public transit, stating, 
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Transit agencies cannot “prohibit an individual with a disability from 

traveling with a respirator or portable oxygen supply, consistent with 

applicable DOT rules on transportation of hazardous materials” 

(§ 37.167(h)). As discussed in the Appendix D section on Other Service 

Requirements [of the DOT ADA regulation], under the DOT hazardous 

materials rules (49 CFR Subtitle B, Chapter 1, Subchapter C), a 

passenger may bring a portable medical oxygen supply on board a 

vehicle. Since the hazardous materials rules permit this, transit agencies 

cannot prohibit it.464

The “DOT Guidance for the Safe Transportation of Medical Oxygen for 

Personal Use on Buses and Trains”

465 recommends measures for bus and 

rail operators to take when transporting medical oxygen cylinders (i.e., 

tanks) in the passenger compartment. The commonly used portable 

oxygen concentrators, however, are not considered hazardous materials, 

and do not require the same level of special handling as compressed 

oxygen cylinders. Transit agencies, therefore, cannot require riders to 

secure such concentrators in a particular space on the vehicle (e.g., 

behind forward-facing seats) and must allow riders to use the 

concentrators as needed on the vehicle.466

Subpart G. Navigating Public Transit with a Cognitive or Intellectual 

Disability

Navigating a public transit system with a cognitive or intellectual disability is challenging. 

Ken Shiotani, Senior Staff Attorney at the National Disability Rights Network, says, “You 

are in a strange place, and may have limited communication abilities; it can be a 

daunting proposition. How accommodating is the transportation system? Is there 

assistance? There may be no one to ask, except for strangers.”

467 

What can make transit systems more accessible for people with intellectual and other 

cognitive disabilities? Shiotani continued,

Transportation is important for community integration—being able to go to 

the store, a job, or a school, and being able to handle independent 

transactions—these are things people can learn to do but may need 

assistance with, as well as simple guidance cues. For example, on some 

public transit systems, each line has a color and a number; such additional 

cues can make way finding easier.
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Unfortunately, we do not see this consistently, nor is it easy to do with bus 

systems. Usually there’s a route name and letter or number, but those 

may be difficult to read, and it’s just text, so that’s not providing additional 

cues for someone with cognitive limitations. 

Once you’re actually on a transit mode, announcements can help 

someone know where to get off. Visual signs can be helpful. Getting 

information in multiple modes—for example, both audibly and visually, 

such as seeing and hearing a stop announcement with the stop sign—

may be helpful, so people are oriented as to when their destination is 

coming up. Color cues, repeated visually and audibly, can be helpful. 

Announcements with an artificial voice can “sound funny” and throw 

someone off. When announcements are made or recorded by people, 

unusual accents or lack of clarity can also be barriers.

Training is another critical aspect to enable people to be independent, to 

go to work and school, and live independently. Being trained for specific 

trips and going on those trips over and over again can be the difference 

between independence and institutionalization.468

Subpart H. Navigating Public Transit with Chemical or Electrical 

Sensitivities

Navigating a public transit system with chemical or electrical sensitivities is very 

challenging, according to Mary Lamielle, executive director of the National Center for 

Environmental Health Strategies.469 People disabled by environmental barriers 

experience debilitating reactions from very low-level exposures to chemicals or 

electromagnetic fields. Poor indoor environmental quality (IEQ) in public transit vehicles, 

restrooms, and public transit buildings can be hazardous to people with these 

disabilities. Improving IEQ should improve access to public transit.470

A few important steps can make public transit—including city buses, paratransit 

vehicles, cabs, trains, and over-the-road buses—more accessible for this disability 

group:

● The use of nontoxic, fragrance-free cleaning and maintenance products and 

practices.
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● The removal of all scents and fragrance-emitting devices, and prohibition of 

the use of air fresheners, deodorizers, and disinfectants in public transit 

vehicles, restrooms, and public transit buildings and facilities. Ventilation will 

help cleanse indoor air. Fragrance-free hand soaps and fragrance-free, 

alcohol-based hand sanitizers that do not have additional ingredients should 

be used.

● Conventional pesticides should be avoided in favor of safer, less toxic 

alternatives.

● The least toxic materials for public transit vehicles and for construction and 

remodeling of transit buildings should be selected. Avoid carpeting and stain 

proofing, and minimize plastics.

● Smoking should be banned on all public transit vehicles, in bus shelters, in 

public transit buildings, and within 25 feet of all entrances.

● Public transit vehicles should avoid unnecessary idling.471

Susan Molloy, a long-time advocate for people with chemical and electrical sensitivities, 

noted that common features in the built environment can cause significant disability for 

people with electrical sensitivities. These include vehicle GPS and radio features, 

overhead power lines, cell phones, parking lot rechargers, fluorescent lighting, flashing 

lights, and V2V technology between vehicles.472

Even if all environmental barriers to the use of public transit were removed, people with 

chemical and electrical sensitivities would still need the cooperation of public transit 

employees, as well as that of the general public, to use public transportation. 

Employees should be encouraged to avoid smoking and to refrain from the use of 

fragrances and scented personal care products. Fellow passengers should be 

encouraged to accommodate people who are disabled by their inability to tolerate 

exposure to chemicals by limiting their use of fragrances and scented personal care 
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products, and by avoiding problematic activities while in transit, such as applying 

scented hand lotions, hairspray, and nail polish.473

Lamielle recommended as an excellent resource the U.S. Access Board’s 2006 report 

on the Indoor Environmental Quality Project (http://www.access-board.gov/research/

completed-research/indoor-environmental-quality), particularly the Operations and 

Maintenance section (http://www.access-board.gov/research/completed-research/

indoor-environmental-quality/operations-and-maintenance).474

Subpart I. Transit Staff Trained to Proficiency

The FTA draft ADA circular explains what it means for the staff of transit agencies to be 

trained to proficiency:

Transit agencies must “ensure that personnel are trained to proficiency, as 

appropriate to their duties, so that they operate vehicles and equipment 

safely and properly assist and treat individuals with disabilities who use 

the service in a respectful and courteous way, with appropriate attention to 

the difference among individuals with disabilities” (§ 37.173).

Training to proficiency means that once trained, personnel can 

consistently and reliably operate accessibility features, provide appropriate 

assistance to individuals with disabilities, and treat riders in a respectful 

and courteous way. A good practice is to include testing and 

demonstrations to gauge employee knowledge and abilities in training 

programs.475

Chapter 6 recommendations are listed at the end of the report.
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CHAPTER 7. Rural Transportation

As described in the 2005 NCD report, lack of public transportation is one of the most 

serious, persistent problems reported by people with disabilities who live in rural 

America today.476 Some 40 years after the Urban Mass Transportation Act and 23 years 

after the Americans with Disabilities Act, minimal or nonexistent transit services in most 

rural areas still create serious, ongoing barriers to employment, accessible health care, 

and full participation in society for people with disabilities. 

According to Christopher G. Bell, Esq., member of the American Council of the Blind of 

Minnesota, “There is totally inadequate public transportation in rural [areas]. There’s an

ongoing failure to pursue the needs of our rural brothers and sisters, who include people 

with disabilities.”

477

Tim Sheehan, Executive Director of the Center for Independent Living of Western 

Wisconsin, explained, “One of the current issues is the lack of a common definition of 

‘transit’ throughout the transportation system. Rural transportation (where it is available) 

is generally defined as specialized transportation.” This deficiency creates eligibility silos 

that in turn lead to competition for the limited amount of funding for individual programs. 

Numerous restrictions are imposed on rural providers: limited trip purposes, limited 

hours of service, client-only transportation, and duplicative services, to name a few. 

Also, the cost of transportation in rural areas is generally higher due to the longer 

distances traveled.

Why is rural transportation so important? Census data shows that nearly 30 percent of 

Americans live in rural or nonmetropolitan areas.478 The 2010 census found that the 

rural share of the U.S. population had dropped to 16 percent from 21 percent in 2000, 

but the figure is much larger when population of cities under 50,000 (the minimum size 

for a metropolitan area) is counted. Using that parameter, 28.8 percent of Americans 

live in rural areas or small cities. In 34 states, more than 28 percent of the people live in 
210

rural areas or nonmetropolitan towns; in 15 states, such places account for more than 

half the population. By this measure, the most rural state is Vermont, with 82.6 percent 

of its population living in rural areas or small towns. 

Compared to the resources allocated to urban areas, those allocated for rural public 

transportation are significantly inequitable. Statistically, 25 percent of the U.S. 

population lives in rural areas, but only 6 percent of federal transit funding is allocated to 

serve them. Many rural communities (1,200 counties with a total population of 

37 million) have no public transit at all.479

However, with the provisions in the law known as MAP-21 (Moving Ahead for Progress 

in the 21st Century, the federal reauthorization of the U.S. DOT surface transportation 

programs through fiscal year 2014),480 rural transportation advocates believe that 

creativity and the coordination of local and regional resources can help achieve the goal 

of completely integrated, rather than separate or segregated, regional transit service for 

people with disabilities in rural America. Advocates also believe that these coordinated 

activities should be measurable to ensure that people can go where they need to, safely 

and in the most efficient manner.

Funding Sources for Rural Transportation

The previous reauthorization—the 2005 Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient 

Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU)481—defined four basic 

funding streams: §5310,482 §5311,483 §5316,484 and §5317.485 These sections 

complement one another.

Transportation for Elderly Persons and People with Disabilities (§5310) is a formulafunded program provided to each state to help private nonprofit groups meet the 

transportation needs of elderly and disabled people where transportation services are 

unavailable, insufficient, or inappropriate. Section 5310 funds are distributed among the 

states by a formula based on the number of elderly people and people with disabilities 
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in each state according to the latest U.S. census data. SAFETEA-LU required recipients 

to have a locally developed and coordinated public transit/human services 

transportation plan.

Since the resources available to the §5310 program are limited, they are allocated on 

the basis of relative need. Federal statute486 specifies three aspects of need for the 

§5310 transportation grant program; need is said to exist when transportation is 

unavailable, insufficient, or inappropriate.487 

It is important to understand the nuances of “unavailable, insufficient, or inappropriate” 

when considering transportation that is accessible to people with disabilities and elderly 

people. The Urban Mass Transportation Act of 1970488 clearly stated that elderly people 

and people with disabilities have the same right to use public transportation as any 

other citizens and that a special effort should be made in the planning and design of 

facilities and services to ensure effective use. Most people think of accessible 

transportation as buses, vans, or trains with special lifts that allow people using 

wheelchairs or other mobility devices to board. However, accessible transportation 

includes systems, services, vehicles, routes, stops, programs, and all other aspects of 

transportation; it should meet or exceed the minimum requirements set forth in the 

Americans with Disabilities Act. 

As the Federal Transit Administration underscored, “Unlike many other interjurisdictional assistance programs of the federal government, existing and potential 

mass transit needs are not distributed evenly across the states, but instead tend to be 

much more concentrated. Any movement toward allocating federal transit formula funds 

on a basis unrelated to need would run counter to the purpose of the program.”

489

Who determines need, and what criteria are used? How does this guide the planning 

process? Is the need defined by the internal operations of human service agencies or 

by community needs assessment with an emphasis on community participation? Even 

when the perspective is more individually focused, is that perspective on a person’s 

whole life or just on his or her role as a service agency client?
212

There are no universal definitions or criteria for the §5310 primary program rationale: 

when public transportation is unavailable, insufficient, or inappropriate. This creates 

ambiguity: What is the operational meaning of these terms?490

Unavailable public transportation is easiest to operationalize: There is no public 

transportation. In some states, particularly those with large unserved rural areas, §5310 

funds might provide the backbone for a general rural transportation system that is 

planned, designed, and carried out to meet the special needs of elderly people and 

people with disabilities. The ADA, meanwhile, can provide relief in areas where 

transportation is available for others but not for people with disabilities. 

The term insufficient is relative and implies that there are not enough available 

resources to meet existing needs. This leads to questions of how one defines 

transportation needs, and who defines them. Some states and local jurisdictions 

reference or make use of/rely on surveys of transportation needs. 

The hardest term to operationalize is inappropriate. When do people with special needs 

require separate services rather than universally designed or better developed mass 

market services? Should riders with diagnostic labels (e.g., intellectual disability), age, 

or other characteristics be excluded and existing transportation be considered 

inappropriate? Sometimes the term “inappropriate” seems to be applied to the person 

rather than to the transportation services. 

The second funding section is Formula Grants for Other than Urbanized Areas (§5311), 

a rural program that is formula-based and provides funding to states with the purpose of 

supporting public transportation in rural areas with populations under 50,000. The goal 

is to enhance access to health care, shopping, education, employment, public services, 

and recreation in nonurbanized areas. The program is also designed to encourage and 

facilitate the most efficient use of all transportation funds through the coordination of 

programs and services. This section includes the Rural Transit Assistance program and 

the Tribal Transit program.
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The Job Access and Reverse Commute (JARC) program (§5316) was established to 

address the unique transportation challenges faced by welfare recipients and those with 

low incomes as they seek to obtain and maintain employment. The New Freedom 

program (§5317) was established to provide additional tools to remove barriers facing 

people with disabilities who are seeking integration into the workforce and full 

participation in society. The program is designed to expand the available transportation 

options beyond the requirements of the ADA. 

An often overlooked section of SAFETEA-LU is the Public Transportation on Indian 

Reservations program.491 The Federal Transit Administration provides direct funding to 

federally recognized tribes to support tribal public transportation in rural areas. 

Significant changes in the MAP-21 law included the end of both the JARC (§5316) and 

New Freedom (§5317) programs; however, both survived the last reauthorization as 

eligible activities.492 JARC-type activities will be eligible under Sections 5311 (rural) and 

5307 (urban). New Freedom–type projects will be allowed under Section 5310 (seniors 

and people with disabilities).

Successful Strategies for Rural Transportation

For transportation to be effective in rural areas, the system cannot apply a one-size-fitsall mentality. Transportation services in rural areas take planning, creativity, and 

ingenuity. Low population and long distances can make traditional fixed-route and 

paratransit services too expensive or ineffective.

Strategies might include voucher programs, volunteers, flex services, taxicabs, mobility 

management, coordinated services, car ownership, or a combination of these services. 

There are numerous examples of successful programs across the country. Most 

programs use a combination of strategies. This report will focus on seven successful 

programs: Independent Living Center, Alaska; North Country Independent Living, 

Wisconsin; APRIL/NCIL/Easter Seals Project ACTION Mobility Managers Independent 
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Living Coaches; Linx Cooperative; Center for Independent Living of Western Wisconsin; 

Living Independence Network Corporation, Idaho; and Good News Mountaineer 

Garage, West Virginia. The following is a discussion of these programs, with an update 

on those that were mentioned in the 2005 NCD report.

Voucher Programs

Voucher programs493 use tickets or coupons that eligible riders give to participating 

transportation providers in exchange for rides. In general, voucher programs target 

those with the greatest need for transportation who cannot use existing transportation 

services for one or more reasons; for example, people who cannot operate private 

vehicles because they have disabilities or they do not own vehicles. Other programs 

focus on people who cannot afford to use existing taxi services, who live in areas where 

those services are not available, or who live outside the fixed-route bus service area.

A voucher system has three distinct parts: (1) the riders who use public and private 

transportation services at a fully or partially subsidized rate pay for those rides with the 

vouchers; (2) the transportation providers who agree to accept the vouchers or coupons 

as payment for the trip submit the vouchers to the sponsoring agency for 

reimbursement based on previously negotiated arrangements; and (3) the community 

supports the subsidized cost of the voucher through a local agency or agencies. The 

agencies determine customer eligibility for the voucher, provide the vouchers to the 

customer, and reimburse the transportation providers for trips.

A voucher program helps customers afford access to essential services and 

destinations. They may ride free or pay only a small co-payment for the trip.

The rider becomes more involved in the process if he or she also chooses the provider. 

Providers can be family members, friends, or neighbors. Being able to rely on vouchersupported services means additional independence for a rider who previously had to 

depend on the good will of family members and friends for personal transportation. 
215

A voucher system allows customers to choose transportation services that match their 

needs: the type of vehicle, the time and day of travel (including weekends), and the type 

of service (e.g., door-to-door). Public transportation providers also benefit, because 

participation in a voucher program allows them to expand their ridership. Taxis and 

human service transportation providers can increase their contract revenue, while family 

members, friends, and neighbors can receive reimbursement for trips they might have 

been funding out of their own pockets. All stakeholders benefit.

Volunteers

Volunteer driver programs can fill gaps in existing transportation services, especially in 

rural areas where public transportation, taxis, and human service vehicles may not be 

available. Volunteer drivers are worth their weight in gold. Cultivating a cadre of 

dedicated volunteers for a voucher program will strengthen the program and support its 

continuity.

Flex Services

Traditional fixed-route transportation systems generally operate along specified, 

inflexible routes. ADA complementary paratransit provides some flexibility but might still 

be bound to a service area or a schedule. In rural areas with low population and long 

distances, these traditional services can be very expensive or completely ineffective. 

Flex services seek to find a compromise. These services may include route deviation 

services to requested stops as well as extended or flexible hours of service. (Also see 

chapter 5 on Fixed Route Deviation Service.)

Taxicabs

In rural areas where taxi service exists, taxicabs may be used to augment traditional 

public transit service, to extend the days and hours of service, or to offer a service mode 

that is less expensive for some trips. Transit systems typically use one of two 
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approaches to arrange service with a taxi company: The service can be contracted as a 

part of an integrated paratransit system or as a supplemental service that is arranged by 

the rider and subsidized by the transit system.494

The Independent Living Center (ILC) provides independent living services on the Kenai 

Peninsula in Alaska and has been operating a voucher program with community area 

taxi companies since 1997. This program is part of an original voucher project of the 

Association of Programs for Rural Independent Living (APRIL). ILC started its first 

voucher program in the Soldotna/Kenai area, which has an approximate population of 

25,000. When the program began, transportation options for people with disabilities 

were generally not affordable, accessible, or available. Taxis were available but were 

not affordable or accessible. Specific transportation for elders and individuals with 

disabilities was limited in its availability.

In 1997, ILC began working with the local cab company and the Department of 

Transportation to eliminate barriers to transportation for elders and people with 

disabilities. ILC obtained an accessible minivan with §5310 funds and leased it to the 

cab company which, in turn, operated, maintained, fueled, and insured it. At the same 

time, ILC received a small grant to subsidize cab rides for people with disabilities and 

people over the age of 60. Eligible riders purchased a limited number of vouchers a 

month for a fraction of the fare. This program yields benefits for all involved. It works 

with private businesses (cab companies) that are familiar with the transportation 

business. Cab companies are demand-responsive transportation providers that offer 

door-to-door service and operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week, offering 

availability superior to that offered by most public transit systems. The rider contributes 

toward the ride, and the state DOT extends the effectiveness of its funds. The ILC 

benefits, as it garners a customer base that might not ordinarily come through its doors. 

It is able to provide other independent living services to consumers who initially came in 

for transportation assistance.

Over the years, the program has changed. The same cab company operates five 

accessible vans, which it purchased as part of its 20-plus vehicle fleet. The cab 
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company contracts with the newly formed Transportation Brokerage, a Medicaid and 

Medicaid waiver transportation provider, and with the ILC voucher program. In the last 

three years, the cab company had annual revenue of over $87,000 through the ILC 

voucher program. The funding sources for vouchers include §5310 and Alaska Mental 

Health Trust dollars that are channeled through Alaska DOT for transportation use.

ILC replicated the program in the Homer area, which has an approximate population of 

8,000, and a similar program was established in Seward in 2010. Each program is 

tailored to fit the community, the consumers’ needs, and the local cab companies, but 

they have common elements. The local ILC office is responsible for establishing the 

eligibility of the riders, selling vouchers and tracking their use, reimbursing the cab 

companies for redeemed vouchers, and for all grant writing and reporting requirements. 

ILC earns three dollars for each ride given. This is a way to address the “no operating 

expenses” requirement of most DOT funding. 

In FY 2012, the ILC voucher program provided 6,275 one-way rides for 115 people in 

the Homer area. In the Kenai/Soldotna area, 178 people received 7,320 one-way rides. 

In Seward, 55 people received 3,090 rides.

Homer is the site of another innovative project. One Kenai Peninsula transit provider is 

donating an accessible minivan to a local cab company for use in its fleet. The cab 

company will be responsible for all operations, maintenance, and insurance of the 

vehicle.

In addition, local human service agencies are coordinating and pooling their purchase of 

rides through Central Area Rural Transit System, a publicly funded transit provider. The 

DOT/FTA and the Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority are primary funding sources. 

These pooled purchases leverage public transportation funds that can be used by the 

general public for a voucher system. This program was in the design phase for nearly 

two years and was introduced in 2013. It will use cab companies to take the place of 

public transit in rural Alaska. Solicitation of grant applicants began in 2013 through the 
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human service transportation coordinated by the Anchorage Metropolitan Area 

Transportation Solutions.495

Vouchers and volunteer drivers also have been successful in northwest Wisconsin. 

North Country Independent Living serves a 9,000-square-mile, eight-county region in 

northwestern Wisconsin with an average population density of 13 people per square 

mile. Public transit services are available in only a few communities, leaving most of the 

nearly 150,000 people in the area to look for other solutions. The people with disabilities 

in the region and anyone who does not own or drive a car face significant transportation 

barriers.

To help overcome these barriers, North Country has initiated both a voucher and a 

volunteer driver program. Beginning in 2007 with a pilot program, the North Country 

voucher program has provided more than 30,000 trips for more than 160 consumers 

with disabilities. These consumers have been able to travel a total of more than 

750,000 miles. In 2011, North Country began its collaboration with its neighboring 

center, the Center for Independent Living of Western Wisconsin, to provide the 

managed care organization (MCO) of the area with an effective volunteer driver 

program that would serve MCO members in 11 northwestern Wisconsin counties. By 

the end of 2012, this program had already provided more than 20,000 trips.

More important than the numbers, though, is the story behind each one of these trips. 

For the riders, both the volunteer driver and voucher programs can make the difference 

between going out and staying home, between isolation and the chance to be part of 

the community.

One story is that of a young woman who used the name Millie for the purposes of this 

report. She experienced a traumatic brain injury nearly a decade ago. After years of 

hard work in rehabilitation, she is now pursing her employment goal by gaining needed 

education at a community college. The school is more than 20 miles from her house. 

Thanks to a volunteer driver, Millie travels to class and returns home three days a week.
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Another consumer who used the name Jean used vouchers to pay someone to drive 

her to work at a nursing home so she could complete the unpaid internship that was 

required for her certificate as a community nursing assistant. With this experience, Jean 

later got a job at the same facility. Now, not only does she have a job, but she is also 

providing her own transportation.

Bill’s story concerns receiving needed specialized medical care far from home. In fact, 

medical care is the reason behind most of the trips that consumers need, often to 

medical centers far from their homes. Bill needs dialysis three times a week at a 

medical center 45 miles away. On dialysis days, a North Country volunteer driver picks 

him up at 5:30 a.m., takes him to dialysis and has him home again by 1:00 p.m. Not 

only are these trips saving the MCO the cost of a nursing home placement but, perhaps 

more important, Bill can live where he chooses, in his lifelong home in the north woods 

of Wisconsin. 

Mobility Management

Mobility management refers to the consideration and coordination of all modes of 

transportation to meet the needs of users. In this practice, communities rely on a variety 

of transportation sources to move rural and small town residents from Point A to Point B 

as safely and efficiently as possible. This people-oriented approach takes into account a 

rider’s age, income level, and accessibility needs to determine the best transportation 

option. Effective mobility management ensures that residents are familiar with available 

resources and that communities coordinate transit programs effectively. 

Mobility management programs seek to expand accessible transportation services and 

to connect these services to people in the community who require them. Personcentered mobility management focuses on the interests and community connections 

preferred by the person who is interested in the various transportation options. The key 

to accessible transportation is ensuring that people with disabilities can live 

spontaneous lives, connected to community-based activities including health care, 
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recreation, leisure, civic engagement, education, and employment. Mobility 

management has many facets, and it is unique to each community.

In 2010, Easter Seals Project ACTION initiated a grant program in partnership with the 

Association of Programs for Rural Independent Living and the National Council on 

Independent Living (NCIL) to create mobility management/independent living 

coaches.496 The coaches are people with disabilities from centers for independent living 

who educate and train mobility managers to work closely with disability organizations in 

their respective communities. The primary goal of this program is to connect with the 

independent living movement and to have greater involvement and feedback from 

people with disabilities in person-directed mobility management.

Part of a mobility manager’s duty is to form connections and develop relationships with 

local agencies, governing bodies, and transportation providers. This is critical to 

determine what transportation is available, where it overlaps, and how it can be 

coordinated among agencies for the highest efficiencies in transporting people. Such 

coordination occurred among Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming when several 

organizations from these states and the Wyoming mobility manager worked together to 

create a new transportation option through Yellowstone National Park.497

A previously closed bus system now operates inside the park and provides tours to park 

exhibits. Members of the Linx Cooperative entered into an agreement with the National 

Park Service to open the roads within the park to public transportation and to coordinate 

services among outside providers to link the gateway communities of the park. A key 

aspect of this agreement is that the transit lines provide a different type of service than 

the tour buses. Now these transit bus lines are able to serve Yellowstone and Grand 

Teton National Parks as well as Bozeman, Montana, on the north; Jackson, Wyoming, 

on the south; Cody, Wyoming, on the east; and Idaho Falls, Idaho, and West 

Yellowstone, Montana, on the west. Opening this throughway has reduced trips that 

typically take six to eight hours (to go around the park) to four hours, allowing quicker 

access to health care and other services.
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The independent living coach serving this region said,

I work with Linx, a transportation cooperative of the Yellowstone Business 

Partnership. The goal of this program is to increase transportation 

opportunities for all individuals within Western Wyoming, Southern 

Montana and Eastern Idaho. This group is made up of transportation 

providers, businesses, nonprofit groups, and other interested parties. I 

chose to work with Linx because it involves mobility managers at the 

decision-making level. Linx offers the opportunity to advocate and provide 

training for transportation-related issues that are important to an 

independent living center and to those who have the ability to expand 

services. I have been very impressed with the willingness of these 

providers to comply with—and exceed—ADA requirements and to treat 

individuals with disabilities as they would any other passenger.498

Coordinated Services 

Although the lack of transportation options in rural America is a persistent problem, 

several programs are using creativity and coordination to provide services to people 

with disabilities and those with low incomes. The Center for Independent Living for 

Western Wisconsin (CILWW) is one example.499 The CILWW effort to increase transit 

options in rural Wisconsin has two critical components: regional coordination and 

provision of transportation to rural communities with few or no transit resources.

The center employs a certified regional mobility manager who also serves as the 

transportation program coordinator. The center staffs a seven-county transportation 

coordinating committee that knits together the required locally developed humanservice-coordinated transportation plans into a more region-based approach.

The regional coordinating committee is composed of public and private stakeholders; it 

meets quarterly in rotating locations within the region. The combination of the regional 

approach to coordination and providing transportation to those without access to it has 

resulted in a robust and growing program. In 2011, the program provided more than 

12,000 rides; recently, it surpassed a million miles of service to a diverse population of 

people with disabilities. The center uses more than 140 volunteer drivers to serve the 
222

majority of those who use the program. The program is funded through a combination of 

New Freedom, Section 5317, and mobility management project funds, as well as 

monies received for delivering transit services. The rest of the funding is local match 

fee-for-service funds, rider reimbursements, agreements (cash and in-kind) from county 

partners, contracts, and the in-kind value of the drivers’ time.

Those who access the program (people with disabilities of all ages) do so for a variety 

of reasons, including medical, social, recreational, and employment-based trips. Since 

2008, a third of those requesting transportation services have sought to access 

educational training, employment, or employment-related programs.

As a result of its success in meeting the unmet needs of the rural counties, the center 

has also engaged in a number of contracts with county human services and Aging and 

Disability Resource Centers (ADRCs) to coordinate and provide a portion of the 

transportation for those eligible under state and federal programs. Additionally, the 

transportation programs of the ADRCs have garnered contracts to provide 

transportation to consumers of two regional managed care organizations.

As the result of a recent collaboration with another private nonprofit center for 

independent living, the program now coordinates and provides transportation to residents 

in an 18-county area of western and northwestern Wisconsin. A growing segment of 

those served are veterans without transportation to regional Veterans Administration 

centers. The program currently serves more than 130 veterans each week.

Finally, recognition of the growing demand for transportation options for rural Wisconsin 

residents with disabilities has led to an unprecedented and successful collaboration. In 

partnership with the city of Eau Claire Public Transit, the center was awarded the first 

two rounds of the federal Veterans Transportation Community Living Initiative grant for 

two years. This public-private collaborative was the only program funded in Wisconsin.

However, the success or impact of any program must be measured by how it affects the 

lives of individuals. The story of a user who lost his vision in midlife in 2009 summarizes 
223 

what the program aims to achieve. “I had always been very independent and selfsufficient. I now had to figure out how to cope with all the changes in my life,” this user 

said, when asked to comment on how the rural transportation program at the CILWW 

had affected him. “In 2010 and 2011,” he said, “I stayed home most of the year because 

I didn’t want to burden people for a ride.” 

After a referral and consultation on how the program operates and what it could offer 

him, the man decided to venture out in the community once more. “I decided I was 

ready to take on the world and needed to be out in the world.” He uses the program 

frequently for his needs and to accompany his 12-year-old son on trips. “Because of the 

transportation program, I have been able to attend my medical appointments, get my 

own groceries, and take my son on outings. He was so happy one day when we could 

go to the Mongolian Barbecue for lunch and then to a movie.” He concluded by saying, 

“I appreciate greatly the gift of independence this program has given me.” 

Another coordinated services program is conducted by Living Independence Network 

Corporation (LINC),500 a center for independent living with offices in Boise, Caldwell, 

and Twin Falls, Idaho. The LINC transportation program501 is an example of cooperation 

and coordination among human service agencies, public and private transportation 

providers, riders, and federal, state, and local funding sources. The transportation 

program is funded by a combination of §5310, §5316, §5317, and Older Americans Act 

funds through the local Area Agency on Aging.

The LINC transportation program is a user-side subsidy service that allows people 

whose disability prevents them from driving to defray the cost of public and private

transportation. Participants receive a discount card to be used when they ride with the 

public transportation provider or private providers such as taxis. The providers then bill 

LINC for the discounted dollar amount, which averages less than half of the regular fee.

By the end of 2012, 1,325 people had used the program; 809 of the participants were 

60 years of age or over, and 698 people used the program specifically for employment. 

Using creativity and working with existing resources, the program provides a significant 
224

link between people with disabilities and seniors in rural America and their communities 

and employment opportunities. 

An example of the program run by LINC is that of a young girl with Down syndrome who 

was seeking transportation options. After graduating from high school, she became very 

active in the community. Her mother was her sole source of transportation but was not 

able to fulfill all the girl’s transportation needs, and she was fearful of losing her newfound 

independence. Working with the LINC staff, she now uses the public bus system to travel 

during the day and her discount card to use the taxi for activities after hours.

(For more information on coordinated services, see chapter 8 on Coordinated 

Transportation.)

Car Ownership

Access to available transportation is crucial for economic independence. Economic 

independence is a significant aspect of personal independence, and car ownership can 

be the solution to many transportation challenges. 

Good News Mountaineer Garage502 is a West Virginia nonprofit organization that takes 

donated cars, repairs them, and gives them to families in need of transportation to travel 

to work or training. The vehicles are matched to the needs of the recipients, who are 

provided with a warranty and training in how to care for the car. The families are 

required to have insurance and a budget for maintenance.

Organized by a group of concerned citizens, the Good News Mountaineer Garage 

opened its doors in 2001; since then, it has helped more than 1,700 families in West 

Virginia meet their transportation needs. In 2009, the garage entered an agreement with 

the West Virginia Department of Rehabilitation Services, which helps people with 

disabilities establish and reach vocational goals, to provide vehicles to referred clients. 

So far, 90 vehicles have been provided to people with disabilities who previously lacked 

transportation.
225

Update on Programs Mentioned in the 2005 NCD Report

One of the programs mentioned in the 2005 NCD report503 was the Association of 

Programs for Rural Independent Living Traveler’s Cheque Program, a highly successful 

transportation project. The goal of this project was to demonstrate the effectiveness of a 

voucher model to provide employment-related transportation for people with disabilities 

who lived in rural areas. It was established in 10 cities across the nation to provide rides 

to 588 people with various types of disabilities. The cities were located in Alaska, 

Georgia, Illinois, Kansas, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Montana, New Mexico, 

Pennsylvania, and Utah. (The site in Alaska is still operating the voucher program 

described earlier in the section on taxicabs.) The programs provided rides for 

668 people with disabilities that resulted in 149 full-time and 121 part-time jobs obtained 

by participants.504

The Arkansas CADET (Career Alternatives for Delta Area Transportation) project505

was another successful rural transportation project. In August 2001, the CADET project 

began providing transportation vouchers to people with disabilities preparing for, looking 

for, and going to and from work. In 2003, the project expanded its services to include 

taking children to daycare, easing a heavy burden on some participants. The project 

provided 33,850 job-related rides and traveled 1,060,558 miles.

MAP-21 and Rural Transportation

While Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century (MAP-21) represented a 

significant shift in transit policy for rural communities, the legislation only authorized 

funding for two years and will need to be reauthorized by the current Congress, which 

may or may not alter the MAP-21 framework. The short authorization timeline of the bill 

(24 months) and flat funding create challenges for rural providers. Several features of 

the bill that were intended to improve access to transportation in rural communities are 

described in the following paragraphs. At this time, it is still open for debate whether 
226

these initiatives were ultimately successful or whether the current reauthorization of 

MAP-21 will allow them to continue. 

Equitable funding: Any and all federal investments in public transit services in MAP-21 

must be accountable and accessible to all users, regardless of program or area of the 

country.

Rural transportation planning: Every state must develop a formalized planning 

process for rural transportation that includes provisions for people with disabilities, and 

state and local planning committees must include rural people with disabilities. 

Currently, 38 percent of the counties in the United States have no rural transit, and less 

than 10 percent of federal spending is allocated to public transportation in rural areas.506

The law anticipated that these planning organizations would have a more formal role in 

setting regional priorities and overseeing the locally developed coordinated plan, as well 

as the responsibility of including urban, small urban, and rural formula transit providers 

into a more robust coordinated plan. These organizations507 should be established 

throughout each state, with the goal of implementing rural transit systems in all 

counties. 

Coordination: The transportation components of all federal disability-related legislation 

across agencies should be coordinated to be consistent with and to complement MAP21 transportation programs. Links should be created among transportation systems and 

municipalities to overcome artificial barriers such as transportation that stops at a 

county line or unnecessary service duplication. The principle of human service 

transportation coordination as a part of the public transit system should be emphasized. 

Before the passage of the ADA, social service agencies provided a significant portion of 

non-fixed-route transportation services available to people with disabilities in the United 

States.508 Transportation was not earmarked as a separate funding stream in the 

budgets of many agencies; for these agencies to bring clients in for services, they often 

had little choice but to become involved in the transportation business. However, 

transportation was not viewed as a primary goal in the mission of social service 
227

agencies, so many were more than willing to shift this responsibility to the federally 

mandated ADA paratransit programs, which met the transportation needs of agency 

clients to some extent. The requirement in MAP-21 to widen the scope of development 

of a coordinated transportation plan to include both human service providers and 

traditional transit formula grant providers created an opportunity to address some of the 

disparities in transit availability.509

Conclusion

Today, 45 years after the Urban Mass Transportation Assistance Act of 1970510 and 

25 years after enactment of the ADA, minimal or nonexistent transit services in rural 

areas still create serious barriers to employment, accessible health care, and full 

participation in society for people with disabilities.

It is time to move past us-versus-them scenarios. It is crucial to consolidate the silo 

approach and give transportation providers the flexibility they need to serve the entire 

community, beyond its individual segments. This country must systematically encourage 

and fund innovative private and public sector models that can address unavailable and 

insufficient rural transportation, such as the models described in this report. The nation 

must also allocate program funds to support innovative tribal transportation programs 

that are coordinated with other public transit and community transportation services.

As Dale Marsico, Executive Director of the Community Transportation Association of 

America, stated in Twenty Years Later: Rural Transit Is Thriving, Demand Is Growing, 

More Resources Needed by Scott Bogren, “America’s most innovative, efficient and 

flexible transportation providers are those serving rural areas. They are the 

transportation solution for the next century.”

511

Chapter 7 recommendations are listed at the end of the report.
228

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229

CHAPTER 8. Coordinated Transportation

The 2005 NCD report described the increasing focus on the need for coordinated 

transportation programs and services.512 It explained the 2004 Executive Order on 

Human Service Transportation Coordination and the United We Ride initiative, and 

provided examples of successful transportation coordination in Montana and Wisconsin.

Activities to increase transportation coordination have continued since that time. Also, 

researchers studying the coordination of transportation services have concluded that 

coordination can result in both improved mobility and increased efficiency. The Transit 

Cooperative Research Program made these points in TCRP Report 105, Strategies to 

Increase Coordination of Transportation Services for the Transportation Disadvantaged. 

The writers observed,

Often the aim of coordination is increased efficiency and a lower cost per 

passenger trip for participating agencies. In some cases, coordination has 

been shown to result in significant reductions in cost per vehicle hour or 

passenger trip, which may lead to lower transportation expenditures. A 

Medicaid agency, for example, that pays a very high cost per trip when 

purchasing service on its own may be able to reduce its overall 

transportation expense by purchasing service from a coordinated system, 

particularly one that takes full advantage of existing fixed-route transit 

services. For many participants, however, increased coordination may 

lead to benefits other than cost savings. For human services agencies or 

transit providers that may be serving only a portion of the demand for their 

transportation services or whose unit costs are already relatively low, 

coordination is likely to enable them to serve more customers or offer a 

higher level or quality of service for the same expenditure.513

The ensuing years have given rise to numerous successful examples of coordinated 

transportation, many of which involve the disability community in a significant way. 

Several examples follow.514
230

Toward a Universal Transit System

The network of transportation services available in the three-county area around 

Portland, Oregon, is perhaps one of the most important models of coordinated

transportation in the country. Julie Wilcke, former Mobility Manager for Ride Connection 

and today, its Chief Operating Officer, explained that TriMet,515 the fixed-route transit 

authority, supports all types of transportation providers in the region, including a variety 

of community-based and neighborhood service providers. Riders receive service from 

community organizations (often in their own neighborhoods) coordinated through Ride 

Connection. Ride Connection provides service through 30 or more service providers as 

well as providing service directly in two areas. Among the providers are nonprofits as 

diverse as the American Red Cross and the Edwards Center, which provides 

transportation to people with developmental disabilities. TriMet supports the work of

these small programs, rather than replacing them with costly ADA service. 

Wilcke pointed out that “these groups know their clients and areas better than we 

would.” Owing in part to volunteer drivers, cost per ride is a little over $12, rather than 

$26 for an ADA paratransit ride. Close collaboration among all these organizations 

“develops solutions that go beyond the ADA and leverages more dollars to expand 

capacity in our region. We have a centralized information/referral to look for what is the 

best mode for each trip for a customer.” As an example, Wilcke described a frail person 

who cannot wait during a 30-minute ADA pickup window or cope with a shared group 

trip. “So we will arrange a volunteer driver to pick him up, wait for him, and take him 

right home,” she said. In another case, someone needed to go to the grocery store, but 

her neighbor would no longer take her. Wilcke said, “We taught her how to take the bus, 

and then a shuttle picks her up to take her home because she can’t carry all the 

groceries on the bus.” Wilcke pointed out that, although her organization does have 

dedicated state dollars for special needs transportation, those dollars go through the 

transit agency, which believes in what Ride Connection does and supports it financially. 

“They are coming from the transit side, thinking about masses of people. We are 
231

coming from the human service side, thinking about how each person can get their ride. 

We are able to work together towards independent mobility for all.” 

David Raphael of Community Mobility Solutions, who has been at the forefront of 

transportation coordination efforts at the state and federal levels, said,

TriMet may be part of a progressive movement that is rethinking what is 

public transportation. They’re expanding their definition of public transit 

services. TriMet is doing what community-based nonprofits used to do—

they send someone out to popular destinations (such as adult day centers 

or sheltered workshops) and see vehicles from multiple agencies arriving. 

They realize they could give their costly ADA trips to community-based 

providers, thus embracing a whole continuum of services and providers. 

They’re also looking at the use of a centralized one-stop call center that 

would serve customers and providers all over the metro area, including 

large contract providers and community providers alike. 

For example, I was a volunteer driver for a neighborhood paratransit 

agency called Portland Impact (now Impact NW) that does specialized 

transportation trips, grocery and medical, for seniors and people with 

disabilities. Portland Impact works with Ride Connection and Ride 

Connection works for TriMet. 

There’s beginning to be a recognition that all these services are part of the 

same public transit system. People can use multiple services for different 

needs. So for grocery shopping, they’ll use Portland Impact, but to play 

bingo or go to a senior center or dialysis appointment, they may call 

TriMet Lift (the ADA paratransit service). People are beginning to 

negotiate the system and realize the benefits of the family of services. 

So on one level, it’s unfortunate that ADA paratransit was seen as a 

separate add-on service for a designated clientele. They could have made 

everything flexible. They could have flexed up their routes, and targeted 

isolated people with disabilities who are stranded, using neighborhood 

shuttles and flexible service—with nondisabled people riding the same 

vehicles as people with disabilities. That’s what it could look like 

everywhere.
232

Coordination Model in Iowa: A Single Agency Providing Multiple 

Programs in Eleven Counties

Ottumwa Transit Authority (OTA) in Ottumwa, Iowa, is a small, urban fixed-route system 

in which the 11 counties around Ottumwa, covering 5,500 square miles, came together 

to coordinate most of their transportation programs. The multiple programs and funding 

streams have included Area Agencies on Aging, Head Start, Medicaid, Job Access and 

Reverse Commute, ADA paratransit, school districts, and contracts with particular 

businesses and towns. Riders make one call using a toll-free number. OTA staff pointed 

out, 

We often get calls from adult children who live outside the hometown, 

saying, “My mom is in failing health but still in her home. What can you do 

to help us?” We get many such calls because we have such a high 

population of senior citizens. In very little communities, the population is 

steadily declining. The young people are leaving, and it leaves a huge void 

in taking care of the senior citizens that remain. The hidden value is that, 

for families decentralized around the U.S., we provide a support 

mechanism that helps these senior citizens continue in the lifestyle they 

prefer, living independently in their own homes. And we’ve given the older 

people’s children the reassurance that we’re there and that we provide a 

very dependable, reasonably priced service for their family.516

Coordination Model in Maine: Using Medicaid Dollars to Increase 

Capacity

In 2005, Jon McNulty was Executive Director of the Regional Transportation Program 

(RTP) based in Portland, Maine, which was the ADA paratransit provider for several 

fixed-route bus systems in the Portland area. Under the RTP Medicaid program, people 

could come in once a month to obtain a free pass to use on one of the bus systems, so 

long as they had at least three appointments that included medical or psychiatric 

services. “We buy the passes and distribute them,” McNulty explained. “The fixed-route 

systems send us a bill; we pay them and bill the Medicaid program. It’s great for the 

clients, because if they meet the qualifications, they have free transportation. The two 
233

systems cover about anywhere you could possibly go in our geographic area. It gets 

people off the paratransit and onto the fixed-route system, and the fixed-route system’s 

ridership goes up. The state wins because it saves a lot of money, reimbursing us only 

the cost of half what a paratransit ride would be. It’s a great example of everyone 

working together: the fixed-route systems, the Medicaid program, the clients, and us.” 

McNulty pointed out another important aspect of his agency: use of a large volunteer 

corps. “Many of our ADA riders are transported by volunteers, not all on buses or vans,” 

he said. “And particularly outside the city in rural areas, where people fall outside the 

ADA service area and locations are difficult to serve by bus or van, we carry a large 

number of people with disabilities by using volunteers. The volunteer system in Maine is 

very extensive. If it didn’t exist, our whole paratransit industry would collapse.”

517

According to an earlier Transportation Research Board report, state actions were 

recognized as promising at least ten years ago. State level legislation requiring 

coordination and specifically defining processes for achieving coordination had been 

enacted by 2004 in Arizona, California, Florida, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, North Carolina, 

and Vermont.518

(For information on coordinated transportation in a rural context, see chapter 7 on Rural 

Transportation.)

Chapter 8 recommendations are listed at the end of the report.
234

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CHAPTER 9. Commercial Driver’s License Rules

One of the most significant transportation issues for deaf and hearing-impaired people 

is the rules regarding commercial driver’s licenses, which have effectively imposed a 

virtual ban on the employment of hard-of-hearing and deaf people as interstate truck 

drivers. Groups of people with other disabilities are also affected, including people with 

epilepsy or a history of seizures and those with insulin-treated diabetes.

On February 1, 2013, the National Association of the Deaf released an announcement 

that “DOT Recognizes Deaf and Hard of Hearing Truck Drivers!” 

In a historic victory for deaf and hard of hearing truckers, the United States

Department of Transportation (DOT) announced today, after decades of 

prohibition, that deaf drivers can operate commercial motor vehicles such 

as large trucks. Today, the DOT granted 40 applications filed by the 

National Association of the Deaf (NAD) seeking exemption from the 

hearing standard that has barred deaf drivers from obtaining commercial 

driver’s licenses (CDLs). In announcing this historic decision, the DOT 

cited research demonstrating that deaf drivers are as safe as hearing 

drivers.519

According to Howard Rosenblum, Chief Executive Officer of the National Association of 

the Deaf,

Since the development of commercial driver’s licenses (CDLs) by the U.S. 

Department of Transportation, the DOT has required a “whisper test” 

wherein applicants seeking to obtain the CDL must hear a whisper in their 

better ear from five feet away. This part of the physical exam given to 

every applicant seeking a CDL has prevented many deaf and hard of 

hearing people from becoming truck drivers. The DOT now requires that a 

CDL applicant pass either the whisper test or an audiological test. Some 

deaf people have been able to obtain intrastate CDLs from their states, as 

a few states grant such CDLs without the hearing test, but this kind of CDL 

only allows the driver to drive within the state and not across the country. 

Most states, however, follow the U.S. DOT and require a hearing test 

based on the federal requirements. 
236

The National Association of the Deaf has pushed the U.S. Department of 

Transportation (DOT) for years to do away with the hearing requirements, 

as it has been proven that deaf drivers are just as safe as drivers who can 

hear, if not safer. The NAD submitted petitions to repeal the rule as well as 

to waive the hearing requirement for CDL applicants who are deaf or hard 

of hearing until the rule is repealed. To date, the U.S. DOT agreed to 

waive approximately 70 deaf and hard of hearing CDL applicants from the 

hearing requirement, and these 70 applicants now have CDLs for the first 

time in the entire history of the DOT!

The U.S. DOT has informed the NAD that the rule that requires a hearing 

test will be subject to a rulemaking review within a year, and we are 

hopeful that the rule will be completely repealed at that time.520

There have also been advances for the other groups of drivers with disabilities, 

including those with epilepsy or a history of seizures and those with insulin-treated 

diabetes. In January 2013, a DOT notice exempted a group of drivers with epilepsy or a 

history of seizures, and some 2,500 drivers with insulin-treated diabetes are operating in 

interstate commerce under a federal diabetes exemption. All these developments have 

provided a sense of momentum and hope for disability rights organizations that 

“antiquated DOT rules” barring these drivers may yield to better, more inclusive 

policies.521

Chapter 9 recommendations are listed at the end of the report.
237

CHAPTER 10.Public Rights-of-Way 

Chapter Overview

The public rights-of-way (PROW) is “essentially, a network of common space that is 

reserved for community mobility, not just for cars but also for pedestrians, cyclists, and 

transit.”

522 Public rights-of-way include sidewalks and streets, and key PROW issues for 

people with disabilities include bus stops, accessible pedestrian signals, detectable 

warnings, curb ramps, and snow removal. PROW obstacles are particularly isolating 

because they render people with disabilities unable to connect to forms of transportation 

such as buses and trains. Lack of access to the public rights-of-way across the United 

States has been a significant obstacle to the full integration of people with disabilities 

into all aspects of society. 

The ADA requires, in essence, that in new construction, a “high degree of convenient 

access” be provided. When aspects of the public rights-of-way are altered (defined as a 

change that affects usability), the altered area and a path to travel to it must be 

accessible to the “maximum extent feasible.” This requirement refers to the occasional 

case where the nature of the existing facility makes it virtually impossible to comply fully 

with accessibility standards, but the maximum physical accessibility that is feasible must 

be provided. “It puts the onus on the provider to squeeze out the most accessibility they 

can from the situation at hand.”

523 In existing facilities that are not otherwise being 

altered, public entities such as cities, counties, and states must provide “program 

access” by making their systems of sidewalks, bus stops, and other aspects of the 

public rights-of-way accessible “when viewed in their entirety.”

524

Two Important Appellate Court Decisions

Two important appellate court decisions under the ADA emphasize the responsibilities 

of cities, counties, and states to provide access to public rights-of-way. 
238

The first, in 1993, was Kinney v. Yerusalim,

525 in which the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 

Third Circuit ruled that the ADA requires cities to install curb ramps when they resurface 

streets. This lawsuit was brought against the city of Philadelphia by a group of people 

with mobility impairments. (See more about this case in the Street Resurfacing and 

Curb Ramps section below).

The second important appellate court decision, Barden v. Sacramento526 in 2003, set a 

precedent requiring cities and other public entities to make all public sidewalks 

accessible to people with mobility and vision disabilities. The court ruled that public 

entities must address barriers such as missing or unsafe curb ramps throughout the 

public sidewalk system, as well as barriers that block access along the length of the 

sidewalks. The settlement approved by the court provided that for up to 30 years, the 

city of Sacramento will allocate 20 percent of its annual transportation fund to make the 

pedestrian rights-of-way of the city accessible to people with vision or mobility 

disabilities. This work will include installation of compliant curb ramps at intersections 

and removal of barriers that obstruct the sidewalk, including narrow pathways, abrupt 

changes in level, excessive cross slopes, and overhanging obstructions, as well as 

improvements in crosswalk access.527

Several similar lawsuits have been filed. For example, a lawsuit was filed on July 30, 

2014, in federal court by disability rights advocates and Sheppard Mullin Richter & 

Hampton LLP on behalf of the Center for Independence of the Disabled in New York, 

alleging that New York City violates federal disability civil rights laws by failing to make 

its sidewalks and pedestrian routes accessible to people who use wheelchairs or are 

blind.528 The press release stated,

As we enter the 25th year of the Americans with Disabilities Act this week, 

more than 400,000 New Yorkers with ambulatory disabilities and more 

than 200,000 people with vision disabilities continue to be excluded from 

the pedestrian culture that is so critical to community life in New York City, 

because nearly all of the City’s sidewalks and pedestrian routes are 

dangerous and difficult for people with disabilities. Dangers include 

corners at pedestrian crossings without curb ramps for wheelchair users 

or corners with hazardous curb ramps that are broken or too steep, which 
239

often end up forcing persons using wheelchairs to modify travel plans, 

avoid whole areas with inaccessible streetscapes, or roll over curb ramps 

with barriers that threaten to topple a wheelchair. The majority of curb 

ramps in the City also have no required detectable warnings or contrasting 

features that signal to blind and low-vision pedestrians that they are about 

to leave the sidewalk and enter the path of vehicle traffic. ...

For nearly three decades, the City has ignored its obligations to provide 

curb ramps and accessible pedestrian routes whenever it resurfaces City 

streets or alters its streets and sidewalks. The City has also failed to make 

timely improvements to its existing sidewalks so that wheelchair users and 

the blind can safely travel ... 

For wheelchair users like Dustin Jones, each of the 4–5 trips he takes to 

lower Manhattan every week are rife with danger. Mr. Jones commented, 

“Barriers at curb ramps have left me stuck in the street where I have had 

to rely on the kindness of strangers to help me up on the sidewalk. Poorly 

placed curb ramps have forced me right into the path of vehicle traffic 

where I fear for my safety. ...” Myrna Driffin, a Chelsea resident and 

grandmother of 15 who is totally blind, said, “I don’t feel safe walking 

downtown. Just last week I ended up in the middle of the street before I 

knew I was off the curb. Cars were honking at me. It was really scary. I am 

a smart lady and I have been blind almost my whole adult life, but New 

York City streets are so poorly marked that this happens regularly.”

529

Two similar lawsuits have been filed in California regarding cities’ responsibility for 

sidewalk and curb ramp access. One, against the city of Los Angeles, focuses on the 

failure of sidewalks and curb ramps to provide access for people with mobility 

impairments under accessibility standards of the Americans with Disabilities Act and 

Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act.530 In 2013, Presiding Judge Consuelo B. Marshall 

in the Central District of California held that recipients of federal financial assistance 

cannot claim an undue burden defense under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, 

even with respect to existing facilities. The court relied on the lack of undue burden 

language in either Section 504 or the implementing regulations.531

The other case was filed on June 4, 2014, by the Disability Rights Legal Center (DRLC), 

Disability Rights Advocates, and Goldstein, Borgen, Dardarian, and Ho.532 This class 

action lawsuit alleges that the city of Long Beach, California, is in violation of the ADA 

by discriminating against residents and visitors with mobility impairments. The lawsuit 
240

seeks to compel the city to ensure that all people with mobility disabilities are able to 

safely travel on the city’s sidewalks. The DRLC’s then Executive Director, Paula 

Pearlman, stated, 

This litigation will require the city to make changes to its sidewalks that it 

should have made decades ago. It’s a shame that residents must litigate 

to ensure everyone has access to the fundamental civil rights to travel 

freely and safely. We’re confident this case will bring justice for the 

mobility-disabled community in Long Beach.533

Lack of Enforceable Technical Standards

A significant challenge to accessible public rights of way across the United States has 

been the lack of enforceable technical standards. The nation moved a significant step 

forward in 2011 when the U.S. Access Board published Proposed Guidelines for 

Pedestrian Facilities in the Public Right-of-Way.534 

Other Key Issues

Alice Ritchhart, Transportation Committee Chair for the American Council of the Blind, 

pointed out,

Inaccessible public rights-of-way is why a lot of blind people use 

paratransit. If you have to cross a busy street to get to a bus stop, it’s an 

issue, especially when there are no audio crossing signals. Some cities 

are getting much better about putting them in, but it’s a constant battle. 

And a lot of cities provide curb cuts, but don’t put down [detectable] 

warnings so that blind people know when we’re stepping out into the 

street. People don’t feel safe traveling because there are no [detectable] 

warnings or audio pedestrian signals.535 

Christopher G. Bell, Esq., member, American Council of the Blind of Minnesota, 

described his experience as an advocate:
241

I have found that when I’ve tried to deal with transportation issues within 

my state, I have to talk to public engineers. Generally, they have 

absolutely no idea about disability issues. They really don’t understand, for 

example, why they must install curb cuts. There are several curb cuts in 

[the urban area where I live], where right at the top of the curb cut, there is 

a pole or a tree. My view is, somebody didn’t get it. It could be that they 

first put the curb cut in, and some utility company put the pole in later, but 

it’s just stupid. It’s probably unintentional, but they’re real barriers for 

people who use wheelchairs.536

Enforcement Difficulties and Encouraging Developments

The ADA enforcement agency for public rights-of-way is the Federal Highway 

Administration (FHWA), part of the U.S. Department of Transportation. Bell opined that 

the “FHWA is so close to state and local transportation agencies that there’s absolutely 

no enforcement from the FHWA.” Bell described his dealings with FHWA officials after 

filing ADA complaints in 2007 and 2009. 

On behalf of the American Council of the Blind of Minnesota and the 

Minnesota Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities, I filed two complaints 

with the FHWA under Section 504 and the ADA against the state 

Department of Transportation as well as each of the seven counties in 

[my] metropolitan area. The first complaint primarily focused upon their 

failure to properly install and maintain accessible pedestrian signals and 

their failure to provide a transition plan as required by the ADA. The 

second complaint related generally to their failure to adequately comply 

with the accessibility requirements of the ADA in all aspects, including 

curb ramps, access to pedestrian bridges, and so forth. I received two 

responses from FHWA headquarters. They are worthless.

I have also discussed with two highly placed state Department of 

Transportation officials the problems that I was having with the FHWA 

division [in my locale]. Both individuals told me that the FHWA was “in bed 

with” local transportation departments. I also had several conversations 

with a woman who was then counsel to the FHWA. She took the position 

that the FHWA lacked the authority to order any government entity to 

install accessible pedestrian signals. There is no basis for this legal 

conclusion. 

The bad news is that I have no idea whether any of the items complained 

of have been rectified. Even if accessibility changes have been correctly 
242

made, we cannot really say without knowing more that these positive 

changes were the result of the complaint, rather than the required 

transition plan being carried out. Speaking of transition plans, I’ll bet these 

local agencies have still not finalized their transition plans.537 

But there are also encouraging developments. For example, the town of Cary, North 

Carolina, uses its control of local development to improve its pedestrian infrastructure 

for a more walkable community. This improves access to fixed-route transit for people 

with disabilities. Among other specifications, the town’s land development ordinance 

specifies requirements for sidewalks in residential and nonresidential areas and 

addresses standards for public transit access and transit amenities at shopping centers 

and other similar land uses. Regarding transit access at shopping centers, this 

ordinance requires that bus stops are to be located “within close proximity” to one of the 

shopping center main entrances, minimizing walking distances for transit users. 

Additionally, the town’s public transit staff is specifically included during the review 

process for new development and redevelopment.538 (See other examples of positive 

actions toward accessible public rights-of-way in the following sections.)

Complete Streets

“Complete streets,” according to Dennis Cannon, former transportation accessibility 

specialist for the U.S. Access Board and currently a private consultant, is a concept that 

says— 

... we need to make streets that work for everybody, not just vehicles. So 

the highway department builds a road and, as is often the case, sidewalks 

and pedestrian facilities such as curb ramps are an afterthought. Often, 

they’re not even put in when the streets are put in. 

Complete streets says that a street, when you build it, ought to be 

accessible, ought to be made for vehicles, of course, but it also ought to 

be good for pedestrians, for transit, and for bicyclists. So when you build 

the street, you ought to automatically put sidewalks on both sides of the 

street, and those sidewalks ought to meet ADA requirements for clear 

width, and so forth. There ought to be improved bus stops with shelters, 

and the street needs to meet the needs of all the potential users: the 
243

vehicles, the pedestrians, the bicyclists, and the transit. If you are looking 

out for all of those things at one time, you ought not to design it just for 

moving cars. So, you may not want to have it as high-speed as you might 

otherwise, because there are people crossing. There are many ways of 

making sure things get built properly. 

Jurisdictions’ historically poor records on complete streets are changing 

these days, sometimes dramatically. Mostly now, they don’t forget to put in 

curb ramps, and most of them put in detectable warnings and so forth, but 

they don’t always pay attention to things like the width and the clear 

space. So, it’s getting better in some places.539

Cannon explained that there have been varying levels of success in including provisions 

promoting complete street concepts in U.S. Department of Transportation 

reauthorizations. In the most recent reauthorization, however, what used to be called 

transportation enhancements were essentially eliminated. He said, “There’s big 

opposition in the Congress, essentially saying that the funding for transit ought to be 

spent for vehicles only, because it comes from the gas tax; it’s a user tax, and so you 

ought to be giving it strictly to the users. So now you have this whole mess, where 

jurisdictions must pull the money out of their road budget.” 

Richard Devylder, former Senior Advisor for accessible transportation for U.S. DOT, 

added, “Many of us at DOT were very disappointed with what came out of the last 

congressional authorization regarding complete streets.”

540

Cannon concluded, “And there was a bill introduced by Senator Tom Harkin called the 

Complete Streets Act, which would have mandated complete streets, but it’s stalled. Yet 

at the same time, there are now many local complete streets policies all over the 

country.” 

Bus Stops

The inaccessibility of bus stops is one of the most persistent, significant transportation 

problems faced by people with disabilities in the United States. Typical of the concerns 
244

expressed by many people with disabilities, Tracee Garner, Outreach Coordinator of 

Loudoun (Virginia) ENDependence Center stated,

At most of the stops, bus shelters are inaccessible and they don’t have 

any real pathways for people to wait. Some of them aren’t shelters at all. 

They’re just a sign and a patchy grass area, uncovered. In extreme heat 

or snow or rain, people can’t wait outside. ... This would actually alleviate 

the paratransit system, if the shelters were accessible because people 

would be able to stay and wait and could take the fixed-route system. ... 

Some people can’t stand for long periods of time. ... Even pavement or 

blacktop to the shelter to get in and making sure the shelters have enough 

room inside [would help]. Some shelters are very small—if a person with a 

wheelchair went in, there wouldn’t be room for anyone else.541

A Federal Transit Administration ADA compliance review in Pueblo, Colorado, 

corroborated these concerns, stating,

Some of the bus stops that had bus stop pads and shelters and/or 

benches did not appear to meet the ADA Accessibility Guidelines 

(ADAAG) guidelines for an accessible bus stop. Other stops, which were 

created since the passage of the ADA and the issuance of the DOT ADA 

regulations and the ADAAG guidelines, were sited in areas that did not 

provide a level, stable boarding area of at least 60 by 96 inches.542

Inaccessible bus stops can also cause mechanical problems when buses attempt to 

deploy wheelchair lifts. The lifts sometimes fail in service due to the uneven bus stop 

ground surface. Modern lifts have multiple safety sensors, and unless the lift is deployed 

evenly to the ground, the lift may not work; the endgates do not deploy unless the 

sensors signal that the platform is at ground level.543

Why Bus Stop Access Is a Persistent Problem

Experts report that there is a material basis for these persistent problems. According to 

Lois Thibault, former Coordinator of Research for the U.S. Access Board,

Bus stops are a difficult issue because they are very often placed by a 

transit authority that doesn’t exercise any other authority over 
245

improvements at the bus stop, which may be provided by a jurisdiction. 

There has to be some coordination between the two agencies. That 

doesn’t always occur.544

Dennis Cannon explained some of the problems leading to the difficult state of affairs in 

bus stop accessibility:

The vast majority of all bus stops are actually on the street or the 

sidewalk, not on property controlled by the transit provider.

Another issue with bus stops is that transit agencies do not necessarily 

have unlimited choice as to where to put them. There are lots of rules and 

regulations. Sometimes there are businesses that do not want bus stops 

in front of their facilities and you have to fight with them to get them there. 

Then, there are bus stops that are on the near side of the cross street, and 

other bus stops on the far side. At a near-side stop, the driver pulls the 

front of the bus in to the curb; that is okay for a front door lift or ramp, but 

not for a rear door lift or ramp, because the rear door is probably out and 

away from the curb. The far-side stop allows to driver to get the rear end 

of a bus in. Which is best depends on what kinds of buses are in your 

system; whether they have front door or rear door access. Also, putting 

bus stops in the middle of the block is often a choice the transit agency or 

city engineers would like to make, just because it reduces traffic 

congestion at intersections, but if you do that, you have effectively created 

a mid-block crossing because, while you take the bus in one direction in 

the morning to go to work, when you come back, you are on the other side 

of the street. So if you put a bus stop in the middle of the block, you have 

to consider the fact that you have essentially created a mid-block crossing, 

even though you didn’t intend it to be there. Every time you have a 

crossing, people with disabilities are even more vulnerable than anybody 

else, especially if you are blind and there is no accessible pedestrian 

signal. 

The real trick in all of this is for the transit agencies and the city Public 

Works Departments to coordinate their activities. This takes more than just 

occasionally attending a meeting; they really need to get together and 

coordinate this process together.545
246

Richard Devylder concurred:

From my perspective, the biggest problem with public rights of way and 

sidewalk access and bus stops being located where they are actually 

accessible so that you can get to those bus stops is there’s really nothing 

that’s requiring communication between the transit authorities who are 

deciding where the bus stops are and the public works people who are 

responsible for the streets and the sidewalks.546

Bus Stop Detectability

People who are blind or have vision impairments face a significant challenge in finding 

the exact bus stop location. When bus stops are not detectable, or are otherwise 

inaccessible to people who are blind or have vision disabilities, that is a sufficient basis 

for a finding of ADA paratransit eligibility.547 However, that solution is inadequate for the 

many blind people who prefer to take the bus, as well as an unnecessary addition to the 

costs of ADA paratransit.

As Alice Ritchhart, Transportation Committee Chair of the American Council of the 

Blind, pointed out,

For blind people, it’s hard for us to know where the bus stop is. 

Sometimes it’s funny because some of the bus drivers are real picky. They 

might pass you right by if you aren’t exactly at the bus stop. They won’t 

stop if you’re a few feet away and won’t slow down to see if you are 

waiting for the bus. Which is why a lot of blind people then opt to take 

paratransit. I’m not sure how you make bus stops so that blind people 

know where they’re at.548 

Some locales have developed methods for doing so. For example, some transit 

agencies in Oregon and Washington, and in Houston, Texas, have unique bus stop pole 

designs. Eugene, Oregon, bus stops have square poles, and no other poles in Eugene 

are allowed to have this shape, so they can be readily identified by people who are blind 

or have vision impairments, if these riders know the general bus stop location.549
247

StarMetro in Tallahassee, Florida, has undertaken significant efforts over the past three 

years to upgrade its system infrastructure, including accessibility improvements, some 

of which are designed to make bus stops more detectable to people who are blind or 

have visual impairments. StarMetro worked with its local disability community and a 

number of state and federal government and disability-related agencies to develop 

these improvements. 

One result is that StarMetro has installed octagonal poles at bus stops throughout the 

system. Brian S. Waterman, city of Tallahassee transit planning manager, told Transit 

Access Report that the octagonal design of the poles is intended as a distinctive feature 

by which riders with vision disabilities can recognize the location as a bus stop. In 

addition, StarMetro is putting braille markings on bus stop poles in a special vertical 

configuration for which the agency went to some lengths to gain approval from the local 

disability community and federal agencies. Waterman reported that he has heard of 

octagonal poles being used in two other locales—Broward County, Florida, and 

Honolulu, Hawaii.

StarMetro consulted with the U.S. Access Board and received an approving response 

from Marsha Mazz, the board’s director of technical and information services. Mazz’s 

email concluded, “I really applaud Tallahassee’s StarMetro program for being 

responsive to the blind community.”

550

Other strategies that can be used to help riders who are blind or have vision disabilities 

find the bus stop include tactile signage with braille or raised lettering, tactile sidewalk 

surfaces at the boarding location, and remote infrared audible signage system 

technology (Talking Signs®).551

Other Improvements in Bus Stop Accessibility

In certain communities around the country, agencies have made targeted efforts to 

significantly improve bus stop access, using various funding sources. 
248

For example, Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District of Oregon (TriMet) in the 

Portland, Oregon, metropolitan area conducted a case study along a transit corridor in 

suburban Portland concerning the potential effects of improving access to bus stops 

and other parts of the right-of-way. The TV Highway Capital Project was initiated in 

2009 in partnership with the Oregon Department of Transportation. The project 

upgraded 17 bus stops along Oregon Highway 8 (also known as TV Highway) between 

Beaverton and Forest Grove. The corridor is served by a frequent bus route, which is 

TriMet’s eighth-most-ridden bus route, with almost 50,000 rides per week. Grant funds 

paid for a majority of these improvements, totaling $400,000 in construction costs and 

$112,000 in shelter amenity costs. The project goal was to make TV Highway safer and 

easier to travel for pedestrians and bus riders. Transit stops and pedestrian facilities 

were improved by fixing incomplete, damaged sidewalks and adding new sidewalk 

sections, as well as installing nine new bus shelters and adding concrete pads at bus 

stops for better access. 

Preliminary results showed a 215 percent increase in lift boardings from 2009 to 2011, 

after the stop and sidewalk improvements were made. Average weekday ridership on 

the fixed route increased at a number of bus stops, with many stops showing significant 

increases in lift deployment. In comparison, ADA paratransit ridership numbers 

decreased, especially among riders in the conditional and temporary eligibility 

categories.552

Some transit agencies have taken it upon themselves to use their own capital funds to 

make improvements to bus stop areas, even though it is not within their jurisdiction. As 

Dennis Cannon explained, 

They may need permission from the city and the public works and so forth, 

but Maryland Transit Administration (MTA), for example, began the 

process of putting in, in some cases, their “basic” bus stop, which is a 

concrete pad. Other locations got the “enhanced” bus stop with shelter, 

benches, lights, and so forth. Maryland MTA had a fairly high paratransit 

cost per trip: about $77 per trip with all of the administrative costs. They 

showed that if one person who currently uses paratransit for work (10 trips 

per week) can now use the fixed-route bus, MTA will make back the cost 
249

of the basic bus stop improvements in about four months, and the costs of 

the enhanced stop in about eighteen months. And the paratransit cost is 

an ongoing obligation that they will save year after year. If they can get 

more than one person onto the fixed-route system who was previously 

using paratransit, they can recoup that cost sooner.553 

In Montgomery County, Maryland, bus stop and related improvements are tracked 

through a robust and creative database developed as a wiki—a Web application that 

allows designated users to add, modify, and delete content in a collaborative way. 

Called a “geo-wiki” by the county, this site has streamlined the county process of 

updating the bus stop database, coordinating improvements (e.g., with the bus shelter 

franchisee), generating and tracking work orders for improvements (e.g., with the 

construction contractor), surveying stops, and monitoring stop improvement activities. 

As of the end of calendar year 2012, the improvements were about 70 percent 

completed. They cost $7.4 million, with an average cost per improved stop of $2,931. 

The geo-wiki summarized the improvements through the end of 2012 with construction 

of— 

● 1,583 ADA-compliant bus stops

● 2,230 ADA-compliant bus stop pads

● 72,414.5 feet (13.7 miles) of sidewalk linking stops to adjacent sidewalks and 

pathways

● 735 intersections with ramps installed554

Intercity Transit in Olympia, Washington, a municipal corporation, also has focused on 

bus stop access improvements. The transit staff actively participates in the local landuse review and development permitting process, and requests sidewalk and ADAaccessible bus stops as part of this process. The agency has developed and published 

bus stop specification guidelines that address stop spacing, accessibility, stop and 
250

shelter design, and engineering guidelines. The guidelines are posted online and are 

provided to jurisdictions in the Intercity service area and to land developers. 

Additionally, Intercity has made stop improvements in response to requests from riders 

and, at times, improvements or stop relocations in response to a request from the 

agency travel trainer.555

Resources for Bus Stop Accessibility

Among the resources available for improving bus stop accessibility, an important one is 

the Toolkit for the Assessment of Bus Stop Accessibility and Safety, published by 

Easter Seals Project ACTION. The toolkit is primarily targeted toward staff at transit 

agencies and at public works departments who are responsible for bus stop design and 

placement. The toolkit is intended to be a resource to enhance the accessibility of bus 

stops and a source of assistance in the development of a strategic plan to achieve 

system-wide accessibility. People in the disability community will also find material they 

can use to advocate for accessibility improvements and barrier removal.556

Another kind of resource can be local. Community involvement has been useful in some 

communities in identifying and prioritizing bus stops for access improvement as well as 

sidewalk access improvements. Cary, North Carolina, for example, has a popular 

annual sidewalk request program, with citizens’ requests contributing to prioritization for 

sidewalk improvement funding, along with proximity to transit, which is another factor in 

funding decisions.557

Accessible Pedestrian Signals 

Accessible pedestrian signals (APSs) are critical accessibility features for pedestrians 

who are blind or have vision disabilities. They not only provide visible Walk and Don’t 

Walk information, they also provide an audible prompt that the walk sign is on and a 

vibro-tactile signal that vibrates when the pedestrian walk is activated.558
251

The disability community has expressed a great deal of concern about the lack of APSs. 

Christopher G. Bell, Esq., a member of the American Council of the Blind of Minnesota, 

explained,

There are very few accessible pedestrian signals installed around the 

country. That, to me, is a denial of access. Most people see the green 

light, and know now it’s time to walk, and us blind folks don’t. The irony is 

that we put in signs for sighted people to see when they need to walk, 

assuming they won’t know when it’s safe, but for blind people it’s, “Oh, 

you’ll figure it out.” This is a big issue for blind folks.

Angela Van Etten, Coordinator of the Treasure Coast Services Coalition for 

Independent Living Options in Florida and former President of Little People of America, 

made this comment about her locale in the southeast:

Another big issue is the intersections in [our] county. There are only three 

intersections with an audible signal for people who are blind. There are 

some visually impaired people who are very mobile who could use the 

fixed-route bus service, but it’s too dangerous to cross the street because 

there’s no audible traffic signal. These are very busy four-lane streets. 

After some serious advocacy from a very capable woman who is blind, 

there are now three. So there’s still a long way to go.559

Some communities have responded to the problem. For example, the Maryland State 

Highway Administration adopted a policy that whenever it adds or replaces pedestrian 

signals (traffic signals that include Walk and Don’t Walk information), it will make them 

accessible.560 

In 2007, the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency and the California Council 

of the Blind reached a landmark settlement agreement on the issue through structured 

negotiations.561 As of 2010, the city had exceeded the obligations of the 2007 

agreement and installed accessible pedestrian signals at 116 intersections. More than a 

thousand devices were installed at these 116 intersections, and San Francisco had 

plans—with federal stimulus funds—to install APSs at additional intersections.562 
252

West Virginia controls all its traffic signals at the state level, and it has a statewide plan 

for installing accessible pedestrian signals.563

Commenting on APS implementation issues, Dennis Cannon pointed out in 2007,

These signals are somewhat expensive at this point, but if there were a 

mandate to put them into the boxes as standard operating procedure, the 

cost would come down enormously. Think about the old days when you 

used to buy telecaption decoders for televisions that were about $300. But 

when it was added to the television as an integral part of the tuner, it 

became part of the chip and cost about $8.

It is happening more and more frequently. Provisions for pedestrian 

signals have now been included in the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control 

Devices (MUTCD), which is the bible for traffic engineers. Every state is 

required to either adopt the MUTCD or a standard that is significantly 

identical to it. So every state, essentially, has these provisions. But they 

don’t include a scoping requirement, so it is not required to put them in. 

But the technical provisions are there—such as where you place the 

buttons, how loud they are, and so forth—which makes it easy for traffic 

engineers to use. They don’t need to guess anymore as to how to 

implement APS.

564

Detectable Warnings 

Detectable warnings are another key feature in the public rights-of-way for people who 

are blind or have vision impairments. Christopher G. Bell, Esq., pointed out, “As a blind 

person, I think they’re absolutely essential so that we don’t think we’re crossing a 

driveway [when] we’re actually entering a street [and about] to get hit by a car. We have 

about three or four million blind people [in the United States], and we’re talking about life 

or death here.”

565

The U.S. Access Board notice of proposed rulemaking addressed specific locations in 

the public rights-of-way for locating detectable warnings. The proposed guidelines 

stated that detectable warnings should be required at these locations: perpendicular 

curb ramps, parallel curb ramps, blended transitions, pedestrian refuge islands, 
253

pedestrian at-grade rail crossings, boarding platforms for buses and rail vehicles, and 

boarding and alighting areas at sidewalk or street-level transit stops for rail vehicles.566

Curb Ramps 

Curb ramps are another critical feature in the public rights-of-way. The U.S. Department 

of Justice ADA regulation includes a specific provision requiring access to curb ramps, 

but the disability community has seen minimal implementation of curb ramps in many 

parts of the country.

Lois Thibault, former Coordinator of Research for the Access Board, pointed out that 

“the need is outlined in Title II of the ADA, to develop a curb ramp transition plan and to 

implement it. So, local jurisdictions must identify the work that needs to be done and 

schedule that work. ... Also, any time a roadway or a sidewalk is newly placed or 

changed, it needs to have ... curb ramps.”

567 

Richard Devylder, former Senior Advisor for Accessible Transportation for U.S. DOT, 

commented on enforcement of the ADA with respect to curb ramps, the responsibility 

for which begins with the Federal Highway Administration, a part of U.S. DOT. When a 

person files an ADA complaint about the failure of a city to implement curb ramps, it 

goes to FHWA. Devylder stated,

I think the issue is [that] enforcement mostly happens at the DOJ level. In 

terms of who’s got the stick on this, part of it is FHWA, which must work 

to—well, how many times do you warn a municipal government that 

they’re out of compliance [before] referring it to the Department of Justice 

for enforcement? And this isn’t Justice’s fault. I would say the DOT hasn’t 

done a great job overall of informing Justice of these issues. ... We’re not 

close to being where I would like us to be.568 
254

Street Resurfacing and Curb Ramps

One of the key ADA court decisions affecting public rights of way was Kinney v. 

Yerusalim,

569 in which the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit ruled that the ADA 

requires cities to install curb ramps when they resurface streets. 

In 2010, observing the failure to enforce what the 1994 Kinney decision confirmed as an 

ADA requirement, Tom Perez, then the Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights at the 

U.S. Department of Justice, wrote a letter to Victor M. Mendez, Administrator of the 

Federal Highway Administration of the U.S. Department of Transportation. He said,

We wish to bring to your attention a conflict between the longstanding 

Department of Justice (Department) policy with respect to the application 

of the requirements of 28 C.F.R. § 35.151(e), which requires the provision 

of curb ramps when roads are being altered, and recent guidance 

provided by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). We are seeking 

your assistance in resolving this conflict. ... It has been the Department’s 

longstanding position that street resurfacing is considered an alteration 

that triggers ADA requirements for curb ramps. ...

The Department recently became aware that FHWA takes the position 

that road resurfacing projects that involve asphalt overlays of no more 

than 1.5 inches qualify as normal maintenance, and therefore do not 

constitute alterations. The Department is deeply concerned that the 

FHWA’s position on asphalt overlays of less than 1.5 inches directly 

conflicts with the Department’s legal interpretations of title II [of the ADA]. 

There have been several instances recently in which localities have 

challenged the Department’s title II enforcement efforts with respect to 

curb ramps, arguing that, because of FHWA policy in this regard, they do 

not have to install curb ramps, so long as they are not installing more than 

1.5 inches of new road surface.

We would like to meet with you as soon as possible to discuss 

mechanisms for restoring consistency between the Department’s 

interpretation of its title II regulation and the FHWA’s application of this 

regulation in its investigations of title II complaints as well as in the 

technical assistance it provides to state transportation agencies. ...
255

We also request that, in the future, the FHWA consult with the Department 

before publicly announcing policy provisions intended to have general 

application.570

Lois Thibault said that, due to the Federal Highway Administration interpretation, 

“Everyone just puts in resurfacing that is less than 1.5 inches thick.”

571

Presumably as a result of subsequent communications between the Department of 

Justice and the Federal Highway Administration, on June 22, 2013, FHWA posted a 

document titled “Department of Justice/Department of Transportation Joint Technical 

Assistance on the Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act Requirements to Provide 

Curb Ramps when Streets, Roads, or Highways Are Altered Through Resurfacing.”

572

This joint DOT/FHWA guidance states,

Without curb ramps, sidewalk travel in urban areas can be dangerous, 

difficult, or even impossible for people who use wheelchairs, scooters, and 

other mobility devices. Curb ramps allow people with mobility disabilities to 

gain access to the sidewalks and to pass through center islands in streets. 

Otherwise, these individuals are forced to travel in streets and roadways 

and are put in danger or are prevented from reaching their destination; 

some people with disabilities may simply choose not to take this risk and 

will not venture out of their homes or communities.573

The document lays out stricter and more technically nuanced requirements than the 

previous policy of FHWA, stating the conditions under which curb ramps are required 

during street resurfacing projects:

When is resurfacing considered to be an alteration?

Resurfacing is an alteration that triggers the requirement to add curb 

ramps if it involves work on a street or roadway spanning from one 

intersection to another, and includes overlays of additional material to the 

road surface, with or without milling. Examples include, but are not limited 

to the following treatments or their equivalents: addition of a new layer of 

asphalt, reconstruction, concrete pavement rehabilitation and 

reconstruction, open-graded surface course, micro-surfacing and thin lift 

overlays, cape seals, and in-place asphalt recycling.
256

What kinds of treatments constitute maintenance rather than an 

alteration?

Treatments that serve solely to seal and protect the road surface, improve 

friction, and control splash and spray are considered to be maintenance 

because they do not significantly affect the public’s access to or usability 

of the road. Some examples of the types of treatments that would normally 

be considered maintenance are painting or striping lanes, crack filling and 

sealing, surface sealing, chip seals, slurry seals, fog seals, scrub sealing, 

joint crack seals, joint repairs, dowel bar retrofit, spot high-friction 

treatments, diamond grinding, and pavement patching. In some cases, the 

combination of several maintenance treatments occurring at or near the 

same time may qualify as an alteration and would trigger the obligation to 

provide curb ramps.574

FHWA has undertaken subsequent activities to implement the guidance, including three 

internal webinars for FHWA division offices and at least two webinars for members of 

the public to explain which street resurfacing projects must be accompanied by 

implementation and improvement of curb ramps.575 Because of wide interest among 

state and local public works departments, FHWA scheduled additional sessions of this 

webinar.

Snow Removal

The failure of communities to remove snow that piles on pedestrian areas of the public 

right-of-way is another significant obstacle to accessibility for many people with 

disabilities. 

The Americans with Disabilities Act covers snow removal as an aspect of the 

requirement titled Maintenance of Accessible Features.576 This requirement is 

addressed by an FHWA document titled “Questions and Answers about 

ADA/Section 504” under the heading Maintenance:

31. What obligation does a public agency have regarding snow removal in 

its walkways?
257

A public agency must maintain its walkways in an accessible condition, 

with only isolated or temporary interruptions in accessibility. 28 CFR 

§35.133. Part of this maintenance obligation includes reasonable snow

removal efforts. (9-12-06)

32. What day-to-day maintenance is a public agency responsible for under 

the ADA?

As part of maintenance operations, public agencies’ standards and 

practices must ensure that the day-to-day operations keep the path of 

travel on pedestrian facilities open and usable for people with disabilities, 

throughout the year. This includes snow removal, as noted above, as well 

as debris removal, maintenance of accessible pedestrian walkways in 

work zones, and correction of other disruptions. ADAAG 4.1.1(4). 

Identified accessibility needs should be noted and incorporated into the 

transition plan. (9-12-06)577

Another authority, the New Hampshire Supreme Court, ruled in favor of a man with a 

disability in a case he brought against his town regarding snow removal.578 As the 

Concord Monitor wrote in June 2009,

Bill Tinker likes to ride his scooter around downtown Tilton. The Northfield 

man has respiratory, circulatory, and orthopedic problems that make 

walking or driving difficult. But he still likes to get out to the post office, the 

grocery store, and other local shops. 

Now, he will be able to ride downtown all year long. This week, the New 

Hampshire Supreme Court settled a longstanding dispute between Tinker 

and Tilton about whether the town is required to clear snow from its 

sidewalks to allow him and others with disabilities access. In short, the 

court said it is. 

“Disabled people have been stomped on long enough,” Tinker, 63, said 

yesterday, adding that he ‘cheered’ when he heard about the court’s 

decision. 

Molly McPartlin, the lawyer who represented the town, said that Tilton will 

comply with the court’s ruling and “make reasonable efforts with regard to 

snow removal.” 

... Tinker, represented by James Fox of the Disability Rights Center, 

argued that the federal Americans with Disabilities Act required the 
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municipality to accommodate disabled residents who could not safely 

travel on an icy sidewalk or the shoulder of a busy state highway. The law 

says that public entities must “give people with disabilities an equal 

opportunity to benefit from all of their programs, services, and activities,” 

including transportation.579

Chapter 10 recommendations are listed at the end of the report.
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CHAPTER 11.Privately Funded Transit

Subpart A. Taxicabs

Overview

The 2005 NCD report addressed the importance of taxicabs as a significant form of 

transportation,580 heavily used and urgently needed by people with disabilities. Many 

disabled people who cannot drive or who cannot afford their own cars make extensive 

use of taxis. Some advantages of taxis are that they are generally available 24 hours a 

day and usually do not need to be scheduled far in advance. Service is direct, without 

detours to serve other passengers, as is often the case with ADA paratransit service.

Yet taxi service can present problems for people with disabilities. Those who use 

service animals, particularly people with visual impairments, encounter a variety of 

issues. In some cities, people with various disabilities––wheelchair users, users of 

crutches, and blind people, among others––are often passed up by taxicabs. And the 

lack of wheelchair-accessible taxi service is one of the most important transportation 

issues for people with disabilities in the United States. There have been many 

developments in accessible taxis since the 2005 NCD report, both advances and 

obstacles. 

This chapter also addresses Uber and other transportation smartphone applications 

(apps) that have come to be seen in recent years as a substitute for taxi service.

People with disabilities have much to say about problems with taxicab service. 

According to Christopher G. Bell, Esq., of the American Council of the Blind of 

Minnesota, 
260

As so many blind people have experienced, if you arrive at the airport, you 

go up to get into the taxi line and drivers will zip right by because they 

don’t want a passenger with a dog. It’s illegal, but how do you prove it? 

You’re blind; you can’t read the taxi number or the firm name.581

Tracee Garner, Outreach Coordinator at the Loudoun (Virginia) ENDependence Center, 

has had mixed experiences in various locales:

A lot of people have terrible experiences if [they] call a cab in Loudoun, 

including a lot of elderly people using taxicabs. The drivers intimidate them 

into paying [a] higher rate. If the elderly person protests, the driver bullies 

them. 

If they don’t have a license to do business in Loudoun, and they get into 

an accident, they flee. They’ll first get out and act like they are going to 

cooperate and then get back in the cab and run off. There have been 

several incidents when taxi cab drivers have fled the scene because they 

don’t have a proper license.

But the cabs in Fairfax County and DC, and in parts of Maryland, are 

doing really well. They have accessible cabs. You can get them within the 

hour, and if you see them on the street, you can flag them, if you are able 

to raise your hands. Drivers are courteous and know what they’re 

doing.582

Jan Campbell, Chair of the Committee on Accessible Transportation for TriMet in 

Portland, Oregon, said this about accessible cabs:

We have a lot of accessible taxis, but many are contracted to TriMet [our 

transit agency], or to school districts. If you’re a private-pay fare, it’s very 

hard to get an accessible cab. In the evening, they aren’t available. You 

call and they say, “We’ll send a cab.” You call back and they say, “Oh, we 

checked and we don’t have any.” You might wait an hour or an hour and a 

half sometimes until they call a driver at home and say, “We need an 

accessible cab on the street.” That happened to me at 11:00 one evening. 

I wouldn’t have been able to get home.583
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ADA Requirements Are Limited 

The ADA does not require that taxi companies include accessible vehicles in their fleets. 

While they are subject to the requirements of private entities primarily engaged in the 

business of transportation with demand-responsive service, taxi providers are not 

required to operate accessible vehicles as long as their vehicles are sedan-type 

automobiles. 

If a taxi company purchases or leases a new vehicle other than a sedan-type 

automobile—such as a van with a seating capacity of fewer than eight people, including 

the driver—the acquired vehicle must be accessible, unless the company is already 

providing “equivalent service” as defined by the ADA, which includes such factors as 

response time, fares, schedule, and service area.

However, if a public entity, such as a city or county, uses local taxicabs for a user-side 

subsidy program, it is required to ensure that equivalent service is provided to people 

with disabilities, including those who use wheelchairs. The public entity must ensure 

that its user-side subsidy program does not discriminate against people with disabilities. 

So, for example, if a city launches a taxi voucher program for people 65 and older that 

uses local taxicabs, the city must ensure that the program does not discriminate against 

people in that age group who have disabilities. The city could either require taxi 

companies to have accessible vehicles or could engage the services of another 

company to provide accessible service that is equivalent to the rest of the service in the 

voucher program in terms of response times, fares, service area, schedule, and so 

on.584

Regardless of the type of vehicle, taxi companies must follow other ADA requirements 

and may not discriminate against people with disabilities. For example, they may not 

charge higher fares for passengers with disabilities; they may not refuse to serve a 

passenger with a disability who can use a taxi sedan (including people who use 

wheelchairs); they may not refuse to stow a wheelchair or other mobility device in the 
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trunk of a sedan or impose a special charge for doing so; and they must accept 

passengers traveling with service animals.585

To close the gap of limited ADA requirements for accessible taxicabs, a bill has been 

introduced in Congress to require a robust accessible taxi program across the nation. 

Senate bill S.2887, the Accessible Transportation for All Act, was introduced by Senator 

Tom Harkin on September 18, 2014. It addresses both standard taxi systems and 

transportation network companies such as Uber, SideCar, and Lyft. The bill would 

require that— 

Any person who owns, leases, operates, or arranges for the operation of 

transportation services to members of the public through a for-hire 

transportation company, taxi service, or transportation network 

company shall provide, or arrange for, the adequate provision of 

accessible vehicles for hire to serve individuals with disabilities who 

require such services.

S.2887 would ban discrimination and would require DOT to organize a national 

competition to design the accessible taxi vehicles in collaboration with the disability 

community. It would establish an Accessible Taxi and For-Hire Transportation Board to 

increase the availability of accessible taxis, require states to develop strategic plans to 

increase accessible taxis, require the development of standards for both accessible taxi 

vehicles and service, and establish a tax credit for accessible taxis.

Caught in the Act of Discrimination

In May 2013, WUSA Channel 9 in Washington, DC, broadcast the results of an 

undercover investigation showing taxis stranding passengers with disabilities on the 

curbs of DC streets. The channel had previously exposed similar discrimination against 

African Americans. WUSA used volunteers who said they encounter taxi discrimination 

when accompanied by service dogs or using a wheelchair. Of 42 cabs tested, using 

passengers with wheelchairs or guide dogs, 20 cabs (48%) drove right past the 
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passenger with a disability in favor of another fare, took the fare to the wrong location 

without warning, or charged an illegal extra fee. According to the WUSA website,

In one case, while we were leaning inside a taxi asking him why he’d 

refused service to a blind woman with a service dog, he peeled off—

forcing our undercover reporter out—driving away with the door still open. 

...

Another cab added a $1.50 extra charge to [a] blind woman’s tab while 

only disclosing the full fare due. ...

A different cab dropped off American Council of the Blind advocate Eric 

Bridges at the wrong building on the wrong street. “It happens probably a 

few times a month,” Bridges said about drop-offs at wrong locations. “DC 

and the cab system here is a bit like the Wild West.” ...

When confronted, nearly every cabby who passed the highly visible 

disabled passengers claimed he did not see [them]. [One] cab picked up 

speed as soon as traffic cleared and offered a ride a hundred feet down 

the street to the WUSA decoy who didn’t have a service dog or 

wheelchair.

The Equal Rights Center did a similar test in 2010 which showed that 

60 percent of passengers using guide dogs received discriminatory 

service. When it released the 2010 results, the Equal Rights Center called 

for enforcement from DC government, mandatory training for taxi 

companies, and compliance monitoring.

A second WUSA broadcast showed taxis similarly refusing service to both black 

passengers and passengers with disabilities.586 (For more on taxi discrimination, see 

the section on Service Animals in chapter 6.)

Accessible Taxis

Since the 2005 NCD report, wheelchair-accessible taxis have become more available in 

larger communities around the country. Cities with accessible taxi services include 

Chicago, Boston, San Francisco, Miami, Las Vegas, and Portland.587 
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When they are operating properly, wheelchair-accessible taxis provide traditional ondemand taxi service for people who use wheelchairs and cannot, or may not wish to, 

transfer to a taxi sedan, as well as to people whose wheelchairs cannot be stowed in a 

sedan. The communities where these taxis operate can and sometimes do use 

regulatory mandates, incentives, or some combination of the two to ensure that their 

local taxi industry includes accessible vehicles and provides service equivalent to the 

taxicab service available to the general public.588

Unfortunately, all too often accessible taxis are not available in adequate numbers and, 

in some cases, not at all. The size of the community is no predictor. New York City, for 

example, has had notorious difficulties achieving anything close to an adequate number 

of accessible taxis, although recent developments should result in a significant increase 

in the future. (See the case study below about New York City.) In some locations, a 

variety of obstacles remain even if taxis that are structurally accessible have been 

acquired.

The 2005 NCD report discussed the many issues and concerns that should be 

considered in the implementation of accessible taxi programs but which are often 

ignored.589 These considerations can play a significant role in determining the success 

or failure of accessible taxi programs. The fact that operating accessible taxis costs 

more than operating standard sedan taxis—in a continuing manner that goes beyond 

acquisition of the vehicle—means that mandates for accessible vehicles may not be 

successful on their own. Have all stakeholders bought into the plan? Are the necessary 

incentives, sanctions, regulatory involvement, and enforcement in place?590

Incentives

Incentives appear to be necessary, generally, for both taxi companies and drivers. 

Sometimes only company incentives are provided, but because taxi drivers are rarely 

company employees in the traditional sense, a failure to provide driver incentives can 

create future problems. 
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For the company, incentives can include vehicle grants or low-cost leasing 

arrangements if the public sector can obtain vehicles at lower cost than the private 

operator. Some cities have obtained accessible taxi vehicle support from the program 

formerly known as New Freedom (now MAP-21). 

One type of incentive is promoting greater use of accessible taxis in user-side subsidy 

programs and as contractors to the public transit agency for ADA paratransit and similar 

services. However, it is important to be careful not to use all available accessible 

vehicles in contract services—some must be left on the street. (See Keeping the 

Vehicles in Use below.)

(In using taxis of any kind in ADA paratransit and similar services, it is important to use 

the best practices described in chapter 3 in the section on Using Taxis in ADA 

Paratransit Service.)

The driver needs incentives as well. Communities must recognize that the driver can 

lose revenue twice, first in providing trips for people with disabilities, which are

statistically less lucrative, and second in cashing in a voucher or other form of subsidy. 

In most cities, the company charges the driver up to 8 percent or more of the face value 

of a voucher.

Drivers need funds to defray costs that they must otherwise bear individually. Lower 

daily leases for drivers may not be enough to persuade them to provide accessible 

service. The incentives must be balanced with regulation and oversight. For example, 

the city of Chicago found that two drivers who had received $15,000 to make their 

vehicles accessible had never carried any people with disabilities in almost two years. It 

is crucial to understand that simply providing funds or other incentives to companies or 

drivers will not make accessible taxi service happen automatically. Incentives combined 

with regulation, monitoring, and oversight are necessary. (See sections on Enforcement 

and specifically on Chicago below.)
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Keeping the Vehicles in Use

Once the accessible taxis are purchased, there are a number of challenges to keeping 

them in use. Sometimes they are left sitting on the lot. Often they are the first vehicles 

taken out of service and the last ones put into service. Also, even if they are in service, 

they are not necessarily providing rides to people who need an accessible vehicle.591

Sometimes most or even all of the accessible vehicle capacity is dedicated to other 

sources, such as ADA paratransit contracts (see the best practices described in 

chapter 3 in the section on Using Taxis in ADA Paratransit Service). Localities should 

track and monitor denials of private pay service as well as response times. For 

example, should it take two hours to get an accessible cab when the average response 

for inaccessible taxis is 20 minutes? If public entities responsible for taxi services track 

denials and response times, they will know when to increase the number or percentage 

of accessible cabs.

Many drivers of accessible vehicles in large cities station themselves at the airport, 

where they are called to the front of the line for people traveling in large groups or 

carrying golf clubs or other bulky equipment. Because the average wait time for a fare at 

the airport can exceed two hours, this is a substantial incentive to drive an accessible 

vehicle but to use it for fares other than riders with disabilities. Regulators in Boston 

have disciplined drivers of accessible vehicles several times for refusing calls from 

people with disabilities while sitting in line at the airport. 

Similarly, in some Florida communities, people with disabilities know they cannot obtain 

accessible taxis on the days the cruise ships arrive, because the taxis are stationed at 

the dock to pursue more lucrative business from large groups traveling together or 

those with a great deal of luggage. These taxis occasionally do transport people with 

disabilities coming off the cruise ships, but they are primarily waiting there for expensive 

runs from the dock to the airport.592 
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Demand for accessible vehicles varies by community. In Indianapolis, for example, the 

accessible cabs serve people with disabilities because there are not many other 

requests for the large vehicles.593

Accessibility and Nondiscrimination

Localities should adopt ADA nondiscrimination and vehicle design standards into their 

local ordinances to address problems faced by people with service animals and drivers 

refusing service to people due to their disabilities. Such ordinances can help ensure that 

accessible taxis meet ADA requirements. Local regulators, most of whom are not from 

the transit industry, are rarely familiar with what constitutes accessibility. Many taxis that 

are supposedly accessible do not actually meet ADA standards for door width and other 

clearances. If the regulations are locally enacted, there is a greater likelihood that 

regulators will know and enforce the exact vehicle specifications.

Cities should consider enacting stricter measures than those required by the ADA. For 

example, the ADA regulations require that a rear door entry have 56 inches of clearance 

from the top of the ramp or lift to the top of the door. Because of the wording of the 

regulation, it is legal to measure the clearance on the diagonal, which denies access to 

many wheelchair users. Localities could require that the vertical measurement be made 

on a 90-degree angle.594 

Other accessibility issues include poor securement practices in many accessible taxis. 

Even when wheelchair securements (tie-downs) are present and used correctly, taxi 

drivers frequently do not have lap belts and shoulder straps for wheelchair riders, or do 

not understand how to use them. (See more in chapter 6 in the section on Securement 

of Mobility Devices.) 

Training

Driver training is essential yet sometimes is minimal or nonexistent; for example, a onehour film might be shown in the driver break room and the drivers might be talking, not 
268

watching it. Drivers will admit that they have not been trained because there are no 

effective sanctions.595 Yet some cities have developed effective training programs.596

Enforcement

Enforcement is a crucial element in an accessible taxi program, and its absence can be 

the biggest obstacle to effective service. Usually, the local regulator—the person who 

enforces taxi accessibility regulations—is part of a city agency that regulates a wide 

variety of business standards. In a few cities, regulation of taxi accessibility is governed 

through police departments. Most regulators are extremely busy and are not personally 

committed to accessibility; insurance and safety standards often take priority.597 

Sometimes these regulators understand the needs of the taxi industry better than the 

needs of people with disabilities and are not sympathetic to demands for accessible 

service. While there are always exceptions, without special education, local taxi 

regulators generally do not ensure that accessible vehicles are on the road at all, let 

alone providing appropriate service to people with disabilities.598

Communities must make an effort to independently monitor the level and quality of 

accessible taxi service. There is a need for concrete data to prove to local regulators 

that discrimination and poor service exist, and for phantom riders—people who call for 

service in order to test and report on what happens. Some of the phantom riders must 

be people who are themselves wheelchair users or people who are blind or visually 

impaired, including people with service animals. They must record specific dates, times, 

vehicle numbers, and driver’s license numbers, so the regulators cannot deny or ignore 

the problem. The industry will not regulate itself, and the regulators, in general, will not 

do so either.599 

Drivers must be required to keep logs; those logs must be checked and response times 

monitored. If a community does not monitor and enforce all aspects of the regulations, 

many companies will buy inappropriate vehicles and fail to adequately train drivers. The 

drivers themselves will bypass people with disabilities, refuse to carry service animals, 
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and refuse to leave the airport or cruise ship dock to respond to calls from people in the 

neighborhoods. In the absence of monitoring and enforcement, drivers will learn that 

they can defy the regulations with impunity.600

Case Studies

Chicago

The 2005 NCD report credits Chicago with being the first large city to monitor and 

enforce its accessibility and other taxicab requirements.601 Chicago’s leadership in 

accessible taxis dates back to the 22-year administration of Mayor Richard M. Daley, 

and current Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s administration has continued the trend. Daley 

supported a city ordinance requiring that 1 out of every 15 taxicabs be accessible, and 

the disability community was involved early in the process. Through the Department of 

Business Affairs and Consumer Protection (formerly the Department of Consumer 

Services), which oversees taxis, funding was allocated to address the extra cost of 

accessible vehicles, so a number of these vehicles went into service.

A problem developed when riders with disabilities needed to call individual cab 

companies for an accessible taxi. Sometimes it was not easy to summon an accessible 

cab, so riders with disabilities made a practice of requesting personal cell phone 

numbers of individual drivers, with some success. After the Department of Consumer 

Services conducted tests to assess how easily callers could obtain an accessible taxi, a 

solution was devised to have one toll-free number through which a person can request 

an accessible cab from any Chicago cab company. This central dispatch system has 

been a success, and the cabs arrive within a reasonable time.

According to a 2007 panel presentation602 by Norma Reyes, then commissioner of the 

Department of Consumer Services, the Chicago commitment to truly accessible taxi 

service included these targets:
270

● Increasing the number of wheelchair-accessible vehicles. Reyes 

acknowledged that Chicago is considered a success, but she would not count 

it as fully successful until every cab is accessible.

● Ensuring a successful central dispatch program.

● Providing funds to upgrade vehicles, install GPS, and provide additional taxi 

rides.

● Providing incentives, including an accessible awards program that rewards 

taxicab drivers who provide extraordinary service to the disability community 

with a free medallion. This confers the right to own and operate a taxicab in 

Chicago.603 (The value of such a medallion in 2014 was approximately 

$350,000.

604)

● Conducting a thorough enforcement program with prosecutions and sanctions 

for violators of accessibility requirements.

According to “Hailing the Future,” a Northeastern University School of Law study of 

wheelchair-accessible taxi programs in cities across the United States, the situation in 

Chicago is as follows: 

There are 178 wheelchair-accessible taxicabs with medallions in Chicago 

out of an overall fleet of 6,720 taxicabs.

The Regional Transportation Authority (RTA) and Mayor Rahm Emanuel 

initiated a taxicab reform project along with 9th Ward Alderman Anthony 

Beale and the City Council Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. 

... The project proposed changes to the Chicago taxicab industry 

regulations that would give taxicab company owners incentives to 

modernize their fleets, put safer taxicab drivers on the streets, and 

increase overall safety.

The new city ordinance that reformed taxicab operations included an 

incentive for taxicab companies to make more wheelchair-accessible 

vehicles. They will receive $100 off of the annual $600 medallion fee, and 
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any taxicab company with more than 20 taxicabs must maintain at least 

5 percent as accessible vehicles.

The RTA awarded funds from the New Freedom program (now MAP-21) 

to the city of Chicago Wheelchair Accessible Vehicle (WAV) Fund. The 

grant of $1.77 million will be used to purchase WAVs and convert current 

taxicabs in 2013. The WAV Fund became eligible for this money because 

they indicated they could provide a necessary match of over $650,000 

annual income by increasing the [cost of the] city’s 6,500 medallion 

licenses by $100 each.

Additionally, the fund will reimburse taxicab owners up to $15,000 for 

converting their taxicabs to WAVs and up to $20,000 for the purchase of a 

new WAV. Also, the WAVs that use alternative fuel can operate one year 

longer than regular taxicabs under the new ordinance, as long as they are 

in good condition.

The type of taxicabs that will be used in Chicago are the MV-1, which are 

manufactured by AM General in Mishawaka, Indiana. This vehicle 

operates on compressed natural gas and can accommodate two 

wheelchair [user]s and three non-wheelchair passengers at the same 

time.

To ensure compliance by the taxicab companies, the city of Chicago sued 

15 taxicab owners for noncompliance [with] the city’s new ordinance 

regarding wheelchair [accessibility]. The claims stated that owners named 

in the suits did not have a sufficient number of properly functioning WAVs. 

According to the ordinance, taxicab owners with more than 20 medallions 

need to have at least 5 percent functioning WAVs in their fleet.605

Rhode Island

Also according to “Hailing the Future,” “The smallest state ... provides an intriguing 

study into the effectiveness of well-orchestrated advocacy for wheelchair-accessible 

vehicles (WAVs).” This advocacy involves coordination among various approaches 

including legislation, empirical studies on the status of the transportation options in the 

state, and efforts by the quasi-public Rhode Island Public Transit Authority (RIPTA).

In 2007, the Rhode Island legislature mandated that 2 percent of taxicab 

fleets be wheelchair accessible. During the same legislative session, tax 

credits were also made available for the purchase of WAVs. ... Despite 

these enacted credits, two years later no accessible taxicabs had been 
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purchased. ... A 2009 study conducted by RIPTA, the Human Service 

Transportation Study, reviewed the available means of coordinating 

transportation for “older adults, individuals with low incomes, and persons 

with disabilities.” ...

[As a result,] in April 2011, RIPTA announced that WAVs were expected 

to be in operation by November. The RIPTA plan utilized funding through 

the New Freedom Act (now the MAP-21 program), in which the federal 

grant would pay for 80 percent of the cost of the taxicabs. ... A year later, 

on April 11, 2012, thirteen WAVs were made available to taxicab 

companies in Rhode Island. ... [This] is a starting point for wheelchairaccessible taxicabs across the state.606

New York City

The 2005 NCD report described attempts in New York City through 2004 to obtain a full 

complement of accessible taxicabs.607 New York has a long history of resistance to 

accessible taxis through the actions of the City of New York Taxi and Limousine 

Commission (TLC), which regulates taxicabs. In 2013, the tireless efforts of New York 

City advocates for accessible taxis resulted in an unprecedented and extremely 

significant victory.

The disability community advocacy group Taxis for All Campaign (TFAC) had long 

sought meaningful access through city legislation. New York City has 13,000 yellow 

cabs (taxis) that can only be hailed instead of dispatched; only 231 of them are 

accessible. Yellow cabs operate in Manhattan, south of 96th St., and at the airports. In 

the other four boroughs—Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, and Staten Island—only livery cabs 

are dispatched. There are approximately 30,000, of which about 20 were accessible. 

TFAC advocated for access to new taxis as they are purchased for use in the hail 

system, and for a meaningful percentage of liveries.608

In recent years, the disability community turned to litigation in addition to seeking 

legislation. In 2011, United Spinal Association, along with other disability groups, 

represented by Disability Rights Advocates, filed a lawsuit against the TLC, arguing that 

the commission is covered by Title II of the ADA and thus must provide meaningful 

access to the New York City taxi system.609 The U.S. Justice Department filed a 
273

statement of interest in the case in support of people with disabilities, stating that every 

taxi should be accessible. In December 2011, the Southern District Court of New York 

stated that meaningful access to both liveries and taxis was required. The TLC 

appealed to the Second Circuit Court of Appeals. The Second Circuit ruled in favor of 

the TLC and sent the case back to the Southern District.

In February 2012, Governor Andrew Cuomo signed A8691A-2011, otherwise known as 

the HAIL Act (Hail Accessible Inter-borough License). The legislation would have issued 

18,000 hail licenses for the five boroughs of New York City. These new licenses would 

have gone to livery cabs, which would provide metered services and be able to pick up 

hailing passengers. The law required that 20 percent of the new licenses go toward 

wheelchair-accessible vehicles. In addition, the law allowed for the sale of 2,000 new 

wheelchair-accessible taxi medallions, which would have raised $1 billion for the city. 

In August 2012, the New York State Supreme Court overturned the HAIL Act, stating 

that the city had violated the home-rule provisions of the state constitution, because 

only the city council, not the New York state legislature, can add medallion taxis to the 

fleet. The vast majority of the arguments against the state law did not revolve around 

wheelchair-accessible taxis.610

In April 2013, the Federal Court for the Southern District of New York allowed Disability 

Rights Advocates to include in their case against the TLC a complaint citing that the 

Nissan NV200, the new taxi model of choice for New York City, is a van. Therefore, its 

purchase would violate the ADA, which requires that new vans used as taxis be 

wheelchair accessible. According to Disability Rights Advocates, which represented the 

plaintiffs in the suit,

The current taxi system is 98.2% inaccessible and people who are nondisabled are 25 times more likely to get a taxi within ten minutes than is a 

person who uses a wheelchair. In addition, 80% of New York’s subway 

stations have no elevators and leave people with mobility disabilities 

unable to use these two essential forms of transit in NYC.611
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Later in April 2013, the New York City Council held a hearing on Proposed Int. No. 

433-A, a bill that would require all new taxis in New York City to be accessible. The 

Bloomberg administration continued to oppose accessible taxis612; the mayor himself 

had long opposed a significant expansion of wheelchair-accessible cabs. “He said they 

weigh too much. They’ll use too much gas. That’s all nonsense. I don’t think the mayor 

would treat any other protected class this way,” stated James Weisman, Senior VicePresident and General Counsel of United Spinal Association.613

In June 2013, the highest court of New York state reinstated the HAIL Act, which would 

put in place a New York City plan to expand street-hail taxi service to the outer 

boroughs and auction off 2,000 medallions for wheelchair-accessible yellow cabs.614 In 

another advancement for the disability community, the Greater New York Taxi 

Association issued a joint statement with the Taxis for All Campaign in support of a 

100 percent wheelchair-accessible taxi fleet.615

The HAIL Act required a plan to be prepared with stakeholder input to provide 

accessible taxi service permanently in New York City. Mayor Bloomberg’s 

administration refused to participate or facilitate planning, instead opting to dispatch the 

231 yellow cabs in the lower Manhattan service area. There is no central dispatch 

service available in the outer boroughs, however, and persons seeking accessible livery 

service must call livery companies.616

In October 2013, according to the Associated Press, 

A plan to remake New York’s yellow cab fleet with a minivan-style “Taxi of 

Tomorrow” was slammed into park Tuesday when a judge blocked it three 

weeks before cab owners would be required to start phasing in the new 

vehicles. ... The Greater New York Taxi Association, an owners’ group, 

said the city was improperly forcing owners to buy a vehicle they didn’t 

want. The group also noted that the NV-200 isn’t a hybrid and isn’t 

wheelchair-accessible without modifications. “We believe that the Nissan 

Van NV-200 was inappropriate for people in need of accessible vehicles 

and those who are concerned with the environment,” Executive Director 

Ethan Gerber said.617
275

In another positive development in November 2013, the Office of the Attorney General 

of the State of New York concluded that nearly 500 of the yellow cabs in the city violate 

the Americans with Disabilities Act because they are not wheelchair accessible. By any 

commonsense measure, Toyota Siennas and Ford Transit Connects are vans and must 

be able to carry wheelchair users under the ADA, according to Attorney General Eric 

Schneiderman’s office. The New York Daily News reported,

The definition of van under the ADA is the subject of ongoing litigation 

between advocates and the Bloomberg administration. [The Attorney 

General’s Office] isn’t involved in the lawsuits but his opinion is “quite 

significant,” Jim Weisman, General Counsel at the United Spinal 

Association, said. “He’s the chief law enforcement officer in the state.” 

The United Spinal Association has asked a federal judge to declare 

Nissan’s NV200—the Bloomberg administration’s chosen “Taxi of 

Tomorrow”—a van that must be wheelchair accessible under the ADA.618

The New York Attorney General’s Office letter asked the U.S. Department of 

Transportation for more definitive guidance defining vans as distinguished from 

automobiles, for the purpose of carrying out the ADA access requirements in the area of 

accessible taxis.619

Then, in a stunning announcement in December 2013, on the eve of the departure of 

Mayor Bloomberg from office after the election of Bill de Blasio, a news release 

announced that the “City of New York and Disability Advocates Announce Landmark 

Settlement to Dramatically Increase NYC Taxicab Accessibility: One out of every two 

medallion taxicabs will be wheelchair accessible by 2020.”

620 It was released by four 

disability organizations (the Taxis for All Campaign, United Spinal Association, 

504 Democratic Club, and Disabled in Action) as well as Disability Rights Advocates, 

New York City Mayor’s Office for People with Disabilities, New York City Law 

Department Office of the Corporation Counsel, and the TLC. It announced that these 

groups had reached a historic settlement agreement [of their lawsuit] to phase in 

wheelchair-accessible yellow medallion taxicabs so that 50 percent will be accessible to 

men, women, and children who use wheelchairs and scooters by 2020. The agreement 
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is the first of its kind in the country and would make New York’s yellow taxi fleet the 

most accessible in the nation and one of the most disability-friendly in the world.621 

The agreement calls for the TLC to propose rules that, if approved, will require yellow 

taxi fleets to replace, via attrition, at least 50 percent of taxicab vehicles with wheelchairaccessible vehicles by 2020. New York City taxicabs typically have a lifespan of three to 

five years, depending on how they are operated, and the 2,000 new medallion licenses 

that will be issued over the next several years (200 of which have already been 

auctioned) will count toward the 50 percent goal. The rulemaking process will determine 

how the remaining number will be achieved.

“We’re overjoyed that the city has finally seen fit to treat us fairly,” said Edith Prentiss, 

chair of the Taxis for All Campaign, now the named plaintiff in the lawsuit. “We believe 

this historic pact will soon make a huge difference for people who use wheelchairs not 

only here in New York City but across the country.” James Weisman, who also served 

as General Counsel for plaintiff United Spinal, added, “This is going to save the city tens 

of millions a year in paratransit costs. Making cabs accessible is not just the sensible 

thing to do for the many New Yorkers and visitors to the city who use wheelchairs, it’s 

fiscally responsible.”

622

At the same time, a memorandum of understanding was submitted to the court with a 

transition plan that included the following technical provisions about how the phase-in 

will operate:

The Proposed Rules shall ensure that, consistent with all applicable laws, 

after the start date, not less than 50 percent of medallion taxicab vehicles 

put in service in any year be wheelchair accessible; provided, however, 

that if as of any particular date, 50 percent or more of the vehicles put into 

service since the start date are accessible, there shall be no violation of 

this agreement if in any given year less than 50 percent of the new 

vehicles put into service are wheelchair accessible.

Notwithstanding any other provision of this agreement, the Proposed 

Rules shall ensure that 50 percent of the medallion taxicab vehicles are 

accessible vehicles no later than Jan. 1, 2020; provided, however, that if 
277

as of such date: (1) 50 percent or more of vehicles put into service since 

the start date are accessible; and (2) inaccessible vehicles scheduled to 

be retired and replaced with accessible vehicles during the year 2020 are 

sufficient to get to 50 percent of the total fleet, then such date shall be 

extended to Dec. 31, 2020. The 50 percent accessibility requirement shall 

not be considered as a ceiling on accessibility.623

This victory was capped in April 2014 when the TLC finally voted to make 50 percent of 

New York taxis accessible by 2020, effectively settling the litigation and “making a big, 

historic leap into the future,” according to Weisman. “[There will be] 7,500 accessible 

taxis in Manhattan by 2020.”

624 The TLC voted to fund this through a 30-cent surcharge 

applied to all taxicab rides beginning in 2015, as proposed by Mayor Bill de Blasio.625 

Accessible Taxi Payment Technology

For people who are blind or have vision impairments, a different accessibility obstacle in 

most taxicabs has been fare payment systems that are inaccessible. For example, in 

April 2014, the National Federation of the Blind and four blind individuals filed suit 

against RideCharge, Inc., and three taxicab companies in California. The companies 

had deployed the RideCharge self-service touchscreen payment terminals, which are 

inaccessible to blind riders, in taxicabs throughout Southern California.626 

However, many other transportation service providers have installed text-to-speech 

output and tactile controls on their self-service terminals that allow blind riders to 

operate them independently.627 

In October 2013, the U.S. Access Board hosted a demonstration of new taxi technology 

that makes fare payment systems accessible to passengers who are blind or have 

vision impairments. Developed by Creative Mobile Technologies (CMT) in partnership 

with Lighthouse International, the software enhancement has been installed in hundreds 

of New York City taxicabs.

According to the CMT website,
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The system features an audible touch screen with large, easy-to-navigate 

sections and step-by-step prompts and verbal instructions. The adaptive 

software announces fares at regular intervals during a trip and facilitates 

each step of payment by cash or credit card, including verification of fare 

and selection of payment options and tip percentages. It can be activated 

independently by riders through the touch screen or a free swipe card 

issued by Lighthouse International, as well as by drivers upon request. 

Mark Ackermann, President and CEO of Lighthouse International, and 

CMT President Jesse Davis briefed Board members on the system and its 

installation in New York City cabs. They also demonstrated a sample 

system that Board members were able to try out for themselves. The 

software, according to Ackermann “is an excellent example of the private 

sector working with government leaders and advocates to voluntarily 

change a system that has excluded the independent participation of 

millions of people who are blind or visually impaired for far too long.” 

The software is responsive to a New York City law mandating taxi 

payment options that are accessible to passengers with vision 

impairments. In addition to its New York City roll-out, CMT plans to install 

the system in about a dozen other cities, including Boston, Chicago, San 

Francisco, and Philadelphia.628

Uber, SideCar, Lyft, and Similar Transportation Apps

The past few years have seen the rise of Uber, SideCar, Lyft, and other companies that 

provide smartphone transportation applications (apps) that help people find rides in 

return for a payment. These transportation network companies (TNCs) offer an 

alternative to taxicabs. Many of the government bodies that regulate taxicab service are 

greatly concerned about this completely unregulated sector, and the TNCs have 

consistently attempted to evade regulation. In fact, Uber has claimed publicly that it is 

not covered by the ADA.629 

Some people with disabilities benefit from using TNC services and point to the 

convenience and speed with which car service can be obtained. Some note positive 

steps TNCs have taken. For example, following a dialogue between stakeholders and 

an Uber representative at a forum held by the National Council on Disability in May 

2014 in Berkeley, California, Uber issued a statement in which it committed to 
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“disenfranchise” any driver who wrongfully refuses to accommodate a passenger with a 

service animal.630 In another example (March 2014), Uber committed to undertake pilot 

programs to study and increase the availability of wheelchair-accessible vehicles in 

Chicago: “Wheelchair-accessible taxis operated by third parties—yellow cabs in the 

traditional, medallion-based system—will appear in the Uber app whenever the 

company’s own network can’t supply wheelchair-accessible vehicles.”

631

However, TNCs may prove to be an even more difficult arena than taxicabs in which to 

guarantee people with disabilities the right to services equivalent to the services 

received by the general public. A consensus appears to be forming among many 

disability activists across the United States who are advocating with local authorities 

and share the goal of regulating TNCs the same way taxicabs are regulated, by the 

same regulatory authorities, under the same rules that govern taxis. Wherever local 

advocates can gain a higher level of regulation, they are avidly pursuing it.632

This view was echoed by Beth Finke, Interactive Community Coordinator at Easter 

Seals headquarters in Chicago and a person who is blind, in a July 16, 2014, blog:

Chicago cab drivers are required to take classes to learn about service 

dogs, and they have to pass a Public Chauffeur Licensing Exam before 

getting a livery license. They know they are required to pick us up, and 

[I’ve reported] cab drivers [who] were fined for refusing to do so. More 

importantly, each had their livery license temporarily suspended.

... An NBC News story that said a blind man in San Francisco complained 

to UberX after one of their drivers refused to pick him up with his guide 

dog. UberX apologized and gave him a $20 credit toward his next ride. 

The driver was not penalized. ... The blind man who was refused the ride 

might take civil action, but that could take a lot of time. And money. 

And that’s my problem with this whole ride-sharing thing. I didn’t have to 

pay a cent to report the Chicago cab drivers who disregarded the law, the 

cases were resolved quickly and efficiently, and the drivers were 

penalized. If a driver from a ride-sharing service refuses to pick me up with 

... my Seeing Eye dog, I will have little recourse. The burden will be on me 

to pay to take the ride-sharing service and the driver to court.
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... I’m not against innovation, but I believe the new services should be 

subject to some regulation and required training—just like cabs.633

A ruling by the Maryland Public Service Commission (PSC) affirmed this position in 

September 2014, as explained by journalist Andrew Zaleski:

The final act in the PSC look into Uber began ... when the presiding judge 

... issued a proposed ruling that PSC commissioners would [later] affirm 

unanimously ... [stating that], “because 20 percent of an Uber passenger’s 

fare goes to Uber itself, the company does receive pay for passenger-forhire services; because Uber provides drivers with an iPhone loaded with 

the Uber app and sends requests to drivers to accept or decline rides, it 

exercises enough influence over drivers to be considered the ‘owner’ of 

each car, even though it doesn’t hold the titles to the vehicles; because 

Uber hasn’t released a list of its UberBLACK and UberSUV drivers to the 

PSC, the commission has no way of knowing whether the company is 

using PSC-licensed drivers; and because Uber can change its rates at will 

through its surge-pricing policy during peak hours, it escapes PSC 

protocol that requires for-hire drivers to file their rates, which cannot be 

changed without 30 days’ notice.

“I find that Uber is a common carrier ... offering passenger-for-hire 

services, and is therefore a public service company, subject to the 

jurisdiction of the commission,” wrote the chief judge. ... In other words, if 

Uber doesn’t change its ways to adhere to the PSC ruling, it can’t operate 

in Maryland anymore.

According to Uber spokesman Taylor Bennett, the company has yet to 

decide whether to appeal the state’s ruling. ... Asked ... whether Uber ... 

would leave Maryland, Bennett said, “I don’t have an answer to that.” 

But that answer could be a sign of how Uber—which is valued at 

$18 billion and has grown to 190 cities—fares around the country and the 

world. Since the company’s founding five years ago, local, state and 

national governments ... have pushed back against a company they see 

as disrupting transportation markets and operating outside the 

government’s eye; just last week, a Frankfurt court ruled to ban the 

company’s ridesharing service from Germany altogether (though Uber is 

appealing the decision and will continue to operate there in the meantime). 

Not surprisingly, some of the company’s biggest opponents are cabbies, 

who have taken to the streets claiming that Uber drivers get a leg up on 

business by dodging local regulations, from commercial licenses to 

background checks.634
281

Many stakeholders see significant risks on the horizon from TNCs. “Serious matters are 

at stake, for the disability community, the taxi industry that serves them, and the general 

public as well,” said Annette Williams, manager of the San Francisco Municipal 

Transportation Agency (SFMTA) Accessible Services program.635 

Christiane Hayashi, former Deputy Director of Taxis & Accessible Services with SFMTA, 

wrote a letter in March 2014 to the Seattle City Council, which was about to vote on 

regulation of TNCs. Her letter was instrumental in Seattle’s decision to limit TNCs. 

According to a private website that posted the letter, “Before Hayashi sent her letter, the 

Seattle Council was split on the vote. After they read it, they voted unanimously to 

regulate.”

636 Hayashi’s letter stated,

Ever since TNCs launched their operations in San Francisco about two 

years ago, including more than a year that they operated in open defiance 

of a cease and desist order from the CPUC [California Public Utilities 

Commission], the numbers of these vehicles have proliferated on a 

frightening scale. ... They [told] the CPUC ... they would reduce 

congestion and emissions because ... people would get rid of their cars. 

The opposite is true. This burgeoning phenomenon has had a very 

destructive influence on our taxi industry. [emphasis added]

Taxis provide transportation that is universally accessible on a 24/7 basis, 

[365 days a year], whereas TNCs can pick and choose when and where 

they drive, and who they want to pick up, to the extreme that the 

companies Lyft and SideCar give the drivers a choice as to whether they 

[will] pick up service animals [used by people with disabilities], which 

SideCar calls “service pets.” 

Taxis are required to charge the same amount to everyone at all times, 

and that amount is set by a public agency with the goal of ensuring that ... 

transportation is available to people who are disabled or on fixed incomes 

and cannot maintain their own personal vehicle. TNCs, ... on the other 

hand, set their rates behind closed doors and ... change them at will ... to 

undercut their competition ... with lowball prices that can be tripled or 

more if it rains, if there is an emergency, and during ... high demand 

times.

Because there appears to be no end to the exponential growth of TNC 

vehicles on the streets of San Francisco, and because they cherry-pick 

the best business, many of our taxi drivers have ... left the industry.
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[Our] wheelchair-accessible vehicles are not getting onto the streets 

because there is no one to drive them. Fully 25% of our accessible taxis 

are no longer in operation ... The level of service to people [using] 

wheelchairs ... plunged by 50% in 2013. ...

Rules ... become impossible to enforce if [our] enforcement capacity is 

overwhelmed by vehicle numbers. Without [strict] limits, you can expect 

increased congestion, increased pollution, and a riskier environment for 

pedestrians and bicycles.

Many jurisdictions that have considered this issue have recognized the 

problems TNCs create and have prohibited them outright, including New 

York City, Austin, New Orleans, Portland, Miami, Detroit, Philadelphia and 

most recently, Madison, Wisconsin.637

Annette Williams added that TNCs do not require background checks, training, and 

other measures to protect the public. She also pointed out, “They don’t provide 

wheelchair-accessible vehicles, available in our taxis with same-day service and 

cheaper to boot. ... Another issue is that the TNCs rate their passengers. ... If a person 

with a disability gets a low rating because he or she requires more time, they may not 

get picked up again. But taxis, a regulated industry, are required to pick up everyone; 

there are sanctions for not doing so. Who will sanction the TNCs? ... And who will 

monitor the service on a day-to-day level, [as our agency does our taxis]?”

638 

In his June 2014 article “Will Uber Serve Customers with Disabilities?” Ted Trautman 

wrote,

Traditional taxi companies are required in many cities to make some of 

their vehicles wheelchair-accessible. Companies like Uber and Lyft have 

no such obligation. One alarming side effect of the transportation network 

companies’ rapid rise is that, in some cities, it could result in an overall 

decrease in taxi options for wheelchair users. These startups, which are 

mostly unregulated, are recruiting drivers aggressively and luring 

experienced cabbies who hope to earn more working for Uber or Lyft than 

they do in a yellow taxi.639

Lex Frieden, a professor at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, 

director of independent living research at TIRR Memorial Hermann, and longtime 
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disability advocate, said one of his colleagues asked her taxi driver if there is talk 

among drivers about what is happening with TNCs. It turned out that this driver had 

formerly driven for Uber, and he said it is an open secret among Uber drivers that they 

avoid picking up wheelchair users and other mobility-impaired people because of the 

time it takes them to board.640

An international perspective was provided by the New York Times in June 2014 in an 

article titled “Traffic Snarls in Europe as Taxi Drivers Protest Against Uber”:

Europe’s taxi drivers on Wednesday picked a fight with Uber, an 

increasingly popular smartphone car-paging service, and dared 

consumers to choose sides. From London to Lyon and Madrid to Milan, 

thousands of taxi drivers protested the rise of Uber, an American upstart, 

stopping in the middle of streets and shutting down major portions of 

cities.

“Uber cabs are stealing our clients,” said José Losada, 36. “We are 

regulated to death, while they circumvent the law.” 

Efforts Toward Regulation

A number of jurisdictions, including the state of California, Washington, DC, Chicago, 

Houston, and Seattle have expressed significant concerns about the need for TNC 

regulation. Yet some have not had the political will to impose those regulations. In most 

of these places, disability issues are raised, but strong requirements for disability 

nondiscrimination and accessibility are not always imposed on the companies. Other 

locales where TNC regulation is under consideration are Boston, Georgia, Denver, 

Dallas, and Pittsburgh.641

State of California

In California in 2012 and 2013, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) took 

steps in the rulemaking process to determine whether and how TNC services arranged 

through apps such as Uber, SideCar, and Lyft might affect public safety. In its decision, 

the CPUC said that each TNC must be licensed by the CPUC, require criminal 
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background checks for each driver, establish a driver training program, implement a 

zero-tolerance policy on drugs and alcohol, and obtain an insurance policy that is more 

stringent than the current CPUC requirement for limousines. The CPUC found that

TNCs are engaged in transportation for compensation and that so-called donations from 

passengers are equivalent to direct compensation. The CPUC decision requires TNCs 

to allow passengers to indicate whether they need a wheelchair-accessible vehicle but 

does not require that one be provided.642 

In response to inquiries by the San Francisco Chronicle, Kate Toran, interim director of 

taxi and accessible services at SFMTA (known as San Francisco Muni) and Christiane 

Hayashi provided comments on TNCs. San Francisco Muni also regulates taxis. Their 

critique of TNCs and the minimal effort by the CPUC to regulate them included the 

following points:

The TNC draft access plans posted on the CPUC site were ... all very light 

on detail. ... [Our agency has a video that illustrates] the frailty of some of 

our passengers and the time it takes to provide good service. I’ve heard 

taxi drivers say that providing good service to seniors and people with 

disabilities gives them karma points, and that the time it takes providing 

service will be offset by a good fare later in the shift or on another day. ... 

SFMTA should regulate TNCs, which are taxis simply requested through 

new technology. Regulating the taxi industry is not in the CPUC’s 

experience. ... It’s more cost effective and rational for the oversight of the 

TNCs in San Francisco to be folded into SFMTA’s existing regulatory 

structure.

Wheelchair-accessible vehicles cost more to purchase and maintain, use 

more gas, and require [more] training for the driver. Transporting 

individuals who use wheelchairs takes more time, because the wheelchair 

must be secured using a four-point tie-down system. Simply adding a 

feature to an app that allows a rider to request a wheelchair-accessible 

vehicle will be meaningless unless there are [such] vehicles in the fleet.... 

Without major incentives, there will be very few wheelchair-accessible 

vehicles .... Yet seniors and people with disabilities have a civil right to 

access public services, and the TNCs provide a public service.

[Regarding the CPUC requirement about] service animals: passengers 

should not have to indicate in advance that they are traveling with a 
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service animal. People with service animals face a lot of discrimination, 

and advance notice will most likely provide an opportunity for drivers to 

decline the trip. The ADA is civil rights legislation and requires public 

services to be accessible to people with disabilities, [including] individuals 

with service animals. The CPUC [should not] imply that there is an option 

to deny service based on whether or not an individual is traveling with a 

service animal. ... The CPUC itself set up this condition, indicating the 

lack of thought that went into the CPUC decision. ...

Despite allegations in the TNC plans, wheelchair-accessible vehicles that 

are used by [drivers with disabilities] do not necessarily have another 

securement system .... It would be unsafe for a wheelchair user to ride in 

a TNC without being properly secured. ... The CPUC would need a 

system for inspecting accessible vehicles to make sure that the wheelchair 

securement system was installed and functional. ...

Generally, seniors and people with disabilities take longer to get in and out 

of a taxi. Since time is money in the taxi industry, slow passengers are not 

highly valued. Drivers may comment on a passenger’s behavior or actions 

without ever mentioning disability and ... create an atmosphere of 

discrimination.

If the CPUC sets rules, who will enforce them? The CPUC’s decision 

relies on enforcement through self-reporting, which is ludicrous on its 

face.643 

Washington, D.C.

In the District of Columbia, a number of sources document months of extensive battles 

over taxi regulation in 2012 and 2013 that, at times, proposed new rules to cover Uber 

and similar companies in ways that are much weaker than taxi, livery, and limousine 

regulations.644 For example, The Verge, a website on “the intersection of technology, 

science, art, and culture,” featured an article titled “Uber wins unanimously in 

Washington, DC, which is now rewriting its taxi laws ... after a drawn-out saga.” The 

article stated,

Uber just won a showdown in Washington, DC, one of the many cities 

where the traditional taxi and livery industry has revolted against the 

smartphone-native newcomer. ... The legislation says that the 

Commission can only assert power over digital dispatch companies [such 

as Uber] when “necessary for the safety of customers and drivers, 
286

consumer protection, or the collection of non-personal trip data 

information.”

645

Carol Tyson, Senior Policy Associate with United Spinal Association, explained that 

after the DC City Council passed a taxi law in July 2012, there was an attempt that 

December to enact further rules to regulate and sanction so-called digital dispatch 

services (DDSs) such as Uber. A part of the law included limited accessibility 

requirements. Uber organized a significant base of support among its riders for the law 

and against full regulation, and succeeded in avoiding all but minimal regulation. Now, a 

DDS may set its own rates. The 2012 law states that a DDS must give passengers the 

option to indicate interest in receiving wheelchair-accessible service, but the DDS is not 

required to provide that service. DDSs do have certain minimal requirements; for 

example, the new sedan law prohibits them from allowing their operators to 

discriminate. DDSs are required to inform the Taxi Commission if their vehicles are 

wheelchair accessible, and they must collect a sedan passenger surcharge. The 

surcharge is deposited into a consumer service fund for Taxi Commission operations 

and efforts to increase accessibility. As of December 2013, Uber had not even 

registered as a certified DDS in the District.646

Tyson commented that currently in DC, Uber and similar operations are explicitly free of 

nearly all regulation: 

We’re in a huge state of flux in the DC taxi community, because the new 

law requires a great deal of taxi companies, including certain lights, credit 

card machines, changes to the color of their cars, and so forth, with little 

support to pay for any of it. Yet Digital Dispatch Services have felt little 

impact.

Tyson pointed out that standard nondiscrimination provisions regarding disability—such 

as the requirements to stop for people with disabilities, take service animals, allow 

wheelchair users who can do so to transfer; and have accessible communications—are 

all part of taxi regulations in DC. DDSs are not, however, required to follow any of them. 
287

The DC Human Rights Act prohibits discrimination against 19 classes of people, 

including people with disabilities. It covers, as part of an extensive list of types of public 

accommodations, “all public conveyances operated on land or water or in the air, as 

well as the stations [and] terminals thereof.”

647 Theoretically, these provisions apply to 

DDS operations. Moreover, there are requirements for accessible taxis, sedans, and 

limousines (although, at this time, not DDSs). By the end of 2014, 6 percent of the fleets 

of taxi, sedan, and limousine companies with more than 20 cabs must be accessible 

vehicles. After a few years, that goes up to 12 percent, and after another few years, to 

20 percent. The disability community could conceivably use this Act to impose these 

requirements on DDSs.

There have been additional efforts to regulate TNCs in Washington, DC. In response to 

advocacy by the disability community, council members have made public statements 

reflecting the importance of disability access.648 “We have gotten the attention of our 

city council. We hope they will include accessibility standards in their TNC bill,” Carol 

Tyson reported. Tyson and other advocates are pressing the DC City Council to include 

these provisions:

1. Require accessibility of websites, apps, and other communication materials.

2. Require TNC staff and operators to undergo training in disability etiquette 

and services.

3. Require TNC operators to stow a wheelchair, adaptive equipment, or other 

mobility devices.

4. Require TNCs to uphold and publicize a zero-tolerance policy against 

employee and passenger discrimination, including requiring service 

provision to passengers with service animals.

5. Require wheelchair-accessible vans and fleets over time.
288

6. Require an equivalent service standard for people with disabilities

7. Enforce these provisions.

8. Include accessible TNC incentives in the Public Vehicle for Hire Consumer 

Services Fund.649

Chicago

In Chicago, disability advocates successfully used pressure from the taxi industry for 

regulation of TNCs to include a requirement in their new ordinance that the TNCs 

contract with entities that have wheelchair-accessible vehicles. According to Marca 

Bristo, President and CEO of Access Living, the new ordinance— 

... increases the Chicago mandate that taxi owners with 10 or more 

medallions must have 10% of their fleet be wheelchair-accessible vehicles 

(up from 5%). And it allows passengers to opt out of being rated by 

drivers. Now we are working on regulations, including how to use the 

accessible taxi fund generated from fees from both cabs and TNCs.

Despite these legislative gains, however, Bristo expressed concern that TNCs will 

inevitably fall far short of equivalent service by the very nature of their highly 

problematic business model.650

Houston, Texas

In Houston, disability advocates are pressing their city council for strong regulation of 

TNCs on the basis of many concerns, including negative experiences with TNC service. 

Richard Petty, Program Director at Independent Living Research Utilization, wrote, 

Denial of service is already a significant issue and how it can and will 

occur will be especially insidious, especially for those of us who are blind.

I have attempted to use [TNCs] to have a better understanding of the 

experience. Even in my limited use, I’ve had a very high level of failed 

pickups—from places in which I was highly visible. ... Only those drivers 

foolish enough to stop and tell a person with a disability that they won’t 
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transport us will be caught. This is enough evidence for me that the 

ordinance language needs to be stronger and that training must include 

prohibition of denial of service and the consequences of denial. In 

Houston, the Yellow Cab service has implemented a stringent training and 

enforcement program. It has made a difference. Something similar needs 

to be implemented with TNCs.

Cities should be required to initiate random testing programs to identify 

instances of denial of service. The testing needs to be frequent enough 

and conducted widely enough to both have a good sample of drivers and 

to create a level of respect for the consequences of failure to comply.651

Lex Frieden remarked on the “lobbying blitz” by the TNCs. “They hired the best 

marketing people in Houston to work for them, and two outstanding attorneys. They 

have four high-powered lobbyists, seeing Council members and their staff every day.”

652

Regarding a TNC ordinance, Frieden explained that the disability community is 

advocating for a percentage of accessible vehicles:

The ordinance must require a minimum floor for the percentage of 

wheelchair accessible vehicles. The 2% precedent has already been 

established here. A study will substantiate the need for a significantly 

higher proportion, but in order for the current updated ordinance to be 

valid, in my opinion, there must be a stated requirement applied across all 

categories of for-hire service that have a fleet size of 10 or more. ... We 

need to see a goal of 20%, as I believe that is about the number that will 

be required to achieve equivalency of service as measured by wait 

times.653

Petty listed the disability community’s other demands:

● Strong penalties for denial of service.

● Maintaining background fingerprint checks, as safety is a key concern for 

people with disabilities.

● Regulatory prohibition against ride charges if the passenger determines that 

the vehicle is unsuitable (for example, a person who uses a walker cannot 

climb into a vehicle with a high step or running board).
290

● Regulatory prohibition against minimum charges when a driver fails to locate 

a passenger (for example, a person who is visually impaired).

● Regulatory requirement for “app” capacity that will allow passenger-to-driver 

telephone contact after the ride has been negotiated, which could prevent 

missed connections in those instances in which the driver truly does intend to 

accept a trip with a potential passenger who may not see the vehicle.654

Petty added, “I continue to marvel at the disingenuousness and deceit of the [TNC 

representatives]. They’ve misstated, prevaricated, and outright lied in front of the 

Houston City Council, even to the point of altering a page from a taxi study publication 

in such a way that it presented positive feedback about Lyft that wasn’t in the original 

study.”

655

Seattle, Washington

The For Hire Vehicle Association of Seattle/King County and Seattle-area taxi dispatch 

companies, drivers, and owners have worked to address the impact of TNCs. They 

successfully passed a model law that would regulate TNCs in the same way taxis are 

regulated. The law was signed by the mayor in March 2014; within a week, Uber, Lyft, 

and SideCar mounted a well-funded campaign to have the law overturned by the voters. 

Henry Yates, who represents the For Hire Vehicle Association of Seattle/King County, 

wrote, 

The TNCs are collecting signatures for [their] effort [to overturn the model 

law] and, with the money they have, we suspect millions will be spent to 

repeal the Seattle ordinance. We have been told that they do not want 

other jurisdictions thinking that they can pass the sort of ordinance that 

has been adopted in Seattle.656

A few months later, Yates wrote,

We had a city council hearing yesterday where the original ordinance was 

repealed. Next Monday, we are anticipating the new ordinance to pass. It 

will include more stringent insurance requirements for TNCs, equivalent 
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driver training, vehicle licensing, background checks, and so forth. In 

exchange for all this, the TNCs got no capping on their numbers.

We, the for-hire vehicle industry, are advocating for the city to provide 

incentives for more accessible vehicles on the street. On our own, one of 

our companies just bought three accessible vehicles and intends to 

purchase more, because we see it as a needed and growing service.657

Yates also reported that some of the TNC disability-related issues that were discussed 

in other cities have been absent from the Seattle debate, perhaps because no disability 

advocates were involved. Issues that went unmentioned in Seattle include requiring 

TNCs to accommodate riders’ service animals, provide trips to anyone regardless of 

disability (nondiscrimination), and accommodate a rider’s manual wheelchair by having 

the driver stow it in the trunk.658 While these important protections are already required 

by the ADA, some TNCs, such as Uber, have claimed they are not covered by the Act 

(see the introduction to this section, above). Although that claim may or may not be true, 

disability advocates in some cities have taken the precaution of ensuring that local 

regulations for TNCs include these protections.

The new Seattle ordinance did impose some disability-related requirements on TNCs, 

according to Toby Olson, Executive Secretary of the Washington State Governor’s 

Committee on Disability Issues and Employment:

● The ordinance creates an annual $850,000 Wheelchair Accessible Taxi 

(WAT) fund from a $0.10 per trip surcharge, including TNC-provided trips. 

The city of Seattle will work with its consumer-based disability advisory task 

force to determine the best way to apply the funds to cause the biggest 

increase in accessible taxi capacity.

● The ordinance requires that the total fare or fare range be clearly displayed 

on the application before confirming the ride, and that any variables that may 

result in higher charges—such as tips, waiting time, demand pricing, or any 

other surcharges—be clearly articulated before confirming the ride. This will 
292

mean that before a TNC attempts to ask for a surcharge related to stowing a 

wheelchair or transporting a service animal, it would be required to describe 

that intent in writing to the city, and list that surcharge with a clear description 

on its application.659

Subpart B. Intercity Bus Service and Over-the-Road Buses

Overview 

Bus travel between U.S. cities, also known as intercity bus service, is usually provided 

in over-the-road buses (OTRBs), defined as buses characterized by an elevated 

passenger deck over a baggage compartment.660 Private companies such as 

Greyhound and a host of others provide this service. The 2005 NCD report661 described 

how a 1998 update of the DOT ADA regulation established requirements that new 

OTRBs must be accessible. Also, by 2006, 50 percent of the buses in the fleets of large 

companies would be required to be accessible, and by 2012, 100 percent. Following 

those key changes in the regulation, there was a gradual phase-in of wheelchairaccessible buses into the fleets of some, but not all, intercity bus service providers.

The 2005 NCD report quoted Janna Willardson, then general manager of Telephone 

Information Centers for Greyhound Lines Inc. and currently listed on a company website 

as the Customer Care Director of Greyhound, who made a statement on behalf of the 

company in October 2004. Among other issues, she described a problem Greyhound 

observed in a portion of the U.S. intercity bus industry:

Greyhound has cooperated with the regional carriers to provide fully 

integrated accessible service. We believe that these traditional carriers are 

making strong good faith efforts to serve disabled passengers and fully 

comply with the ADA. However, a new group of discount, curbside intercity 

bus operators has emerged, primarily in the Northeast corridor. We 

believe that many of these carriers make no effort to comply with either 

the vehicle acquisition or service requirements of the ADA. These new 

operators appear to be either totally ignorant of the ADA requirements, or 

willfully ignoring them.662
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(For more about Greyhound, see the section on Amtrak Reservations in chapter 2, 

which describes the bus company’s quick resolution of a reservations website problem.)

This section on intercity bus service and over-the-road buses first addresses the 

ultimately successful struggle during the years before and since the publication of the 

2005 NCD report to attain compliance by companies that had disregarded the ADA 

requirements for many years. It also explores what happened when the 2012 deadline 

was reached for final implementation of 100 percent fully accessible OTRBs by large 

carriers. The section further addresses how DOT dealt with a problem created by this 

deadline related to interlining, which is when multiple companies, both large and small, 

coordinate the issuing of tickets. Finally, the section explores some problems with 

accessible OTRB service, including one that arose for some passengers related to 

malfunctions in moving seats necessary to create accessible spaces for wheelchairs.

There are other issues with intercity bus carriers. For example, Alice Ritchhart, 

Transportation Committee Chair of the American Council of the Blind, described a 

problem for her community on intercity buses:

Blind people who are diabetics, they call the disability line and tell them, 

“I’m going to need to relieve my guide dog and get something to eat when 

we stop.” [Then] there’s no one there to help them, so that’s a big issue, 

especially when they are doing transfers, getting the proper assistance. 

With guide dogs, they try to tell you they want you in the front seats, but 

there’s no room [for the dog] and they get all bent out of shape if you put 

the dog on the seat or he lays out in the aisle. I’ve found you can resolve 

that if you are an assertive blind person, but we have some people who 

are more timid.663

Curbside Carriers Disregarded the ADA for Years

In 2007, the Washington Post, in a Discrimination Watch column, published an article 

called “Hedging Your Bets—Buses Flout Rules,” which detailed guide dog 

discrimination in the intercity over-the-road bus service of a private company.
294

“No dog, no dog,” shouted the driver and another worker when District 

resident Joe Orozco and his guide dog tried to board a Todays Bus from 

Washington to New York. Orozco protested that the company is required 

by law to accommodate service animals, but the workers continued to 

block his entry and laughed, he says, when he threatened to call police. 

Once he called police, the workers said he could ride if the dog was put in 

the bottom of the bus with the luggage. They relented after police came.

When Orozco tried to board the return bus the next day, a Todays Bus 

employee in New York yanked his ticket away and tried to return his 

money. ... The bus pulled away. After Orozco called police, workers said 

he could take the next bus but ordered him to sit in the back. He complied, 

but he is filing a complaint with the Justice Department, which enforces 

the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA). Today’s Bus did not respond to 

four telephone messages left for the manager and owner.

The ADA guarantees interstate service to disabled passengers; that 

includes providing access, with advance notice, to people in wheelchairs. 

But many of the companies that pick up passengers curbside—the socalled “Chinatown buses”—simply ignore the law. In 2004, regulators 

checked 14 companies that operate between Washington and New York 

and cited 11 of them for violating the ADA. ...

[Another party] recently called Todays to ask about wheelchair access. 

The man who answered refused to give his name, but his answer was 

clear: “No wheelchair.”

664

Further documenting these problems later in 2007, an Associated Press article titled 

“Fung Wah Ordered to Pay Damages for Refusing Service to Blind Couple” reported,

The [Massachusetts] Attorney General’s office said today that it has won a 

discrimination complaint against the Fung Wah bus company.

Attorney General Martha Coakley said that the Massachusetts 

Commission Against Discrimination ... awarded a blind couple $60,000 in 

damages after the discount carrier refused to sell them tickets to New 

York because they wanted to travel with a guide dog.665

Greyhound, unhappy to be facing competition from curbside carriers that, unlike itself, 

bore none of the costs of ADA compliance, started its own curbside bus service, 

BoltBus, operating along the eastern seaboard like other curbside carriers, between 
295

Boston, New York City, DC, Philadelphia, and so forth. Unlike the others, however, Bolt 

buses were lift-equipped.666

Greyhound also deserves credit for its unceasing efforts to pressure the Department of 

Transportation to undertake rigorous enforcement of the ADA against noncompliant 

carriers. In pressing DOT to take responsibility in terms of enforcement, the interests of 

the larger, more traditional intercity bus providers such as Greyhound, which had made 

many efforts to comply with the ADA, were aligned with those of the disability 

community, which wanted the newer carriers that were flouting the law to comply. 

Greyhound applied itself assiduously to this task, working with disability community 

organizations and providing its lobbying muscle along with other resources. The joint 

efforts of this unlikely coalition eventually resulted in passage of the Over-the-Road Bus 

Transportation Accessibility Act of 2008, which required the Federal Motor Carrier 

Safety Administration (FMCSA) of the U.S. Department of Transportation to enforce the 

ADA requirements with intercity carriers and other OTRB operators. FMCSA is the 

office at DOT that licenses and regulates privately operated bus carriers.

Before that Act was passed, however, FMCSA spent a number of years actively 

resisting any relationship to ADA enforcement, prompting the Disability Rights 

Education and Defense Fund (DREDF) to send a letter to DOT Secretary Mary Peters 

urging enforcement and describing how the disability community viewed FMCSA 

priorities. Referring to a positive DC Circuit Court decision that played an important role 

in the pressure campaign, the DREDF letter stated, 

We were very pleased to see that the DC Circuit understood the 

importance of the ADA and the significant problems with DOT’s position to 

date. The court rejected FMCSA’s position. A concurring opinion written 

by Judge Tatel pointed out that FMCSA’s position places “the interests of 

the disabled” as less important than safety, financial responsibility, noise 

emissions, radar detectors, records storage, and other civil rights 

concerns such as race discrimination.667
296

FMCSA inaction persisted despite congressional pressure, as stated in an October 

2007 letter from Congressmen James Oberstar and Peter DeFazio to John Hill, then 

Administrator of FMCSA:

We write to you regarding the Federal Motor Carrier Safety 

Administration’s implementation and enforcement of the Department of 

Transportation’s accessibility regulations pursuant to the Americans with 

Disabilities Act.

We urge FMCSA to promptly amend agency policies to: (1) develop a 

procedure for FMCSA to investigate complaints of ADA violations in 

coordination with the Department of Justice; (2) institute penalties for 

violations of ADA regulations, including revocation of a carrier’s operating 

authority; and (3) deny applications of new entrants when an entrant does 

not have lift-equipped buses and is not able to otherwise demonstrate the 

ability to comply with ADA regulations. If we do not receive a response 

within 14 days regarding FMCSA’s plan to institute these changes, the 

Committee will pursue legislative action.668

Further congressional pressure, also resisted by FMCSA, came from a November 2007 

Transportation Appropriations Conference Report, which stated,

The conferees reiterate concerns expressed in both of the House and 

Senate Committee reports regarding DOT’s failure to enforce its own 

regulations requiring accessibility to over-the-road buses for people with 

disabilities. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit rejected 

FMCSA’s assertion that it did not have the authority to deny bus operators 

registration based on an interstate bus company’s unwillingness or 

inability to comply with DOT’s Americans with Disabilities Act regulations, 

and remanded the case to FMCSA for further interpretation. On October 

26, 2007, FMCSA responded by reasserting its claim that it lacks the 

authority to enforce DOT’s own ADA regulations. The conferees find this 

interpretation to be mystifying, unacceptable, and deliberately evasive. It 

certainly calls into question the commitment of both the Secretary and the 

Administrator to enforcing both the letter and the spirit of Federal laws 

designed to protect the rights of the disabled. The conferees disagree with 

FMCSA that further statutory language is needed to clarify FMCSA’s 

enforcement role in this area. Even so, given the recalcitrant stance and 

steadfast refusal of the Secretary and the Administrator to enforce the law 

on this matter, the conferees are supportive of the prompt enactment of 

HR 3985: The Over-the-Road Bus Transportation Accessibility Act of 

2007. This bill makes clear, again, that FMCSA has the authority to 
297

enforce compliance with DOT’s ADA regulations. ... The conferees can 

only hope that, once this law is enacted, the Secretary and Administrator 

will not concoct still further evasive strategies to avoid their statutory 

responsibility.669

All these efforts led to a turning point with the passage of the Over-the-Road Bus 

Transportation Accessibility Act of 2008, which required FMCSA to fully consider ADA 

compliance when it grants and revokes operating authority to passenger motor carriers. 

This Act was not part of the ADA but rather amended the law that grants FMCSA its 

authority, adding the DOT ADA regulation (Part 37) to the list of items FMCSA must 

consider in granting and revoking operating authority. It also required FMCSA 

implementation within 30 days and a coordinated enforcement agreement between 

FMCSA and the Department of Justice within six months.670

In Recent Years, Enforcement Actions Pursued Actively

Since the passage of this Act, there has been a sharp increase in the level of positive, 

robust enforcement on the part of two federal agencies in cooperation: the Department 

of Justice and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration of the Department of 

Transportation. The two agencies have brought more than 20 enforcement actions 

against OTRB transit providers, correcting issues including lack of accessible vehicles, 

lack of employee training, problems with wheelchair lift maintenance, failure to provide 

accessible service and operations, and failure to file required annual reports. (Also see 

chapter 4 on Enforcement. The section on DOJ/FMCSA settlements lists a number of 

these actions and the problems that were found and corrected.)

The 2012 Deadline: DOT Denies Extensions Requested by Large 

Carriers

October 29, 2012, was a major ADA deadline in the intercity bus industry and for all 

large private companies using over-the-road buses. According to the FMCSA website 

page titled ADA Guidelines for Over-the-Road Bus Companies,
298

A [large671] fixed-route OTRB company must ensure that: (1) each new 

OTRB purchased or leased is accessible; (2) half of the company’s fleet 

consists of accessible buses by October 2006; and (3) the entire fleet 

consists of accessible buses by October 2012. Until the fleet of a fixedroute OTRB company becomes fully accessible, it must provide 

accessible OTRB service to passengers with disabilities on a 48-hour 

advance notice basis.672

A DOT statement regarding over-the-road buses, e-mailed from the office of Richard 

Devylder, Senior Advisor for Accessible Transportation, on November 29, 2012, 

announced the following:

The Department of Transportation is committed to ensuring bus access for 

all passengers. DOT received letters from 22 companies requesting 

additional time to equip and configure remaining buses in their fleets to 

bring them into ADA compliance as they were required to do by 

October. After careful review, the Department denied the requests based 

on insufficient evidence from the companies that further delay beyond this 

14-year deadline is warranted.

To help bus companies finish updates to their fleets, the Federal Transit 

Administration is providing $8.9 million to 77 transportation transit 

providers that can be used to purchase, install, and properly operate 

wheelchair lifts and related equipment. Since 1999, the FTA has provided 

$100 million to [bring] approximately 430 private-sector bus operators’ 

fleets into ADA compliance by installing about 2,500 wheelchair lifts.

Bus passengers may report ADA compliance complaints to FMCSA’s 

National Consumer Complaints Database (NCCDB) online at 

http://nccdb.fmcsa.dot.gov or by calling the toll-free hotline, 1-888-368-

7238, Monday–Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. ET.

In an interview, Richard Devylder stated, “The Secretary felt the October 29, 2012, 

deadline was very important. He also felt that, regarding most of the companies’ 

extension requests, they’ve known for 14 years about the compliance requirement, and 

they had 12 years to comply ... and not just that, but Congress allocated funding during 

that 12-year period with a total of almost 100 million dollars to assist those companies to 

come into compliance. So with all those things taken into consideration, the Secretary 

denied their requests. The legislation authorizing that funding expired in 2012.”

673
299

The Interlining Problem and How It Was Addressed

In late 2012, DOT released “Guidance on Interline Service and Notice to Passengers,” 

which addressed a Catch-22 in the DOT ADA regulation that affected some OTRB 

passengers when multiple bus companies, both large and small, coordinated the issuing 

of tickets.

The guidance explains, “An interline trip involves a passenger purchasing a ticket or 

making a reservation with one operator for a fixed-route trip of two or more stages in 

which another operator provides service for one or more of the transportation stages. 

For example, a passenger goes to the ticket office of Operator X, a large, fixed-route 

operator, and buys a ticket from Point A to Point C. The ticket provides for the 

passenger to transfer at Point B to a bus operated by small, fixed-route Operator Y. This 

arrangement is an interline trip.” 

The guidance continues,

Under the [DOT ADA] regulations, large, fixed-route OTRB operators are 

required to have 100 percent of their fixed-route fleets readily accessible 

to and usable by individuals with disabilities, including individuals who use 

wheelchairs, by October 29, 2012. However, small, fixed-route operators

and demand-responsive operators do not have a parallel fleet accessibility 

requirement. Consequently, many or most of these small and demandresponsive OTRB operators that are not subject to the October 29 

deadline may not have fully accessible fleets by October 29, 2012. By law, 

such operators can [still] require up to 48 hours’ advance notice to provide 

accessible service.

If a passenger buying a ticket for an interline trip does not realize that a 

small operator involved may need 48 hours to get an accessible bus for its 

portion of the journey, the passenger requiring the accessible bus may be 

unable to complete the trip in a timely manner.

This guidance applies to all large, fixed-route OTRB operators 

(companies) engaged in interline service.
300

[DOT] believes that a passenger with a disability who purchases a ticket or 

makes a reservation for an interline trip that will connect to a small, fixedroute over-the-road bus (OTRB) operator should, at the time of booking, 

be notified that the small carrier may require 48 hour advance notice in 

order to provide an accessible bus and, if there is less than 48 hours at 

booking, of the possibility that an accessible bus may not be available at 

his or her transfer point to complete the subsequent leg of the trip.

This notice is intended to help prevent a situation in which a passenger 

traveling from Point A to Point C is unexpectedly stranded at Point B. To 

avoid such a situation, when a passenger [who is] booking an interline trip 

connecting with a small operator visibly appears or self-identifies as 

someone with a disability requiring an accessible bus, the large operator 

should inform the passenger that the small operator may require 48-hour 

advance notice to provide accessible service. To help inform the public, 

one way large operators could provide this notice is on their Web sites.

[DOT] believes that large operators engaged in interline service should 

notify the public (e.g., on its Web site [or in] promotional materials), in a 

manner that is readily accessible to and usable by people with disabilities, 

of the possibility that small operators may require 48-hour notice for 

accessible service, identify all routes that may be affected by this advance 

notification requirement, and provide this information at the time that the 

passenger books the trip.

Interline service requires communication among the different bus 

companies. When a passenger with a disability reserves or purchases a 

ticket for an interline bus trip, the primary operator must arrange for an 

accessible bus to be provided for each of the subsequent stages of the trip 

by communicating with the other operators involved with the trip. 

Subsequent operators have a responsibility to maintain open channels of 

communication and pay attention to communications received from 

booking operators.

If passengers are informed of the 48-hour notice requirement for small 

operators involved in interline trips, they could reserve later trips, make 

alternative travel arrangements, or research overnight accommodations at 

their transfer points in the event they are informed that the small operators 

cannot provide accessible buses at the time requested and they may need 

to wait overnight or longer for accessible service.674

Some disability advocates have encouraged a stronger, more straightforward approach. 

Only a handful of large OTRB companies engage in interlining, and when they do it is 
301

ongoing; meaning that, for example, the Greyhound or Trailways trip from DC to 

Vermont either uses interlining or it does not. It would be easier for the public if 

Greyhound and the other large carriers made clear on their websites that particular trips 

use interlining service with another company that might qualify as a small carrier, for 

which advance notice might be needed, with 48-hour notice preferred. The advocates 

point out that the term should be “preferred,” rather than “required,” because the DOT 

ADA regulatory provision for 48 hours is not a hard-and-fast rule: Less than 48 hours’ 

notice still requires a good faith effort by the carrier to provide an accessible bus. Fortyseven hours should not present difficulty. It is also unlikely that 24 hours would present 

difficulty.675

“Asking for Notice Is Passé” 

After the October 2012 deadline for large OTRB companies, which began requiring 

100 percent accessible bus fleets, the 48-hour advance notice requirement that had 

been previously allowed to these companies expired. No longer were the companies 

allowed to require passengers with disabilities to provide advance notice of the need for 

a lift-equipped bus. As stated above, the 48-hour advance notice provision was a 

temporary one:

Until the fleet of a fixed-route OTRB company becomes fully accessible, it 

must provide accessible OTRB service to passengers with disabilities on a 

48-hour advance notice basis.676

As expressed by Transit Access Report, “DOT Maintains, for the Record, That Asking 

for Notice Is Passé.” In May 2013, this periodical reported that it asked DOT whether, 

for a large fixed-route carrier, requesting advance notice of the need for a wheelchairaccessible bus was still allowed. DOT replied that the allowable request for notice is 

limited to situations in which the large carrier is interlining with a small carrier. The DOT 

response included these points:
302

The OTRB fleet used by large operators to provide fixed-route service is 

required to be 100 percent wheelchair-accessible. Consequently, the 

interim 48-hour advance notice rule (49 CFR § 37.193) no longer applies 

to this kind of service provided by large operators. As you note, however, 

the Department did provide guidance to large operators providing minimal 

relief for operations completed pursuant to interline agreements with small 

operators. Pursuant to the guidance, only in these limited situations, large 

operators may recommend that passengers confirm availability of a 

wheelchair lift-equipped bus at least 48 hours before scheduled travel.

Transit Access Report also observed that some companies still have policies requiring 

advance notice—on their websites, for example. Yet after a certain point, it reported,

Greyhound ... appears to have moderated its position.

On its website, visited May 27, 2013, Greyhound now advises passengers 

with disabilities as follows:

“With advanced notification, Greyhound can better meet the service needs 

of all customers with disabilities, including people who travel in wheeled 

mobility devices. Advanced notice is not required, including for a liftequipped bus for those who wish to travel in a wheeled mobility device; 

however, each bus can only accommodate two passengers traveling in a 

wheeled mobility device, and there are capacity limitations on every bus 

for all passengers. Advanced notice will help us serve you better.”

677 

In June 2013, the journal reported,

The U.S. Department of Justice has forced DeCamp Bus Lines, a private 

operator of bus service based in northern New Jersey, to stop saying it 

requires advance notice for service on a wheelchair-accessible bus.

The DOJ clamped down on DeCamp, apparently to make an example for 

the over-the-road bus industry, even though DeCamp’s entire fleet of 

motorcoaches is said to be wheelchair-accessible. ...

The Department of Transportation maintains [that notice] should not be 

[asked for], except to warn passengers [that] they may have to give notice 

if connecting to a small carrier. ...
303

As a large fixed-route OTRB operator, the bus line was required under 

ADA regulations to have a fully accessible fleet by October 29, 2012.678

Industry Bemoans Low Ridership and Requests Further Relief

In 2013, DOT sought comments on a Notice of Retrospective Review of the Americans 

With Disabilities Act Regulations for Over-the-Road Bus Operators.

679 Many intercity 

bus companies and other companies with fleets of over-the-road buses urged a 

weakening of DOT ADA requirements. 

For example, Eugene J. Berardi Jr. submitted these comments on behalf of Adirondack 

Trailways, Pine Hill Trailways, and New York Trailways on April 26, 2013:

Based upon [a number of conditions including] the elimination of federal 

funding to underwrite the capital cost of an already unreasonable 

expense, increasing the annualized cost per capita—for each Trailways 

wheelchair lift use—from an unreasonable $2604 to an unsustainable 

$3942. ...

Trailways has received 82 requests for accessible OTRB service with a 

minimum of 48-hour advance notice.680

Adirondack Trailways wanted DOT to weaken its ADA regulations by reinstating the 

48-hour advance notice and to restore funding. All of its buses are accessible at a 

claimed cost of $35,000 each, in addition to “significant” maintenance costs. The 

comment further stated,

There are motorcoach operators who deliberately avoid carrying 

passengers with disabilities and who, when called on to provide such 

service, frankly and illegally tell the passengers to “call Greyhound or 

Trailways” or any other legitimate, ADA-compliant carrier.681

Many industry groups, such as Trailways, requested that DOT funding of the OTRB 

industry continue. Their statements stunned some disability advocates who reviewed 

the docket. Toby Olson, Executive Secretary of the Washington State Governor’s 
304

Committee on Disability Issues and Employment, pointed out that, unlike other industry 

groups, the OTRB industry “persists in complaints after having solicited and received 

$100 million in federal funding to underwrite their access expenditures. Other than some 

relatively modest tax incentives, no other industry covered by any part of the ADA has 

had its compliance subsidized.”

682

Other organizations submitting comments to the DOT docket took a different viewpoint 

from that of the industry. For example, the Open Doors Organization (ODO), a nonprofit 

disability organization dedicated to improving travel and tourism for people with 

disabilities, which has conducted extensive ADA motorcoach training, drew from this 

experience an entirely different perspective on low ridership in the private OTRB 

industry. It agreed with only one point in the industry comment: that when ODO 

members call some companies to request an accessible bus, they are flatly turned 

away. “[They have told] us that we could ride only if we could put our wheelchair under 

the coach and climb the steps.” The ODO comment continued:

Open Doors Organization is not disputing the fact that ridership by the 

disability community, at least with regard to use of lift-equipped OTRBs, 

has been low. But we would argue that there are clearly a number of 

reasons for this [that] in large part stem from within the motorcoach 

industry itself.

1. Lack of outreach by motorcoach operators. Very few bus company 

websites or promotional materials include any information for 

customers with disabilities or mention the availability of lift-equipped 

coaches. ... Not surprisingly, both the traveling public and charter 

customers remain ignorant with regard to the growing availability of liftequipped vehicles. ... Historically there was great animosity in the 

[disability] community due to the industry’s resistance to the ADA, and 

no welcome mat has been put out since.

2. Discriminatory behavior by chartering parties. More people who 

need lift-equipped service would be traveling and demand would be 

higher if institutions of all types—tour operators, museums, libraries, 

alumnae associations, schools, etc.—were not turning them away. 

Some still believe that an accessible coach would cost more, but most 

simply do not want to slow down the tour or ensure that the attractions 

and accommodations needed for these customers are accessible.
305

3. Lift-equipment problems and failures. Lifts remain unreliable and 

also are unpleasant to use. Not only are they prone to failure, but 

drivers often lack training and experience in operating lifts. Once a 

person has been stranded or delayed due to a lift failure, they are less 

likely to travel by bus again and will also tell all their friends not to do 

so. Most, however, would not bother to complain. Even when lifts work 

well, riders state that they feel like a spectacle with the loud beeping 

and the stares that they draw. Bus operators tell us that many of their 

older customers who should be using lifts prefer to drag themselves up 

the steps and store their walkers and scooters under the coach.

Now that FMCSA has begun to enforce the ADA in the motorcoach 

industry, we at ODO are hopeful that this vicious circle of low outreach, 

low demand, and poor service will finally be broken. More operators are 

now becoming aware not only of their obligations but also of the untapped 

potential of the market, which includes many people with other types of 

disabilities, not just reduced mobility.

... It is clear that improvements in coach and lift design are also needed.

One issue that does need to be addressed now is interlining between 

large and small fixed-route companies. There should be a requirement for 

companies to self-identify as large or small. At present, customers have 

no way of knowing which companies are 100% accessible and which are 

still operating under the 48-hour rule. This confusion and the problems 

that can result may also discourage ridership.

Another issue causing confusion in the [disability] community is operation 

of coach services under the aegis of brands which do not fall under 

oversight by FMCSA. For example, BoltBus advertises on its website that 

its coaches are 100% accessible, but its new Long Island service is using 

mainly coaches that are not lift-equipped. This is completely misleading to 

the public and doubtless will discourage future ridership when patrons 

expecting a lift-equipped coach cannot be accommodated and are left 

behind.

Other Issues and Problems with Intercity Bus Service

A number of other situations and conditions impact people with disabilities as 

passengers or potential passengers desiring intercity bus service. Among them are bus 

boarding denials and difficulty in moving seats, as discussed below.
306

Boarding Denials

Although large intercity bus operators have stated that they have met the overwhelming 

preponderance of advance-notice accessible bus requests, some complaints of service 

denials by wheelchair users have arisen. It is difficult to assess how frequently they 

occur.

For example, a 2010 Megabus complainant was not given the option to sit in the 

wheelchair securement space, as cited in the 2011 Megabus settlement agreement with 

the Department of Justice:

This matter was expanded by a complaint, received September 21, 2010, 

alleging that on September 11, 2010, Megabus provided noncompliant 

service. The complainant alleges that on a return trip from New York, N.Y., 

to Baltimore, Md., despite his wife having made a reservation on August 

18, 2010, and reminding the New York, N.Y., station agent of their need 

for an accessible vehicle that morning, he was not provided with use of the 

ramp upon boarding or alighting the vehicle.683 Upon boarding, rather than 

being able to remain in his wheelchair and to ride in the securement area, 

he was assisted by Megabus personnel to a seat, and upon alighting he 

was lowered off the vehicle without the use of the ramp.684

Another complainant, Darrell Price, a disability advocate from Dayton, Ohio, and 

member of ADAPT, a national grassroots disability rights organization known for its 

successful transportation advocacy culminating in the transportation requirements of the 

ADA, sent the Department of Justice a complaint about Greyhound on January 6, 2012, 

which read, in part,

I called their travel assistance number for passengers with disabilities ... 

to request a lift-prepared bus on Friday, December 16, 2011, at 8:05 AM 

regarding my trip scheduled for 4:45 PM on December 23rd. At that time I 

was told that I must call back on Saturday, December 17, after 4:45 PM, 

since my initial call was before the 7-day advance notice policy. I called 

back on Saturday, December 17 after 4:45 PM, as requested, and was 

verbally given control number AG429316 to confirm my request. ...
307

After my return on January 1, 2012, I found [a] request confirmation 

from Greyhound in my mail. Please note the following apparent errors and 

omissions in Greyhound’s document: 1. No control number provided for 

the request as provided to me verbally by phone; 2. my phone number 

area code is listed as 737, although I provided area code 937, as the 

agent I spoke to on the 17th stated was already on file with Greyhound as 

a result of similar requests for previous trips; 3. Greyhound’s 

documentation states that the date and time of the request was 

12/17/2011 at 4:05 PM, not after 4:45 PM as my call on Friday, December 

16, 2011, at 8:05 AM stated was required. ...

This apparent inconsistency from Greyhound regarding the required time 

frame for my request, the lack of request control number on the 

Greyhound confirmation letter, the error in documenting my phone 

number, and the fact that it took longer than seven days for me to receive 

the Greyhound documentation so that I could use it to verify Greyhound’s 

accuracy of my request all appear to demonstrate errors, inconsistencies, 

and inefficiencies in Greyhound’s request process that contribute to a lack 

of effective compliance with wheelchair accessibility requests. ...

When the bus ... arrived at the station near the scheduled departure time 

of 4:45 PM, the driver stated that she was not informed of my accessibility 

request, and that the bus was not prepared for me to board by wheelchair 

lift. She spoke to the other staff at the station, who confirmed to her that 

my request was on file, despite her statement that she did not receive 

notification of my request in order to have it ready upon arrival at the 

station, as Greyhound promised it would be. The driver appeared 

frustrated that she was not informed and unsure about how to resolve the 

situation. I asked her what to do and she stated that I could receive “a lot 

of money” if I complained about the incident. After further conversation 

with other staff at the station I was told that the bus could possibly be 

made accessible at the station. But from several previous experiences I 

have had with errors on accessibility requests of Greyhound ... , I know 

that this could result in even further significant delay in departure time 

which was not an option for me due to concerns about losing or 

significantly delaying arrangements already made for travel to my final 

destination after arrival at the Greyhound Cleveland station. Therefore I 

felt I had no choice but to climb up the bus steps in order to ensure the 

bus arrived at the destination on time.

Difficulties in Moving Seats

Design issues on accessible over-the-road buses, as well as maintenance and training 

issues, have and perhaps still do lead to problems in providing accessible service. 
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While the two examples presented in this section relate to Greyhound, that does not 

necessarily mean this is a one-company problem. Greyhound is the largest intercity bus 

provider in the United States by far. In view of the nature of this problem, it likely occurs 

across the OTRB industry. 

In one example, a person needed a bus ride from Butte, Montana, to Spokane, 

Washington, for school in 2009. Although she gave two days’ notice of her need for an 

accessible bus and the driver arrived with an accessible bus, he reportedly refused to 

help move the seats to accommodate her wheelchair and told her that the only way he 

could transport her was for her to walk up the steps or be carried. It appeared that the 

driver either did not know how to move seats to accommodate the passenger or, 

because he was running late, he chose not to do so. This led to a complaint filed 

against the company on her behalf by Disability Rights Montana with the Montana 

Human Rights Bureau.

Greyhound later maintained that the driver tried to move the seats with the help of three 

passengers, but the seats malfunctioned, likely due to debris in the tracks that the seats 

move on. The driver’s supervisor in Seattle said that moving seats on the bus 

malfunction “all the time” due to stray candy in the tracks and other reasons, suggesting 

that this could be a systemic problem. Regardless, the inability to create a wheelchair 

space on this “accessible” bus denied the person a ride.

According to an August 2010 Disability Rights Montana publication titled The Bridge, in 

the article “Left in the Dust,” 

... a regular maintenance procedure would ensure that the seats could be 

moved when necessary. ... After the [Human Rights Bureau] issued its 

finding, Greyhound agreed to pay the wheelchair user $15,000 in 

damages and attorney fees, provide disability training for the bus driver, 

train all drivers with routes in Montana about the accessibility features of 

the buses, and require drivers to test the accessible features of buses 

traveling through Montana at the beginning of the driver’s route.685
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An earlier example was reported by ADAPT member Jennifer McPhail regarding an 

experience in December 2007. Going from Austin, Texas, to Laredo, this rider needed 

two wheelchair spaces, but there were difficulties in creating the spaces on the bus, 

although it was classified as an accessible OTRB. McPhail also reported rudeness, 

disrespect, and uninformed personnel. She said that problems like this started when 

Greyhound began to contract for rides with another company, Americanos, which had 

what McPhail called “one-seater” OTRBs and had not adequately trained its staff. She 

also mentioned maintenance issues related to the seat-moving problem.686

The very design of accessible over-the-road buses may lead to these problems. Rather 

than having permanent wheelchair securement areas, the space on accessible OTRBs 

is otherwise utilized until the wheelchair space is needed, similar to what is done on 

ordinary city buses with flip-down seating. However, the design on OTRBs features 

seats that flip up for several rows, all mounted on a track. The seats slide in order to 

compress down, making an open wheelchair securement space available. This is how 

the first wheelchair securement area on an OTRB is created. 

Creating the first wheelchair securement area is relatively simple, compared to what is 

required to create the second one. That requires not only compressing the seats but 

also removing a table. Because it is unusual for drivers to encounter a situation in which 

two wheelchair users unexpectedly turn up, most of them do not necessarily remember 

the exact procedure for creating two wheelchair spaces. This issue underscores the 

need for training and, possibly, for redesign.

The companies appear to be learning that when they were allowed to request advance 

notice, these changes could be made in advance in the garage rather than while 

passengers are waiting to board. Moreover, the opportunity for rearranging the seating 

in advance kept those seats from being occupied by nondisabled people who might 

later need to be asked to move.

Ordinary city buses, which are not high-floor OTRBs with baggage compartments 

underneath, have been extensively redesigned over the past few decades to develop 
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more workable configurations. The same approach may be needed for wheelchair 

seating on over-the-road buses.687

Chapter 11 recommendations are listed at the end of the report.
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Recommendations

Overall Recommendations

1. All transportation providers must comply with the requirements of the 

Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). They should establish policy and 

conduct training to ensure their proper implementation. 

2. All federal agencies that enforce any aspect of the ADA transportation 

requirements should enforce them thoroughly and robustly, and take the 

initiative to undertake robust compliance oversight activities, such as 

compliance reviews, to ensure that the ADA is implemented properly.

3. Congress should undertake oversight activities to ensure compliance with 

the ADA transportation requirements, as well as proper implementation. 

4. Transit agencies and other stakeholders should follow all the best practices 

identified in this report.

Recommendations by Chapter

Chapter 1. Fixed-Route Bus Transit

1. Fixed-route bus transit agencies must follow DOT ADA requirements and 

should follow best practices on equipment maintenance. 

2. Transit agencies should allow undercover monitoring (secret rider 

programs) of bus service to identify pass-bys, failure to make stop 

announcements, problems using kneelers and securement systems, and so 

forth. 
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3. Riders should help transit agencies maintain accessibility equipment by 

asking drivers to radio in any lift or ramp breakdowns; noting the stop 

location, time, route number, and bus number when this occurs; asking for 

alternative service if the headway to the next bus exceeds 30 minutes; 

asking other people who may have observed any problem whether they are 

willing to serve as witnesses; and informing the bus driver and transit 

agency about any other access equipment problems.

4. The U.S. Access Board should maintain its proposed 1:6 maximum bus 

ramp slope.

5. Fixed-route bus transit agencies must follow DOT ADA requirements, and 

should follow best practices on stop announcements and route 

identification.

6. Riders should help transit agencies promote effective stop announcement 

and route identification programs by participating in the development of stop 

lists and announcement procedures, informing the transit agency if stops 

are not called or automated announcement technology malfunctions, and 

undertaking other efforts to support an effective stop announcement 

program.

Chapter 2. Rail Transit

Subpart A. Level Boarding and Other Rail Recommendations (Non-Amtrak)

1. Rail transit agencies should provide full-length platform-level boarding at all 

stations. 

2. Rail transit agencies, in the rare instances where full-length platform-level 

boarding is impossible for reasons such as sharp curves or other civil 

engineering constraints, or where it cannot be provided because the track is 
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shared with freight rail, should research, plan, fund, and implement setback 

platforms that offer significant boarding advantages for people with 

disabilities. Setback platforms are not the same as mini-high platforms. 

They are larger than mini-highs, offer integrated boarding solutions for 

everyone, and may make double-stopping unnecessary. 

3. Congress should, as it has for Amtrak, set aside funds specifically for 

achieving station accessibility on rapid rail (subways) where it does not yet 

exist, including platform connectivity, detectable warning installation, 

elevators, ramps, and full-length platform-level boarding. There should be 

clear objectives, deadlines, and outcomes analysis to achieve full and 

timely accessibility.

Subpart B. Amtrak

1. Amtrak must complete what was required for ADA compliance by 2010: 

provide a fully accessible intercity passenger rail system with accessible 

cars, platforms, and stations. Train cars must provide full accessibility as 

required by the ADA, including equivalent and accessible passenger 

amenities, sleeper cars, and restrooms.

2. Amtrak should provide full-length platform-level boarding at all new or 

rehabilitated stations, making use of technical solutions 

that accommodate freight traffic where necessary. Amtrak should provide 

full-length platform-level boarding or setback platforms at all stations.

3. Amtrak must prioritize removing significant barriers to station accessibility, 

including steps with no ramps, narrow doors, high thresholds, lack of 

accessible parking spaces, barriers to accessible routes, and lack of 

detectable warnings on platform edges. All stations must provide full 

connectivity from both sides of the track to all Amtrak facilities, such as 

stations and parking, and to the public right-of-way.
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4. Amtrak must provide electronic train information equipment and must train 

and require station staff to use the equipment to provide dual mode 

communications on Amtrak trains, on platforms, and in stations.

5. Amtrak must provide full accessibility to the Amtrak website and telephone 

reservation system for people with disabilities.

6. Amtrak Thruway Bus Service must comply with all ADA requirements and 

provide accessibility for people with disabilities, including people with 

communication disabilities and mobility disabilities.

7. Amtrak should follow the recommendations in the 2009 Office of Inspector 

General (OIG) report to restore OIG independence to investigations of 

Amtrak.

8. Congress should use its funding authority to enforce accessibility 

requirements for Amtrak.

9. Congress should require full-length platform-level boarding at all Amtrak 

stations in order to increase accessibility for all people to Amtrak trains. 

10. Congress should hold hearings to bring attention to the failure of Amtrak to 

meet accessibility requirements at its stations, on its platforms, in its trains, 

and throughout its provision of services.

11. Congress should include strict accessibility requirements in the next Amtrak 

reauthorization, with consequences for failure to meet them.

12. The Department of Justice Disability Rights Section and the Department of 

Transportation Federal Railroad Administration should meet with Amtrak to 

develop a plan to achieve prompt, full ADA compliance.
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13. People with disabilities should ride on Amtrak trains, despite the 

accessibility problems, as Amtrak needs to see that such people are an 

important part of their market. Riders should report and file complaints with 

the DOJ Disability Rights Section, the DOT Federal Railroad Administration 

Office of Civil Rights, and with Amtrak itself if they encounter barriers at 

stations, on the Amtrak website, and onboard Amtrak trains. 

Chapter 3. ADA Paratransit

1. Transit agencies, government agencies, and transportation associations 

should include in their discussions of the future of ADA paratransit the 

research findings that dispel the myth of runaway growth. A number of 

studies now suggest that the aging of America will not necessarily lead to 

explosive growth in ADA paratransit demand. Some studies suggest a 

plateau in demand, as well as a possible future in which demand decreases 

rather than grows.

2. Transit agencies, government agencies, and transportation associations 

should properly apply the ADA rules concerning the commuter bus 

exception, which do not exempt many systems that claim the exception. 

They should apply the general rule of thumb that commuter service is not 

designed to provide service all along a particular corridor but rather 

between destinations that are more distant from one another. 

3. Transit agencies should share the commuter bus definitions and 

characteristics with their communities, including the disability community, 

and seek public input on designation of their services. In cases in which the 

proper designation is unclear, the community, including the disability 

community, should be involved in the determination.
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4. Transit agencies that claim the commuter bus exception but do not meet 

the ADA criteria should immediately plan and carry out a prompt transition 

to providing ADA paratransit service.

5. The Federal Transit Administration should interpret the commuter bus 

exemption rules scrupulously and engage in enforcement actions when the 

exception is used inappropriately.

6. Riders with disabilities and local organizations that represent them should 

challenge transit agencies’ commuter bus route designations if they do not 

agree with how a route is designated and if enforcers do not act. 

7. Before transit agencies can provide accurate ADA paratransit eligibility 

determinations and before they can expect their riders with disabilities to 

use ADA paratransit appropriately, the agencies should, at a minimum, 

ensure that their fixed-route systems are accessible to people with 

disabilities in the following ways:

a. Vehicles designated as accessible must meet ADA design standards.

b. Stations and bus stops advertised as accessible must meet ADA design 

standards.

c. Lifts, ramps, elevators, and other accessibility features must be 

maintained in good working condition.

d. Onboard stop announcements and external route identification 

announcements must be made properly.

e. Employees must be trained to proficiency to safely operate accessibility 

equipment, provide appropriate assistance to riders with disabilities, and 

serve disabled riders in a respectful and courteous manner.
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f. Service to people with disabilities must be monitored to ensure that ADA 

policies and procedures are followed.

8. Transit agencies should reach out to the disability community to involve its 

members in the development and implementation of any changes to the 

ADA paratransit eligibility process and other ADA paratransit policies, as 

well as in efforts to promote increased use of fixed-route service.

9. Disability advocates should take advantage of opportunities for involvement 

with their local transit agency and should seek such opportunities if the 

transit agency does not provide them. Advocacy efforts to obtain such 

opportunities may be an effective way to improve transit service for people 

with disabilities.

10. Transit agencies should compensate disability advocates for their time, 

when appropriate. When the involvement is extensive, requires 

considerable commitment or expertise, or provides a tangible benefit to the 

transit agencies, the agencies should compensate disability advocates, just 

as they would pay any consultant who renders a service. 

11. Transit agencies should ensure that they are taking full advantage of the 

experience and expertise in ADA paratransit eligibility of the Federal Transit 

Administration, the Transportation Research Board, the National Transit 

Institute, Easter Seals Project ACTION, and nationally recognized ADA 

paratransit operators, planners, and researchers in the following ways:

a. Sending staff to the National Transit Institute course on Comprehensive 

ADA Paratransit Eligibility (http://www.ntionline.com/courses/

courseinfo.php?id=8). 

b. Following the ADA requirements and best practices in the 

recommended written resources by the Federal Transit Administration, 
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Transportation Research Board, Easter Seals Project ACTION, and 

Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund.

12. Transit agencies should establish policy and conduct training to ensure that 

employees are aware that inaccessible bus routes and bus stops, as well 

as inadequate stop announcements, are important triggers for ADA 

paratransit eligibility.

13. When transit agencies determine that a person is conditionally eligible, they 

must identify all conditions that affect travel. Omitting any condition will 

inappropriately limit rider eligibility. The FTA has found in ADA compliance 

reviews that some transit providers did not adequately consider path-oftravel barriers, weather, and other possible issues in setting conditional 

eligibility.

14. Transit agencies should base ADA paratransit eligibility decisions on the 

most limiting condition of each applicant.

15. Transit agencies must consider the potential travel of each applicant during 

all seasons and throughout the entire transit agency service area, not only 

near the home or workplace. 

16. Transit agencies must consider variable conditions, such as multiple 

sclerosis, which may change the ability of an applicant to travel at various 

times. Similarly, agencies must consider underlying conditions that 

negatively affect a person’s functional ability to use fixed-route service, 

such as disorientation, fatigue, and difficulties with balance. For example, 

people undergoing dialysis often experience disorientation and fatigue after 

treatments. Difficulties with balance may prevent applicants from using the 

fixed-route system because they cannot walk to, stand, and wait at a bus 

stop, or stand up and hang on once they are on the bus or train (because a 

seat cannot always be guaranteed).
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17. To conduct eligibility and route assessments, transit agencies should use 

staff members who are proficient in assessing functional ability to use the 

fixed-route service and evaluating barriers to travel.

18. Transit agency eligibility assessments should be conducted to ensure that 

applicants who are considered able to travel certain distances must be able 

to travel those distances with reasonable effort and in a reasonable amount 

of time.

19. A transit agency must not deny or limit eligibility for paratransit simply 

because a rider lives near a bus route and is able to reach it. Transit 

agency policy and staff training should accommodate the fact that not all 

trips an applicant might wish to make will begin at home. The environmental 

conditions around each fixed-route stop, whether at the trip origin or 

destination (such as the existence of curb cuts, obstacles in terrain, or 

accessibility of intersections) are not necessarily identical to those around 

the stop that is closest to one’s home. Denying or limiting an applicant’s 

paratransit eligibility outright for all trips based on proximity to a particular 

bus stop is unreasonable, as it does not take into account all the obstacles 

an applicant can expect to encounter when traveling throughout a transit 

agency’s complementary paratransit service area during the entire term of 

his or her paratransit eligibility.

20. Transit agencies should establish policy and conduct training that

emphasizes the likelihood of barriers existing in most or all communities 

that would prevent fixed-route travel at some point during the term of 

eligibility of applicants with significant disabilities. People who are blind, 

those who use wheelchairs, and those who have other significant 

disabilities will likely receive at least conditional eligibility in any accurate 

paratransit eligibility determination process.
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21. Transit agency ADA paratransit eligibility assessments should carefully 

consider the input of medical professionals who know the applicant.

22. If transit agencies use seasonal eligibility, it is important to set the date 

range conservatively, so a late snowstorm does not render a seasonally 

eligible person unable to travel.

23. Transit agencies must not deny eligibility based on blanket decisions about 

a certain type of disability. Some transit agencies have denied eligibility to 

most or all riders who use motorized wheelchairs, to all blind people under 

certain conditions, or to people with intellectual disabilities or mental illness, 

rather than making case-by-case evaluations. Such practices will inevitably 

lead to violations of the ADA.

24. Transit agencies should establish policy and conduct training that, for 

certain riders, only the rider can decide whether fixed-route is an option for 

a particular trip. This is true if a rider’s functional abilities are variable, 

including some people with multiple sclerosis or with psychiatric disabilities 

that vary from day to day. These riders may not know until the day of 

service whether they will be able to get to and from, and use, the fixed-route 

bus or train.

25. Transit agencies must not require travel training or base eligibility decisions 

on the potential of an applicant to be successfully trained to use the fixedroute service. Decisions must be based on actual current abilities to use the 

bus or train.

26. Transit agencies should follow the best practice to provide temporary 

eligibility to people who voluntarily enter travel training, because there may 

be trips they can make by fixed route at the end of the training that they 

could not make beforehand. Temporary eligibility is appropriate when there 
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is reason to believe that an applicant’s travel abilities might change in the 

short term. 

27. Transit agencies should reassess applicants before temporary eligibility 

expires, because they might still need ADA paratransit. 

28. Transit agencies must not establish a policy that ADA paratransit applicants 

are not eligible if they have ever used the fixed-route system. Some transit 

agencies have asked on the application form “Have you ever used fixedroute service?” If the applicant marks “yes,” this response is used as a 

basis to deny eligibility. Use of the bus or train under certain conditions 

does not mean a person can use the bus or train consistently throughout 

the service area under all conditions. An accurate assessment might show 

that such a person would be conditionally eligible for paratransit.

29. Transit agencies should establish policy and train their staff to recognize 

that, while public safety is generally not a factor in determining ADA 

paratransit eligibility, riders must possess certain personal safety skills to 

safely and independently travel in the community. These skills should be 

considered in eligibility determinations.

30. If a transit agency has not made a determination of ADA paratransit 

eligibility 21 days after the submission of a completed eligibility application, 

the applicant must be treated as eligible and provided with service unless 

and until the transit agency denies the application. It is not enough to 

include this information in a rider’s guide or in general public information. It 

must be included in the materials sent to applicants. The agency has an 

obligation to take affirmative steps to notify riders of this right to service.

31. Transit agencies should establish policy and conduct training that some 

disabilities cannot be evaluated by functional assessments, such as seizure 
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disorders, psychiatric disabilities, and variable conditions such as multiple 

sclerosis. 

32. Transit agencies should use appropriate professionals to perform functional 

assessments. Physical therapists, occupational therapists, or professionals 

with similar qualifications should conduct physical functional assessments. 

Only orientation and mobility specialists should conduct assessments for 

people with significant vision loss (legal blindness or greater).

33. Transit agencies should establish policy and conduct training to ensure that, 

while accuracy and thoroughness are of great importance, the eligibility 

determination process may not be overly burdensome for applicants. For 

example, if applicants must travel to and from interview or assessment 

sites, they should not be asked to make more than one trip.

34. Transit agencies should establish policy and conduct training that, although 

the agency may require that appeals be filed within 60 days of an eligibility 

denial, if an applicant misses this deadline, he or she may reapply for 

eligibility at any time and then, if denied again, may file an appeal.

35. Transit systems that have developed thorough ADA paratransit eligibility 

determination processes should provide long-term eligibility to 

unconditionally eligible riders whose functional ability is not expected to 

change, to eliminate unnecessary inconvenience to the riders and lower the 

costs of eligibility determination. 

36. ADA paratransit service providers are required by the ADA to plan to meet 

100 percent of the demand for next-day ride requests.

37. ADA paratransit providers should consider causes of operational problems 

excusable only if they are truly beyond the control of the transit agency. A 

transit agency is expected to anticipate recurrent traffic congestion, 
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seasonal variations in weather, and the need to maintain vehicles. Once a 

seemingly unforeseen pattern develops, the recurring event becomes 

foreseeable, and the transit authority can no longer claim that the matter is 

beyond its ability to address.

38. Transit agencies must, under the ADA, provide next-day service in ADA 

paratransit. Some ADA paratransit programs still require reservations 

24 hours in advance or even earlier, which is not in compliance with the 

ADA next-day service requirement.

39. If an ADA paratransit provider offers a trip that is outside the 60-minute 

negotiation window, it must be counted as a trip denial, even if the rider 

accepts the trip.

40. If an ADA paratransit provider can only schedule one leg of a trip but not 

the return trip, it must be counted as two denials.

41. Transit agencies are not allowed to have waiting lists for ADA paratransit, 

other than for access to subscription service. If an eligible rider is told that 

no trip is available but one might become available (a so-called standby), 

this is considered a type of waiting list and is forbidden by the DOT ADA 

regulations.

42. Transit agencies must design and implement their systems to achieve 

minimal telephone wait times.

43. Transit agencies should establish policy and conduct training that 

recognizes two basic methods to measure and monitor ADA paratransit 

telephone hold times: maximum allowable hold time and hourly average of 

hold times. The best way is to establish standards for the maximum 

allowable hold time and then measure the hold time for each caller.
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44. Some transit agencies do not have the technology necessary to measure 

hold times using the maximum allowable hold time approach. In that 

situation only, the transit agency will need to measure the hourly average of 

its hold times.

45. Transit agencies should establish policy and conduct training that 

measuring telephone hold times by the maximum allowable time is superior 

to measuring the hourly average. The maximum approach is more 

straightforward, simpler to calculate, and more transparent. Measuring by 

maximum enables transit agencies to accurately identify instances of overly 

long individual hold times.

46. Transit agencies should establish policy and conduct training that telephone 

hold times for calls to dispatch (“where’s my ride” calls) are just as 

important as reservation hold times, if not more so. Hold times should be at 

least as short as those for reservation calls. Riders making these calls 

cannot wait for lengthy periods while they are attempting to obtain updates 

on pickup information.

47. Transit agencies should provide professional, courteous, and honest 

information, in a patient manner, to passengers who call the “where’s my 

ride” line. Accurate details of a vehicle’s estimated time of arrival provided 

with empathy set the tone for a good customer service experience. Calls 

should be answered quickly. Upon answering, an agent should give his or 

her name and department and ask, “How can I be of assistance?” An 

apology should be readily offered when appropriate.

48. Transit agencies should provide callers with the most recent known location 

of their vehicle, the number of other stops before the caller will be picked 

up, the estimated time of arrival, the vehicle number, and any other 

identifying information, such as vehicle type and any identifying name on 

the vehicle. Transit agencies should not placate riders with a stock answer 
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such as “It will be 10 minutes” or “Your driver is around the corner.” It is 

preferable to give an updated estimated time of arrival and to confirm the 

exact location where the passenger will be waiting. Agents should then 

ensure that the driver receives the information.

49. Transit agencies should minimize secondary holds as much as possible. If 

there are any secondary holds during “where’s my ride” calls, a staff person 

should check with the caller frequently—at least once a minute—to let him 

or her know that the question is still being addressed.

50. Transit agency phone lines for ADA paratransit reservations and dispatch 

should have no busy signals.

51. Transit agencies should not place limits on the number of trips a caller can 

arrange on a single telephone call. Such limits can increase hold times 

because of the need for additional customer calls and can be burdensome 

for riders.

52. Transit agencies should train ADA paratransit call takers to provide equal 

communication accessibility to people with speech impairments placing 

voice calls and to people with speech and hearing impairments who place 

their calls on a TTY or through a TTY relay service. Telecommunications 

equipment should be maintained in working order. Staff should be trained to 

use both TTYs and the relay service.

53. Riders should help the transit agency reduce telephone hold times by 

calling during off-peak times whenever possible and by checking on rides 

only when they are actually late.

54. Transit agencies that adopt a policy of curb-to-curb service as the standard 

service mode must provide additional assistance to riders who need it on 

the basis of disability. On a case-by-case basis, ADA paratransit providers 
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are obliged to provide an enhancement to service when it is needed to meet 

the origin-to-destination service requirement. Transit providers are not 

required to take actions that would fundamentally alter the nature of the 

service or create undue burdens. Drivers are not required to go beyond the 

doorway of a building to assist a passenger, to leave their vehicles 

unattended for lengthy periods, or to lose the ability to keep their vehicles 

under visual observation.

55. If transit agencies are concerned that riders who remain on the vehicle will 

put the vehicle into motion, they should determine how vehicles can be 

secured if the driver leaves for a short period or establish a policy that 

drivers must keep vehicles in sight if other riders are on board. If there are 

no other riders or the driver can secure the vehicle, the line of sight is not 

necessary.

56. Transit agencies should establish policy and conduct training that, even for 

ADA paratransit providers with clear policies, situations that lie outside the 

policy often can be accommodated informally with riders. For example, if 

parking is unavailable, riders sometimes arrange for a nearby location 

where the van can reach the curb or exit from the street.

57. Transit agencies are encouraged to consider other local door-to-door 

policies based on actions drivers can safely perform. The most common is 

“door-to-door and will assist riders who use manual wheelchairs up or down 

one step or curb.” Some systems allow two steps.

58. Transit agencies’ origin-to-destination policies should be formalized and 

included in vehicle operator training. But even with thorough training, 

vehicle operators will need to exercise some operational judgment on the 

street. Training should provide as much basic understanding as possible, 

including when to call for backup from a dispatcher or superintendent.
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59. Transit agencies should provide assistance to help eligible ADA paratransit 

riders who walk with limited mobility up and down the steps of the vehicle 

as well as on steps going to and from the vehicle, assuming that other 

safety policies (such as maintaining control of the vehicle) are not 

compromised.

60. Transit agencies should allow ADA paratransit vehicle operators, when 

providing door-to-door service under the DOT origin-to-destination 

guidance, to carry a limited number of grocery bags and other packages if 

needed by the rider due to his or her disability, so long as this assistance 

would be allowable on the fixed-route service.

61. Transit agencies should establish policy and conduct training that knocking 

or ringing the doorbell at the outside building door can be part of required 

door-to-door service, particularly if needed to communicate to the rider that 

the vehicle has arrived.

62. If transit agencies revise their rider assistance policies, they should include 

full public input. The public should be consulted on the details of proposed 

policy changes.

63. Transit agencies should train their ADA paratransit drivers on transit agency 

policies for origin-to-destination service and on how to provide assistance 

properly to and from the vehicle for riders with various types of disabilities.

64. Transit agencies may not require riders to make unattended paratransit 

transfers between vehicles. When a vehicle drops a rider off at a transfer 

point, the vehicle may not depart if the person cannot be left unattended; it 

must wait.

65. Transit agencies should consider the overall travel needs of riders in 

implementing the one-hour negotiation window. If a rider gets off work at 
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5:00 p.m. and requests a 5:15 pickup, the appropriate one-hour window 

would be from 5:15 to 6:15. It is not consistent with the DOT ADA regulation 

to offer only pickup times that would require her to leave work early. 

Similarly, if a rider indicates that he needs to be at work by 9:00 a.m., it 

would not be consistent with the ADA to offer a pickup time that would 

make him late for work.

66. Transit agencies must take into account a rider’s needed arrival or 

appointment time in scheduling an ADA paratransit ride. The best way to 

ensure that riders arrive at their appointments on time is to book and 

schedule trips based on the stated appointment or desired arrival time.

67. Transit agencies should ensure that there is no difference between the 

negotiated time given to an ADA paratransit rider on the telephone and the 

scheduled time according to the transit agency, which may have made 

changes without notice to the rider. Also, changes are sometimes made by 

the computer scheduling program. The negotiated time given to the rider 

needs to be protected in the system, and the transit agency must notify the 

rider of any changes to ensure that all parties—the transit system, the 

vehicle operator, and the rider—are informed.

68. If transit agencies wish to make changes to any original negotiated times so 

that trips fit better on final schedules, they should call the riders and 

negotiate new times. If a rider cannot be reached, the original time should 

not be changed. Per the ADA negotiation window, any changes may not be 

more than one hour from the rider-requested time.

69. Transit agencies should establish policy and conduct training that an ontime pickup is a vehicle arrival within an on-time window established by the 

transit agency (alternatively termed the “pickup window” or the “be ready 

time”). The pickup window distinguishes between an on-time pickup and a 
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late or early one; it also defines the period when the rider is expected to be 

ready for the vehicle to arrive.

70. Transit agency ADA paratransit pickup windows should not exceed 

30 minutes.

71. Riders need to be ready throughout the pickup window.

72. Transit agencies should establish policy and conduct training regarding tooearly pickups, including the fact that an ADA paratransit pickup must occur 

during the window, not earlier or later, to be considered on time. In some 

locations, vehicles frequently arrive well before the announced pickup 

window, and if passengers are not ready, they are given a no-show. This 

practice is not consistent with the ADA. If a passenger rejects such a ride, 

the transit agency should classify it as a missed trip, unless the vehicle 

waits until, or another vehicle returns for the rider during, the prearranged 

pickup window. It is a best practice, if the vehicle arrives early, for the driver 

to park around the corner, so riders do not feel pressured to leave early.

73. Transit agencies may not begin the five-minute wait time (often established 

to designate a clear limit on how long the vehicle will wait for the rider at 

pickup for an ADA paratransit ride) until the start of the pickup window.

74. Transit agencies should establish policy and conduct training that if a 

vehicle arrives early, the driver should wait until the pickup window plus five 

minutes. Dispatchers should consider this before approving any no-shows. 

75. Transit agencies should establish policy and conduct training that, for many 

trips, an on-time drop-off is as important as or more important than an ontime pickup.
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76. Transit agencies should establish policy and conduct training that drop-offs 

at a destination should not be more than 30 minutes early. Transit agencies 

should also establish a window for timely drop-offs. The window should not 

exceed 30 minutes before the appointment time to the appointment time.

77. Transit agencies should establish policy and conduct training that boarding 

and disembarking time, which can be slowed by dealing with wheelchair 

securements and other factors, be taken into account in scheduling dropoffs. Drop-offs should be scheduled no later than at least five minutes 

before appointments to allow time for riders to get from the vehicle to their 

appointments.

78. Transit agencies should establish policy and conduct training regarding willcalls, if the agencies allow them. Will-calls are typically return trips without a 

specific scheduled time; instead, the riders call in when they are ready to 

return. Will-calls are a beneficial practice when the rider cannot predict the 

return time, as in some medical situations. However, they are workable only 

if limited in number, particularly during peak operating times. Too many willcalls at peak times can make on-time performance difficult. It is a good 

practice to establish a window for will-call trip pickups (the will-call response 

time) so riders know how long they might need to wait. A typical and 

reasonable policy is no more than 60 minutes.

79. Transit agencies should establish policy and conduct training that ADA 

paratransit travel time (also known as “trip length” or “ride time”) should not 

be longer than the same ride on the fixed-route system, including the 

additional time needed on the fixed-route system to go to and wait for the 

bus or train, and to get from the final stop to the destination. Having 

significant numbers of paratransit trip lengths that are longer than fixed-rate 

trip lengths is not consistent with the ADA.
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80. Transit agencies should not misinterpret the DOT ADA regulation as 

capping subscription service at 50 percent of paratransit capacity, 

regardless of the circumstances. The cap applies only when there are 

capacity constraints. If a transit agency is not denying next-day trips, it may 

provide any level of subscription service that it wishes. Many transit 

agencies have unnecessarily limited subscription service and may increase 

how much they provide. This can improve on-time performance and 

productivity, and provides significant benefits to riders.

81. Transit agencies should establish policy and conduct training that careful, 

thorough monitoring of ADA paratransit is critical, particularly when the 

service is contracted out. Monitoring should go well beyond reliance on 

contractor reports; effective monitoring is often accomplished by stationing 

transit employees onsite in sufficient numbers to thoroughly oversee 

contractor operations. Transit agencies should set standards for on-time 

pickups and drop-offs, and for what is too early and too late, and should 

monitor for compliance with these standards, both on paper and by actually 

spot-checking pickup and arrival times.

82. Riders can play an important role in promoting on-time performance in ADA 

paratransit. Riders should— 

a. Call to cancel as soon as possible if they are not taking a trip.

b. Be aware that most ADA paratransit systems use a pickup window 

lasting up to 30 minutes. The ride is not required to come at a particular 

time but rather at any time during the pickup window. 

c. Confirm the pickup window when they make their reservations.

d. Be ready to leave throughout the pickup window.
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e. Be aware that, in many cities, ADA paratransit is a shared-ride 

experience. When a ride is shared, the vehicle will not necessarily take 

a direct route to one person’s destination.

83. Transit agencies should establish policy and conduct training on no-shows 

and late cancellations that focuses on the real abusers, while remaining 

customer-friendly and respectful of the average rider. Some transit 

agencies have sent letters to riders about their no-shows that suggest the 

riders are irresponsible or costly to the transit agency. This is likely to 

trigger a negative public response and is not recommended.

84. Transit agencies may only impose service suspensions for a “pattern or 

practice” of no-shows. A pattern or practice involves intentional, repeated, 

or regular actions, not isolated, accidental, or single incidents. Transit 

agencies should establish policy and conduct training about these DOT 

ADA requirements.

85. Transit agencies must not base a suspension of ADA paratransit service on 

any trips missed by a rider for reasons beyond his or her control, including 

trips missed due to transit agency error or lateness. Those trips may not be 

used as the basis for determining that a pattern or practice of missing 

scheduled trips exists. Transit agencies should establish policy and conduct 

training about these DOT ADA requirements. 

86. Many circumstances may be beyond the rider’s control, including but not 

limited to these:

a. A family emergency occurred.

b. Illness prevented the rider from calling to cancel.
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c. A personal attendant or other party did not arrive on time to help the 

rider.

d. The rider was inside calling to check the ride status and was on hold for 

an extended time.

e. The rider’s appointment ran long and did not provide the opportunity to 

cancel in a timely way.

f. Another party canceled the rider’s appointment.

g. The rider’s mobility aid failed.

h. The rider experienced a sudden turn for the worse in a variable 

condition.

i. Adverse weather affected the rider’s travel plans, preventing him or her 

from canceling in a timely way.

87. Transit agency error, which may not be counted as a rider no-show, 

includes but is not limited to the following:

a. Vehicle arrived late, after the pickup window.

b. Vehicle arrived early, before the pickup window, and rider was not ready 

to go.

c. Vehicle never arrived.

d. Vehicle went to the wrong location.

e. Driver did not follow correct procedures to locate the rider.
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f. Rider canceled in a timely way but the cancellation was not recorded 

correctly or was not transmitted to the driver in time.

88. Transit agencies must inform riders of their right to contest particular noshows or to state that particular no-shows and transit agency missed trips 

were beyond their control. Transit agencies should provide a telephone 

number for riders to inform the transit agency that particular no-shows were 

beyond their control. In large systems, this telephone number should be 

different from the reservation line. The calls should go to staff who are 

tracking and tabulating no-shows and preparing no-show suspension 

letters.

89. Transit agencies that penalize riders after three no-shows in a 30-day 

period should reconsider their policies. This may still be the most common 

no-show policy, but the FTA has found that this formula does not 

necessarily reflect a pattern of rider abuse, particularly among frequent 

riders. Using this standard to suspend service will unfairly deny some riders 

their right to paratransit eligibility.

90. To determine whether a true pattern or practice exists, transit agency 

policies should consider no-shows relative to riders’ frequency of paratransit 

use; in other words, the proportion of trips missed, not the number. 

91. Transit agencies should consider the overall no-show rate for all riders in 

determining what frequency or proportion of no-shows constitutes a pattern 

or practice of abuse. The agencies should adjust upward so as not to 

penalize riders with average no-show records. For example, if the overall 

no-show rate is 5 percent, a rider who no-shows only 5 percent of her 

scheduled trips should not be considered an abuser of the service, because 

this is average. In this case, abuse might be considered as several times 

the overall system average; for example, 15 percent.
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92. Transit agencies should consider the number of no-shows in addition to 

their frequency. A person who schedules one round-trip in a month and noshows both ends of that trip would have a no-show rate of 100 percent, but 

this does not constitute a pattern or practice. It is not clear whether 

scheduling only two round-trips and no-showing both is a pattern or 

practice. A minimum number, such as five no-shows in a month, is a more 

appropriate minimum. When this minimum number is exceeded, that could 

trigger a review of the rider’s no-show frequency.

93. If a rider misses a scheduled outbound trip, the transit agency may not 

automatically cancel his or her return trip. Each leg of a trip must be treated 

separately. Without an indication from the rider that the return trip is not 

needed, it should remain on the schedule.

94. Transit agencies should alert riders about no-shows on their record as they 

occur. At the very least, they should bring the record of no-shows to the 

rider’s attention before proposing a suspension. Notifying the rider after 

each no-show is best; it is not reasonable to expect riders to remember the 

specific circumstances of each day of the past several weeks or months.

95. In transmitting rider notifications about no-shows, transit agencies should 

restate their policy and inform riders that they can contact the agency if they 

think any of the no-shows were not under their control or were charged in 

error.

96. Transit agencies must notify an individual rider in writing before any

suspension of service due to no-shows, specifically citing the full reason for 

the proposed suspension and its length, including the exact no-show dates, 

times, pickup locations, and destinations on which the proposed suspension 

is based and using accessible formats when necessary.
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97. In the written notification to the rider before a service suspension for noshows, transit agencies must include information about the appeal process, 

including how to file an appeal. They should also include a statement that 

the suspension may not be based on any no-shows beyond the rider’s 

control nor on any trip missed due to transit agency error or lateness. The 

statement should include how to contact the transit agency about no-shows 

beyond their control. These procedures help avoid unnecessary 

suspensions and appeals. If the rider contests one or more no-shows and 

the transit agency agrees, there may be no need for a suspension or for an 

appeal.

98. A transit agency should allow at least 15 days between receipt of a notice of 

a proposed suspension of service and the proposed date on which the 

suspension will become effective.

99. Transit agencies should limit suspensions to a reasonable period. The ADA 

has been interpreted to mean suspensions of days or perhaps weeks rather 

than suspensions of months or especially of years.

100. Transit agencies may impose a financial penalty only as an alternative to a 

service suspension. A fine or financial penalty may not be mandatory and 

may not be charged in addition to a suspension. Moreover, the ADA does 

not allow a transit agency to charge any fee or financial penalty (whether 

optional or mandatory) because of a single no-show or for any number of 

no-shows short of a suspension. This includes charging fares for trips not 

taken for any reason by a rider or a rider’s companion. Transit agencies 

should establish policy and conduct training concerning these requirements. 

101. If a rider appeals a suspension of service, the transit agency must continue 

to provide ADA paratransit service until the appeal is heard and decided.
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102. Transit agency decisions on appeals must be made by a person or panel of 

people uninvolved with the initial decision to suspend service. A separation 

of authority is necessary between those making the initial determination to 

suspend service and those making the decision on the appeal. Neither a 

subordinate nor a supervisor of the person who made the initial decision 

should hear appeals.

103. Transit agencies must send written notification of the result of appeals of 

no-show suspensions, with detailed, specific reasons stated.

104. Transit agencies should establish and implement a no-strand policy stating 

that if the ADA paratransit system takes a rider to a destination, the rider 

will not be left stranded there, even if the rider no-shows for the scheduled 

return ride. Return service should be provided as soon as possible, 

although it may be provided without a guaranteed on-time window.

105. Transit agencies may impose rider penalties for late cancellations only if the 

late cancellation is the functional equivalent of a no-show. The DOT ADA 

regulation permits service suspension only for rider no-shows and not for 

late cancellations. To count toward a no-show suspension, the effects of a 

late cancellation must be operationally equivalent to a no-show in terms of 

the negative impact on service. The ADA does not consider cancellations 

after the close of business on the day before the service day, or even 

several hours ahead of the pickup time, to be the functional equivalent of a 

no-show.

106. Transit agencies should establish policy and conduct training that the FTA 

has found it acceptable to consider a late cancellation in ADA paratransit as 

one made less than two hours before the scheduled trip.
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107. Riders should take actions that will reduce no-shows in ADA paratransit, 

including these:

a. When calling to book a trip, confirm the beginning and end of the pickup 

window and the amount of time the vehicle will wait.

b. Call to cancel as soon as possible if not taking a scheduled trip.

c. Be ready for the vehicle during the entire on-time pickup window.

d. Provide detailed pickup instructions (side or rear door, and so on) for 

large facilities, for any pickup locations that may be difficult for drivers to 

find, and for any locations where a needed pickup is not at the main 

entrance.

e. Provide all telephone numbers, including at each destination, and 

confirm that they have been correctly recorded by the reservation agent.

f. Subscription riders should call to inform the transit agency of any 

changes in plans, such as a vacation or other absence. Telling a driver 

is not sufficient.

108. Transit agencies should recognize that, while taxis on contract can have 

many benefits in ADA paratransit—including cost-efficiency, rapid 

deployment, and the ability to make same-day changes—there can be 

problems associated with taxi contracting. The vehicles, their drivers, and 

the service they provide can be difficult to monitor, and it may be more 

difficult to implement uniform, rigorous driver training.

109. To address these problems, transit agencies should contract with taxis that 

are equipped with technology that allows the ADA paratransit service 

provider to monitor their location and communicate directly with them, 
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rather than relying on the taxi company dispatch. Also, the transit agency 

should use taxi companies that employ their drivers rather than companies 

whose drivers are independent operators who lease their cabs from the 

company. 

110. Transit agencies should make efforts to bring equal respect to ADA 

paratransit as a legitimate mode of public transit service, including using 

respectful terminology when referring to it; providing the paratransit division 

with equal status within the transit organization; granting leadership of the 

paratransit division equivalent titles, status, and pay; and ensuring that 

agency operations, such as who attends what meetings, treat ADA 

paratransit consistently as an equivalent and viable mode within the 

agency.

111. Transit agencies should not use “feeder-only” as an ADA paratransit 

eligibility determination for any applicants. Feeder service is an operational 

choice that transit agencies may consider for specific trips, not a type of 

eligibility. Providing certain riders with complementary paratransit feeder 

service only, especially at both ends of a fixed-route transit trip, is both 

operationally infeasible and would result in unreasonable total travel times 

for many trips.

112. Transit agencies should follow these guidelines in determining whether to 

use feeder service:

a. Riders must have the functional ability to independently complete the 

fixed-route portion of the trip (including transfers).

b. Feeder trips are typically not considered for trips shorter than five to 

seven miles.
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c. One end of the trip should be near a fixed-route stop that is accessible 

for the riders.

d. Attempting feeder service to a route that runs infrequently can become a 

problem if the connection is not made on time.

e. The paratransit fare should be waived and a fare collected only for the 

fixed-route portion of the trip.

f. If riders might have to wait at the stop, the stop should have a bench 

and/or shelter. Access to a telephone (or staff who can make a call) 

might also be important if there is a connection issue and a rider needs 

to contact the complementary paratransit dispatch center.

g. Shorter on-time windows for feeder trips should be considered. The 

drop-off window might be shortened to 5 to 10 minutes rather than 

30 minutes, so riders do not have long wait times at fixed-route stops.

h. A direct trip should be provided as a backup when connections are 

missed.

i. The total travel time for both the feeder and fixed-route transit portions 

of the trip should be comparable to the travel time for the same trip 

made without feeder on the fixed-route system.

113. ADA paratransit drivers must help secure a child in a child safety seat if 

assistance is needed. 

114. ADA paratransit programs should establish car seat loaner programs 

through local agencies that lend car seats. They should also follow the best 

practices of some transit agencies, such as either having car safety seats 

permanently installed or (because few parents travel with children on ADA 
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paratransit) if a rider brings a car seat, he or she should be allowed to leave 

it on the vehicle, and the program must ensure that the same vehicle comes 

for the rider later that day.

115. ADA paratransit programs should offer premium service that allows sameday changes without trip-purpose restrictions for child-related emergencies, 

such as when a child becomes ill. Even flexible taxi service may have 

insufficiently trained staff to provide this kind of service. A premium service 

for this purpose could be established with longer driver wait times for 

dropping off children and special training for reservationists, dispatchers, 

and drivers.

116. During the eligibility determination process, transit agencies should identify 

riders who cannot be left unattended and clarify this with the applicant, 

caregiver, or guardian. 

117. Transit agencies should establish policy and conduct training that, if it is 

agreed that a rider needs to be met at destinations, staff will clarify the limits 

of service to the guardian or caregiver. The caregiver needs to know that 

drivers will not leave the rider unattended at a destination. The rider may be 

taken to a safe location or may remain on the vehicle until someone is 

contacted, or until the transit agency and guardian or caretaker agree on 

some other solution. The transit agency should ensure that information 

such as “should not be left unattended” is in the notes on the driver 

manifest.

118. Transit agencies should document and discuss with caregivers or guardians 

any problems that arise, such a rider who cannot be left unattended but is 

not met at the destination. If the problem continues and if a solution cannot 

be found, the transit system might need to refuse service or, preferably, 

condition service on the rider’s being accompanied, which is a better 

practice.
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Chapter 4. Enforcement

1. The federal agencies that enforce various aspects of the ADA 

transportation requirements should collectively establish a clear means, 

with a shared website and phone number, by which people in the disability 

community who encounter local problems can obtain assistance to 

determine whether a local, state, or private transportation practice is out of 

compliance. The same website and phone number should offer technical 

assistance so people with disabilities can exercise their full transportation 

rights under the ADA. This effort should include, at a minimum, the 

Department of Justice and the Department of Transportation, including the 

Federal Transit Administration, the Federal Railroad Administration, the 

Federal Highway Administration, and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety 

Administration. 

2. Transit agencies should comply with DOT ADA guidance documents, 

including “Origin-to-Destination Service” and “Paratransit Requirements for 

§5311-Funded Fixed-Route Service Operated by Private Entities.” 

Compliance with these documents is not optional; because they interpret 

the meaning of the DOT ADA regulations, they are legally binding. 

3. The Federal Transit Administration should regularly post compliance 

reviews that maintain the earlier rigor and thoroughness of the compliance 

review program. The FTA should maintain and strengthen its oversight 

efforts, not scale them back. FTA ADA compliance reviews should identify 

transit agency operational practices in detail. Some of the benefits of the 

older, in-depth reviews appear to have been lost in the new FTA approach. 

It is critical that FTA ADA compliance reviews continue to develop state-ofthe-art operational practices to serve people with disabilities in public 

transportation.
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4. The FTA Office of Civil Rights (OCR) should be given latitude in 

determining the selection of locations for ADA compliance reviews; a formal 

approach for selecting transit agencies to review is not necessary. Given 

limited FTA resources in civil rights oversight, the OCR already likely knows 

what the hotspots are and has a fairly accurate list of systems in need of 

review. If OCR staff have received a number of complaints out of City X, 

City X would be placed on the list for upcoming reviews. The system should 

respect FTA discretion in knowing how oversight funds should be spent.

5. The FTA should continue to prioritize, fund, and increase the scope and 

depth of oversight and enforcement efforts through compliance reviews, 

ADA administrative complaints, triennial reviews, and state management 

reviews for public fixed-route transit and ADA paratransit, as well as 

through key rail station reviews.

6. DOJ and FMCSA should continue to prioritize, fund, and increase the scope 

and depth of oversight and enforcement efforts for privately funded transit, 

including but not limited to that provided for over-the-road buses.

7. DOJ should continue to prioritize, fund, and increase the scope and depth 

of enforcement efforts in public transit.

Chapter 5. Fixed Route Deviation

1. DOT and the FTA should clarify that when a fixed route deviation service 

makes deviations for anyone and is considered a demand-responsive 

service, it must provide equivalent service to people with disabilities. In 

determining equivalency, DOT and the FTA should not look solely to the 

deviation portion of the service, separate from the fixed-route component, 

but should look at the service in its entirety. However, the concept of 

equivalency is difficult to apply in this situation: It can be challenging to 
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deviate without constraints and without added cost while still maintaining 

the reliability of the fixed-route portion of the service. DOT and the FTA 

should revisit how equivalency can be applied to route deviation in a 

workable manner. The endpoint should be consistent with ADA 

complementary paratransit service requirements.

2. DOT and the FTA should continue to make it clear that fixed route deviation

service that deviates for only some riders, such as riders with disabilities, 

must meet the ADA paratransit requirements. DOT and the FTA should also 

clarify that, to meet the ADA paratransit requirements, the route 

deviation service must be supplemented in some way, either by expanding 

existing dial-a-ride service to supplement the deviations or by adding a 

separate ADA paratransit service. The best approach is to expand existing 

dial-a-ride service; this provides more integrated service than starting a 

separate ADA paratransit system. 

3. Fixed route deviation transit systems and planners of those systems should 

take into account whether the population density of their service area is 

conducive to deviation. If the area is rural and the service will cover long 

distances with a low population density, thus necessitating stops only every 

mile or so, making sufficient deviations to meet all requests will be 

operationally feasible because there is ample recovery time. In a suburban or 

small city setting, however, it will likely be more difficult to operate in a 

way that provides equivalent service to people with disabilities. If a fixed route 

deviation service cannot provide unconstrained deviations without a schedule 

impact that is too great, route deviation is not the right mode of transit service 

for that community. Such a community may need an ordinary fixed-route 

service with a dependable schedule, complemented by ADA paratransit.

4. Transit system planners should not implement fixed route deviation service if 

they must constrain their capacity in order to remain viable, whether 

explicitly (usually by limiting deviations to a first-come, first-served basis) or 
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less overtly (for example, by not advertising). A first-come, first-served route 

deviation service will often fail to provide adequate service, because 

nondisabled people whose requests for deviation are not accepted can walk 

to the bus stop, but people with disabilities who cannot reach the bus stop 

and do not or cannot call soon enough will be left without transportation.

5. Fixed route deviation service should include these important 

implementation considerations: 

a. All riders should be informed that deviations are possible. Information 

about the availability of deviations and how to request them should be 

included in route schedules and other public information. 

b. Riders who board at designated stops should be informed that vehicles 

may go off-route and that arrival times at designated stops may vary. 

This can help manage rider expectations and avoid misunderstandings if 

vehicles run slightly off-schedule. 

c. It is helpful if the employees who take and schedule deviation requests 

have experience with demand-responsive operations. It may be better to 

use paratransit operations staff rather than fixed-route transit 

dispatchers.

d. Fixed route deviation services should consider their stop 

announcements. An announcement should be made when the vehicle 

goes off-route for a deviation, and announcements should continue 

when the vehicle returns to the fixed route.
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Chapter 6. Issues for All Modes of Public Transit

Subpart A. Common Wheelchair Section Removed from DOT ADA Regulation

1. Transit agencies should establish policy and conduct training that the DOT 

has removed the provision concerning “common wheelchairs” from its 

regulation. 

2. Transit agencies must comply with provisions that were incorporated into 

the DOT ADA regulation in 2011 requiring transit agencies to carry any 

wheelchair and occupant that a vehicle lift can accommodate, as long as 

there is space for the wheelchair on the vehicle. A transportation provider is 

not required to carry a wheelchair if the lift or vehicle is unable to 

accommodate the wheelchair and its user consistent with legitimate safety 

requirements. DOT warned transit agencies that, to be a legitimate safety 

requirement, any limitation must be based on actual risks rather than on 

speculation, stereotypes, or generalizations about people with disabilities or 

their mobility devices. 

3. Transit agencies should maintain inventories of detailed design 

specifications and dimensions of lifts, ramps, and securement areas for all 

vehicles. The agencies can use these capacity specifications to determine 

the maximum sizes and weights of wheelchairs they can accommodate on 

all vehicles. Transit agencies should also provide information about the

maximum sizes and weights of occupied wheelchairs that their vehicles can 

safely accommodate, so riders can consider system limitations in 

purchasing wheelchairs or deciding to use the service.

4. Transit agencies should establish policy and conduct training that DOT has 

chosen to follow the Department of Justice approach on the new category 

called ‘‘other power-driven mobility devices’’ (OPMDs). Wheelchairs 
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(including scooters) are not OPMDs. DOJ defines this category as “any 

mobility device powered by batteries, fuel, or other engines... that is used 

by individuals with mobility disabilities for the purpose of locomotion, 

including golf cars, electronic personal assistance mobility devices... such 

as the Segway® PT, or any mobility device designed to operate in areas 

without defined pedestrian routes, but that is not a wheelchair.” When a 

person with a mobility disability is using an OPMD, different rules apply 

under the ADA than when the device is being used by a person without a 

disability.688

5. DOJ does not require OPMDs to be accommodated in every instance in 

which a wheelchair must be accommodated but provides that transit 

agencies must allow such devices unless they demonstrate that allowing 

the device would be inconsistent with legitimate safety requirements. 

Legitimate safety requirements must be based on actual risks rather than 

on mere speculation, stereotypes, or generalizations about people with 

disabilities or the devices they use for mobility purposes. 

6. Transit agencies are encouraged to follow the best practice established by 

the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority and its coordinated 

transportation brokerage for providing ADA paratransit, which is managed 

by Outreach and Escort Service, Inc. (OUTREACH). After someone 

becomes eligible for ADA paratransit, a van comes to take their picture and 

weigh their wheelchair or scooter. If the wheelchair or scooter is large, 

OUTREACH uses this information to ensure that it sends a vehicle that will 

accommodate the device.
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Subpart B. Reasonable Modifications of Policies, Practices, and Procedures; 

Other ADA General Nondiscrimination Requirements

1. The U.S. DOT should issue its final rule requiring transportation providers to 

make reasonable modifications to policies, practices, and procedures when 

necessary to avoid discrimination on the basis of disability.

2. Transit agencies should follow, as a best practice, the DOT proposal to 

require ADA transportation providers to make reasonable modifications to 

policies, practices, and procedures when necessary to avoid discrimination 

on the basis of disability. DOT proposed to adopt such a provision into its 

own regulation to clarify the fact that publicly funded transit agencies must 

comply with this requirement.

Subpart C. Securing Mobility Devices

1. Transit agencies must allow people with disabilities who are ambulatory to 

ride on the lift as standees. This is essential for people who do not use 

wheelchairs but cannot, or cannot without difficulty, enter the bus via the 

stairs. Transit agencies should ensure that this practice is appropriately 

implemented through driver training, monitoring, and progressive discipline.

2. Transit agency drivers must help riders on and off lifts and up and down bus 

ramps as needed. This applies to both fixed-route buses and ADA 

paratransit. Transit agencies should use training, monitoring, and 

progressive discipline to ensure that drivers understand this requirement 

and implement it properly.

3. Transit agencies must provide securement of the passenger’s wheelchair to 

the vehicle. Transit agencies should establish policy and conduct training 

that it is not appropriate for drivers to rely on the passenger restraint 

system, which means the lap belt and shoulder strap. Securing the person 
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without securing the wheelchair is a dangerous practice. In an accident, the 

full force of the wheelchair would be applied to the rider. The securement 

system should be separate from the passenger restraint system to prevent 

this outcome. Transit agencies should use training, monitoring, and 

progressive discipline to ensure that their drivers understand this and 

implement it properly.

4. Transit agencies should establish policy and conduct training about their 

policies on allowing wheelchair users to travel unsecured. Although the 

ADA allows transit systems to establish local policies allowing riders to 

travel unsecured, this can be wrongly interpreted as not needing to use 

securement devices. In systems that require securement, this should be 

made clear to all vehicle operators. In transit systems that permit a rider to 

travel unsecured if he or she chooses, transit agencies should make sure 

through training, monitoring, and progressive discipline that drivers do not 

think they are not required to secure other riders. Also, they must secure 

wheelchairs at riders’ request.

5. Transit agencies may not require passengers’ wheelchairs to be equipped 

with specific features such as footrests, wheel locks, or push handles as a 

condition of transportation, nor may they require a passenger’s mobility 

device to be regarded as “in good condition” according to any standard.

6. The U.S. Access Board guidelines should require the enhanced dimensions 

already proposed for maneuvering into wheelchair spaces on buses. 

7. Extensive education should be provided for people with disabilities, health 

care practitioners, and mobility device vendors to ensure further 

implementation of the voluntary standard WC-19 for wheelchairs used as 

seating in a bus or van. Health care funders/insurance agencies should 

accept this standard. Government regulation should make this a required 

rather than voluntary standard.
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Subpart D. Service Animals

1. Taxicab companies and other transit sectors should establish policy and 

training that requires all drivers to follow the ADA requirements regarding 

service animals, in order to eliminate the high level of discrimination 

currently found in the taxi industry and other transit sectors.

Subpart E. Communication Access

1. Transit providers must follow the ADA requirements regarding 

communication access, and should follow all related best practices, 

including these:

a. Proper provision of alternative formats, both audio and visual

b. Ensuring the development of print material usable by people with 

cognitive disabilities and people who have vision impairments

c. Website accessibility

d. Accessibility of bus schedules

e. Meeting the needs of people with speech disabilities

f. Ensuring the proper use of sign language interpreters and 

Communication Access Realtime Translation (CART) 

g. Open captioning of films and DVDs

h. Ensuring the proper use of TTYs and relay services.
351

Subpart F. Traveling with a Respirator or Portable Oxygen Supply

1. Transit agencies may not prohibit a person with a disability from traveling 

with a respirator or portable oxygen supply.

2. Transit agencies should establish policy and conduct training regarding the 

right to travel with a respirator or portable oxygen supply. These policies 

should clarify that commonly used portable oxygen concentrators are not 

considered hazardous materials. 

Subpart G. Navigating Public Transit with a Cognitive or Intellectual Disability

1. Transit agencies should provide guidance cues that are integrated into the 

transit system to enable people with cognitive and intellectual disabilities to 

navigate the system, including color-coding routes and using simple 

numbering systems; providing information, including stop announcements, 

in multiple modes both audible and visual; and using a clear speaking voice 

when making stop announcements.

2. Transit agencies should provide proficient travel training to enable people 

with cognitive or intellectual disabilities to navigate transit systems.

Subpart H. Navigating Public Transit with Chemical or Electrical Sensitivities

1. DOJ should develop standards and guidance on the access requirements 

for people with chemical and electrical sensitivities.

2. Transit agencies should eliminate environmental barriers to the greatest 

extent possible by using nontoxic, fragrance-free products and practices, 

and by avoiding all nonessential chemical and electromagnetic exposures 

to enhance access for people with chemical or electrical sensitivities.
352

3. Transit agencies should encourage their employees to avoid smoking and 

refrain from the use of fragrances and scented personal care products to 

help accommodate people with chemical sensitivities. 

4. Transit agencies should encourage passengers to avoid using fragrances 

and scented personal care products, and to accommodate people who are 

negatively affected by environmental exposures upon request.

Subpart I. Transit Staff Trained to Proficiency

1. Transit agencies must ensure that staff are trained to proficiency in the 

operation of vehicles and equipment, and in properly assisting and treating 

people with disabilities in a respectful and courteous manner, with 

appropriate attention to the differences among people with disabilities. 

Transit agencies should include testing and demonstrations to gauge 

employee knowledge and abilities.

Chapter 7. Rural Transportation

1. Congress and all federal agencies that deal with transportation should place 

a far greater emphasis on rural transportation in both planning and funding. 

The United States still has minimal or nonexistent public transit services in 

most rural areas. Also, compared to the resources allocated to urban areas, 

those allocated to rural public transportation are significantly inequitable. 

This creates serious, ongoing barriers to employment, accessible health 

care, and full participation in society for people with disabilities.

2. Federal agency coordination should address the lack of a common 

definition of transit throughout the transportation system. Rural 

transportation (where it is available) is generally defined as specialized 

transportation. This deficiency creates eligibility silos that lead to 

competition for limited funding for individual programs. Numerous
353

restrictions are imposed on rural providers, including limited trip purposes, 

limited hours of service, client-only transportation, and duplicative services. 

The cost of transportation in rural areas is generally higher because of the 

longer distances traveled.

3. Local rural planners, public officials, and staff in rural jurisdictions, and 

anyone affected by rural transportation, should learn about the successful 

strategies that have been used to provide rural transportation, including 

voucher programs, volunteers, flex services, taxicabs, mobility 

management, coordinated services, car ownership, and combinations of 

these. 

4. Congress and the U.S. Department of Transportation should address the 

fact that, while Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century (MAP-21) 

offers the potential for a significant shift in transit policy for rural 

communities, the short authorization timeline of the bill (24 months) and flat 

funding create challenges for rural providers. 

5. Local rural planners, public officials, and staff in rural jurisdictions, and 

anyone affected by rural transportation, should learn about the sections of 

MAP-21 that might offer possible assistance for rural transportation. These 

sections include Equitable Funding, Rural Transportation Planning, and 

Coordination.

Chapter 8. Coordinated Transportation

1. Transit agencies, both urban and rural, and agencies that serve a rural 

component of their service area, should engage in coordination, which can 

result in both improved mobility and increased efficiency. Agencies that pay 

a high cost per trip when purchasing service can reduce their overall 

transportation expense by purchasing service from a coordinated system, 
354

particularly one that takes full advantage of existing fixed-route transit 

services. Increased coordination may lead to benefits beyond cost savings. 

For human services agencies or transit providers that may be serving only a 

portion of their demand or whose unit costs are already low, coordination 

may enable them to serve more customers or to offer a higher level or 

quality of service for the same price.

Chapter 9. Commercial Driver’s License Rules

1. DOT should eliminate hearing requirements for commercial driver’s 

licenses. DOT should promptly undertake a rulemaking review regarding 

these requirements and should continue to expand waiver programs in the 

interim. 

2. DOT should provide additional exemptions for drivers with epilepsy or a 

history of seizures, as well as drivers with insulin-treated diabetes, to allow 

more drivers with these disabilities and impairments to obtain commercial 

driver’s licenses and to operate in interstate commerce.

Chapter 10. Public Rights-of-Way 

1. Congress should pass the Complete Streets Act.

2. Public works departments and other state and local officials dealing with the 

public rights-of-way must implement the ADA provisions which require, in 

essence, that a “high degree of convenient access” for people with 

disabilities be provided in new construction. When aspects of the public 

rights-of-way are altered (defined as changes that affect usability) the 

altered area and a path to travel to it must be accessible to the “maximum 

extent feasible.” This requirement refers to the occasional case in which the 

nature of the existing facility makes it virtually impossible to fully comply 
355

with accessibility standards, but the maximum physical accessibility that is 

feasible must be provided. In existing facilities that are not otherwise being 

altered, public entities such as cities, counties, and states must provide 

“program access” by making systems of sidewalks, bus stops, and other 

aspects of the public rights-of-way accessible when viewed in their entirety.

3. Public works departments and other state and local officials dealing with 

public rights-of-way should follow the Barden v. Sacramento decision. 

Barden set a precedent requiring cities and other public entities to make all 

public sidewalks accessible to people with mobility and vision disabilities. 

The court ruled that public entities must address barriers, including missing 

or unsafe curb ramps, throughout the public sidewalk system, as well as 

barriers that block access along the length of the sidewalks. This includes 

installation of compliant curb ramps at intersections and removal of barriers 

that obstruct sidewalks, including narrow pathways, abrupt changes in level, 

excessive cross slopes, and overhanging obstructions, as well as 

improvements in crosswalk access. 

4. The U.S. Access Board should quickly publish final Guidelines for 

Pedestrian Facilities in the Public Rights-of-Way. Both DOT and DOJ 

should promptly adopt final rules on mandatory standards for access to the 

public rights-of-way that are consistent with the Access Board guidelines. 

5. Public works departments and other state and local officials dealing with the 

public rights-of-way should follow the Complete Streets philosophy and 

recommendations as best practices.

6. Transit systems and local public works departments should work together to 

improve the accessibility of bus stops for people with disabilities. The lack 

of accessible bus stops is one of the most persistent, significant 

transportation problems facing people with disabilities. The issue is difficult

because bus stops are very often placed by a transit agency that does not 
356

exercise any authority over improvements at the bus stop, which are 

provided by a local jurisdiction. To overcome this obstacle, transit agencies 

and city public works departments must affirmatively and deliberately 

coordinate their activities. This will require more than simply attending a 

meeting together occasionally; they must make a genuine effort to work 

together to coordinate this process.

7. Local transit agencies and public works departments should provide 

detectability to their bus stops for people who are blind or have visual 

impairments. They should emulate locales that have developed best 

practices, including unique bus stop pole designs.

8. Local transit agencies and public works departments should use the Easter 

Seals Project ACTION Toolkit for the Assessment of Bus Stop Accessibility 

and Safety. 

9. Local jurisdictions and public works departments should provide accessible 

pedestrian signals at signalized intersections.

10. DOJ and DOT should promptly issue guidance to follow the forthcoming 

Access Board Public Rights-of-Way Guidelines as best practices until both 

agencies formally adopt enforceable standards for access to the public 

rights-of-way. These two leading federal agencies should fully support 

public rights-of-way accessibility, including detectable warnings, as needed 

features in the built environment.

11. Local jurisdictions and public works departments should provide detectable 

warnings at intersections to keep people who are blind or have vision 

impairments from inadvertently entering dangerous areas such as public 

streets.
357

12. Local jurisdictions and public works departments should provide curb ramps 

at all corners of intersections wherever possible, to provide mobilityimpaired people, especially wheelchair users, with access throughout the 

public rights-of-way. These agencies should develop and implement a curb 

ramp transition plan to identify and schedule the work that needs to be 

done. Any newly placed or changed roadway or sidewalk should include 

curb ramps.

13. Public works departments and other state and local officials with jurisdiction 

over the public rights-of-way should follow the Kinney v. Yerusalim decision. 

Kinney ruled that the ADA requires cities to install curb ramps when they 

resurface streets. These public agencies should follow the joint DOJ-DOT 

guidance, the “Department of Justice/Department of Transportation Joint 

Technical Assistance on the Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act 

Requirements to Provide Curb Ramps when Streets, Roads, or Highways Are 

Altered through Resurfacing” at http://www.ada.gov/doj-fhwa-ta.htm or 

http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/civilrights/programs/doj_fhwa_ta.cfm. 

14. Local jurisdictions, public works departments, and other state and local 

officials with jurisdiction over the public rights-of-way must follow the ADA 

obligations regarding snow removal. Public agencies must maintain their 

walkways in an accessible condition, with only isolated or temporary 

interruptions in accessibility. Public agency standards and practices must 

ensure that their day-to-day operations keep the path of travel on 

pedestrian facilities open and usable for people with disabilities throughout 

the year. This includes snow and debris removal, maintenance of 

accessible pedestrian walkways in work zones, and correction of other 

disruptions.
358

Chapter 11. Privately Funded Transit

Subpart A. Taxicabs

1. Congress should pass Senate bill S.2887, the Accessible Transportation for 

All Act, introduced by Senator Tom Harkin, which would require a robust 

program of wheelchair-accessible taxis across the nation.

2. To avoid discrimination, public entities such as cities and counties that use 

local taxicabs for a user-side subsidy program must ensure that equivalent 

service is provided to people with disabilities, including people who use 

wheelchairs. The public entity may either require taxi companies to have 

accessible vehicles in order to participate or may contract with another 

party to provide accessible service for people with disabilities that is 

equivalent to the service available to others in terms of response times, 

fares, service area, schedule, and so forth.

3. Taxi companies of all types, as well as transportation network companies, 

must follow the requirements of the ADA and may not discriminate against 

people with disabilities. For example, they may not charge higher fares for 

passengers with disabilities; refuse to serve a passenger with a disability 

who can use a taxi sedan, including people who use wheelchairs; refuse to 

stow a wheelchair or other mobility device in the trunk of a sedan, or 

impose a special charge for doing so; and they must accept passengers 

traveling with service animals.

4. Local taxi regulators, transit agencies, the disability community, and other 

stakeholders, including the taxi industry and transportation network 

companies, should work together to ensure that every locality has a wellfunctioning accessible taxi program. Unfortunately, accessible taxis are all 

too often not available in adequate numbers, if at all.
359

5. Local taxi regulators, transit agencies, the disability community, and other 

stakeholders, including the taxi industry and transportation network 

companies, should work together on key elements of strong accessible taxi 

programs, including these:

a. Providing incentives for both taxi companies and drivers. 

b. Keeping accessible taxis in use.

c. Regulating accessibility and nondiscrimination.

d. Ensuring the provision of training.

e. Enforcement.

6. Local taxi regulators and transit agencies that use contracted taxis should 

ensure that new technology for fare payment in taxis is accessible to 

passengers who are blind or have vision impairments.

7. Local taxi regulators should regulate transportation network companies 

such as Uber, SideCar, Lyft, and similar companies in the same way they 

regulate taxicabs, by the same regulatory authorities, and should impose 

the same rules. The regulations should include all ADA requirements and 

any stronger local requirements, as well as thorough training and 

enforcement provisions. Training should include prohibition of denial of 

service and the consequences of denial. Regulators should conduct 

random testing programs to identify instances of denial of service. The 

testing should be frequent enough and conducted widely enough to include 

a large sample of drivers and to create a level of respect for the 

consequences of noncompliance.
360

8. State and local regulators of taxis should use local, state, and federal civil 

rights statutes whenever possible to impose appropriate disability-related 

regulations on transportation network companies and taxis.

Subpart B. Intercity Transit and Over-the-Road Buses

1. The U.S. Access Board should address over-the-road bus (OTRB) access 

issues, including access to interior amenities, stanchions/handrails, doubledecker buses (both tour and intercity), entertainment systems, restrooms, 

and other passenger features and amenities. Given the dramatic increase 

in OTRB use, DOT and the Access Board should collaborate to ensure the 

necessary resources to expand the Access Board’s OTRB guidelines. DOT 

and DOJ should promptly publish enforceable standards consistent with 

these guidelines.

2. Companies involved in intercity bus service must follow the DOT “Guidance 

on Interline Service and Notice to Passengers,” which addresses a Catch22 in the DOT ADA regulation that affects some OTRB passengers when 

multiple bus companies, both large and small, coordinate the issuing of 

tickets. In addition to following the guidance, these companies should also 

use a stronger, more straightforward approach. Only a handful of large 

OTRB companies engage in interlining, and when they do it is ongoing—

meaning that, for example, the Greyhound or Trailways trip from DC to 

Vermont either uses interlining or it does not. The large carriers should 

make it clear on their websites that particular trips use interlining service 

with another company that might qualify as a small carrier, for which 

advance notice might be needed, with 48-hour notice preferred. 

3. DOT should require companies operating over-the-road buses to selfidentify as large or small. Currently, customers have no way of ascertaining 

which companies are considered large by the industry definition 

(100 percent accessibility required) and which are considered small (still 
361

allowed to operate under the interim rule). This confusion and the resulting 

problems can discourage ridership. 

4. Small bus companies should not misinterpret the ADA interim service rule 

as allowing them to require 48-hour notice. A more accurate reading of the 

regulation is that companies are allowed to “prefer” such notice. The DOT 

ADA regulatory provision is not a hard-and-fast rule; less than 48-hour 

notice still requires a good faith effort by the carrier to provide an accessible 

bus. Forty-seven hours should not present difficulty, and it is unlikely that 

24 hours would present difficulty.

5. Motorcoach operators should consistently provide accessible service in 

compliance with the ADA and should conduct outreach to advertise their 

accessible service. 

6. Motorcoach operators should maintain their lifts properly. Drivers often lack 

training and experience in operating lifts. When people have been stranded 

or delayed due to a lift failure, they are less likely to travel by bus in the 

future. Accessibility equipment should be operated in a manner that does 

not stigmatize riders with disabilities. Even when lifts work well, some riders 

have said they feel like a spectacle due to the loud sounds of the lifts and 

the stares they draw. 

7. Private companies operating over-the-road buses (OTRBs) should pay 

particular attention to both design issues and maintenance and training 

issues, which can lead to problems in providing wheelchair seating. For 

example, on some accessible OTRBs, there can be malfunctions or jams in 

the tracks that the seats move on to create wheelchair spaces, so that it 

becomes difficult to readily create the needed spaces. 

8. Over-the-road bus designers should develop improved designs for 

wheelchair seating. OTRBs usually feature seats that flip up for several 
362

rows, all mounted on a track. The seats slide in order to compress down, 

making an open wheelchair securement space available. These tracks can 

become jammed. Creating a second wheelchair securement space can be 

especially difficult, necessitating not only compression of the seats but also 

the removal of a table. Because drivers rarely encounter a situation in which 

two wheelchair users unexpectedly arrive, most do not remember the exact 

procedure. 

9. The over-the-road bus companies have found that when they were allowed 

to request advance notice, these changes could be made in advance in the 

garage, instead of while passengers are waiting. Moreover, rearranging the 

seating in advance kept those seats from being occupied by nondisabled 

people who might later need to be asked to move. 

10. Just as the accessibility features in ordinary city buses have been 

extensively redesigned, redesign of the wheelchair seating on OTRBs may 

be necessary. 
363

List of Interviews

Christopher G. Bell, Esq., Member, American Council of the Blind of Minnesota, 

February 28, 2013

Jan Campbell, Chair of Committee on Accessible Transportation, TriMet, Portland, 

Oregon, December 18, 2012

Dennis Cannon, former Transportation Accessibility Specialist, U.S. Access Board; 

currently, private consultant, Synergy, LLC, March 28, 2013

John Day, ADA team leader and Senior Equal Opportunity Specialist, Federal Transit 

Administration Office of Civil Rights, March 11, 2013

Richard Devylder, former Senior Advisor for Accessible Transportation for U.S. 

Department of Transportation, January 9, 2013

Tracee Garner, Outreach Coordinator, Loudoun (Virginia) ENDependence (LEND) 

Center, January 15, 2013

David Knight, Trial Attorney, Disability Rights Section, U.S. Department of Justice, April 

16, 2013

Tricia Mason, former President, Little People of America, March 18, 2013

Maureen McCloskey, National Advocacy Director, Paralyzed Veterans of America, 

February 25, 2013

Susan Molloy, long-time advocate for people who are chemically and electrically 

hypersensitive, July 11, 2014
364

Michael Muehe, Executive Director, Cambridge Commission for Persons with

Disabilities and ADA Coordinator, City of Cambridge, Massachusetts, January 23, 2013

Cliff Perez, Systems Advocate, Independent Living Center of the Hudson Valley, and 

Chair, National Council on Independent Living Transportation Committee, April 30, 2013

Alice Ritchhart, Transportation Committee Chair, American Council of the Blind, March 

12, 2013

Howard Rosenblum, Chief Executive Officer, National Association of the Deaf, July 22, 

2013

Ken Shiotani, Senior Staff Attorney, National Disability Rights Network, April 30, 2014

Dawn Sweet, Equal Opportunity Specialist, Federal Transit Administration Office of Civil 

Rights, March 11, 2013

Gary Talbot, Program Director for the Americans with Disabilities Act, Amtrak, April 9, 

2013

Carol Tyson, Senior Policy Associate, United Spinal Association, November 12, 2013.

Angela Van Etten, Coordinator, Treasure Coast Services Coalition for Independent 

Living Options, Florida, and former President, Little People of America, April 25, 2013

Richard Weiner, Principal, Nelson\Nygaard Consulting Associates, September 16 & 24, 

2013

Annette Williams, Manager, San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) 

Accessible Services Program, September 18, 2013
365

Endnotes

1 National Council on Disability, “Current State of Transportation for People with 

Disabilities in the United States,” June 2005, Executive Summary, p. 13, accessed 

November 29, 2013, http://www.ncd.gov/publications/2005/06132005. 

2

 “Koch-Backed Measure Bans Transit Funding in Tennessee,” Democracy Now, 

accessed March 31, 2015, http://www.democracynow.org/2014/4/2/headlines/

koch_backed_measure_bans_transit_funding_in_tennessee. 

3 American Public Transportation Association (APTA), “Record 10.7 Billion Trips Taken 

on U.S. Public Transportation in 2013—The Highest Transit Ridership in 57 Years,” 

March 10, 2014, accessed March 27, 2014, http://www.apta.com/mediacenter/

pressreleases/2014/Pages/140310_Ridership.aspx. 

4 National Council on Disability, “Current State of Transportation for People with 

Disabilities in the United States,” June 2005, accessed November 29, 2013, 

http://www.ncd.gov/publications/2005/06132005. 

5 Interview, Cliff Perez, Systems Advocate, Independent Living Center of the Hudson 

Valley, and Chair, National Council on Independent Living Transportation Committee, 

April 30, 2013.

6 Interview, Michael Muehe, Executive Director, Cambridge Commission for Persons with 

Disabilities, and ADA Coordinator, City of Cambridge, Massachusetts, January 23, 2013.

7 TranSystems et al., “Strategy Guide to Enable and Promote the Use of Fixed-Route Transit 

by People with Disabilities,” TCRP Report 163, Transportation Research Board, Washington, 

DC, 2013, accessed June 3, 2014, http://www.trb.org/Main/Blurbs/170626.aspx. 

8 49 U.S.C. 5307(c)(1)(D); 49 CFR Part 609.

9 49 CFR § 37.161, accessed May 22, 2014, http://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?c=

ecfr&SID=d315855e2f2c9f940970f4c191349c12&rgn=div5&view=text&node=49:1.0.1.1.

27&idno=49. 

10 Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund and TranSystems Corporation, “Equipment 

Maintenance,” Topic Guides on ADA Transportation, No. 1, “Maintain Accessible Features 

in Operative Condition,” June 2010, accessed November 5, 2013, http://dredf.org/ADAtg/. 

11 “Justice Department Settles Lawsuit Alleging Discrimination by the Detroit 

Department of Transportation,” November 3, 2005, accessed October 23, 2013, 

http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/2005/November/05_crt_590.html. 

12 Transit Access Report, “Government Keeps Up Its Effort for Better Bus Access in 

Detroit,” January 25, 2012, p. 5.
366

13 Transit Access Report, “Auditor Finds ‘Further’ Decline in Detroit Pre-Trip ADA 

Checks,” December 10, 2012, p. 7.

14 Transit Access Report, “Government Keeps Up Its Effort for Better Bus Access in 

Detroit,” January 25, 2012, p. 5.

15 National Council on Disability, “Current State of Transportation for People with 

Disabilities in the United States,” op. cit., p. 30.

16 Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund and TranSystems Corporation, 

“Equipment Maintenance,” Topic Guides on ADA Transportation, No. 1, op. cit., 

“Maintain Accessible Features in Operative Condition.” 

17 Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund and TranSystems Corporation, 

“Equipment Maintenance,” Topic Guides on ADA Transportation, No. 1, op. cit., 

“Regular and Frequent Maintenance Checks.” 

18 Ibid. 

19 Federal Transit Administration, Americans with Disabilities Act Circular C 4710.1, 

Amendment 1, Draft Chapters for Public Comment, op. cit., pp. 2–7.

20 Ibid. 

21 Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund and TranSystems Corporation, 

“Equipment Maintenance,” Topic Guides on ADA Transportation, No. 1, op. cit., 

“Accessibility Equipment Failure During Pre-Trip Inspection.” 

22 Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund and TranSystems Corporation, 

“Equipment Maintenance,” Topic Guides on ADA Transportation, No. 1, op. cit., “Failure 

in Service: Report by Most Immediate Means Available.” 

23 49 CFR Part 37, App. D, § 37.163, originally published at 56 Fed. Reg. 45747 

(Sept. 6, 1991).

24 Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund and TranSystems Corporation, 

“Equipment Maintenance,” Topic Guides on ADA Transportation, No. 1, op. cit., 

“Methods for Providing Alternative Service.” 

25 Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund and TranSystems Corporation, 

“Equipment Maintenance,” Topic Guides on ADA Transportation, No. 1, op. cit., “Best 

Practices in Providing Alternative Service.” 

26 Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund and TranSystems Corporation, 

“Equipment Maintenance, “Topic Guides on ADA Transportation, No. 1, op. cit., “PostTrip Inspection and Maintenance of Problem Equipment.” 
367

27 National Council on Disability, “Current State of Transportation for People with 

Disabilities in the United States,” op. cit., p. 31.

28 49 CFR § 37.165.

29 Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund and TranSystems Corporation, 

“Equipment Maintenance,” Topic Guides on ADA Transportation, No. 1, op. cit., “False 

Claims of Broken Lifts and Ramps.” 

30 Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund and TranSystems Corporation, 

“Equipment Maintenance,” Topic Guides on ADA Transportation, No. 1, op. cit., “PassBys of Riders with Disabilities.” 

31 National Council on Disability, “Current State of Transportation for People with 

Disabilities in the United States,” op. cit., p. 32.

32 Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund and TranSystems Corporation, 

“Equipment Maintenance,” Topic Guides on ADA Transportation, No. 1, op. cit., “Lifts 

That Are Difficult to Maintain.” 

33 Disability advocate Christopher S. Hart, U.S. Access Board Public Member and 

former Director of Urban and Transit Projects at the Institute for Human Centered 

Design, personal communication, March 23, 2014.

34 Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund and TranSystems Corporation, 

“Equipment Maintenance,” Topic Guides on ADA Transportation, No. 1, op. cit., 

“Preventive Maintenance.” 

35 Federal Transit Administration, Americans with Disabilities Act Circular C 4710.1, 

Amendment 1, Draft Chapters for Public Comment, op. cit., pp. 2–7.

36 Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund and TranSystems Corporation, 

“Equipment Maintenance,” Topic Guides on ADA Transportation, No. 1, op. cit., 

“Preventive Maintenance.” 

37 Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund and TranSystems Corporation, 

“Equipment Maintenance,” Topic Guides on ADA Transportation, No. 1, op. cit., 

“Progressive Discipline.” 

38 This requirement is not in the DOT ADA regulation, but rather in what is called Part 27. 

Part 27 contains other transit agency obligations, including the DOT regulation for 

Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, another disability rights law. Part 27, which 

is formally cited as 49 CFR Part 27, is available at http://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/textidx?c=ecfr&SID=d315855e2f2c9f940970f4c191349c12&rgn=div5&view=text&node=49:1.

0.1.1.21&idno=49. The reporting requirement is at 49 CFR § 27.13(b), 49 CFR Subpart C, 

§§ 27.121–27.129.
368

39 Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund and TranSystems Corporation, 

“Equipment Maintenance,” Topic Guides on ADA Transportation, No. 1, op. cit., 

“Complaint Investigation.” 

40 Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund and TranSystems Corporation, 

“Equipment Maintenance,” Topic Guides on ADA Transportation, No. 1, op. cit., “The 

Rider’s Role.” 

41 Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund and TranSystems Corporation, 

“Equipment Maintenance,” Topic Guides on ADA Transportation, No. 1, op. cit., “Ramp 

Buses Recommended.” 

42 ADA Accessibility Specifications for Transportation Vehicles, 49 CFR § 38.23(c)(5).

43 49 CFR § 37.165(f) and 49 CFR Part 37, App. D, § 37.165.

44 Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund and TranSystems Corporation, 

“Equipment Maintenance,” Topic Guides on ADA Transportation, No. 1, op. cit., “Ramp 

Buses Recommended.” 

45 Transit Access Report, “Access Board Reopens Study of Bus Ramps with 1:6 Slope,” 

September 10, 2012, p. 1.

46 Transit Access Report, “Diverse Commenters Suggest That Board Keep 1:4 

Guideline,” November 26, 2012, p. 6.

47 Transit Access Report, “Scientist Says Uniform Grade Isn’t Best Solution for Ramps,” 

November 12, 2012, p. 7.

48 Transit Access Report, “Access Board Faces Decision on Slope for New Bus 

Ramps,” January 10, 2013, p. 1.

49 “DRLC Files Suit Against Los Angeles County Metropolitan Authority for Ongoing 

Failure to Comply with Department of Transportation Regulations,” accessed March 15, 

2013, http://www.disabilityrightslegalcenter.org. 

50 Transit Access Report, “Wheelchair User Asks a Court to Rule on Drivers’ 

Obligations,” March 25, 2013, p. 5.

51 CCDC v. RTD, No. 13-2760 in U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado.

52 Transit Access Report, “Denver Lawsuit Seeks Access to Blocked Wheelchair 

Spaces,” October 25, 2013, p. 7.

53 Transit Access Report, “Denver Tweaks Stroller Policy, Settling Wheelchair Users’ 

Suit,” February 25, 2014, pp. 1 and 6.
369

54 Federal Transit Administration, Americans with Disabilities Act Circular C 4710.1, 

Amendment 1, Draft Chapters for Public Comment, op. cit., pp. 2–12.

55 National Council on Disability, “Current State of Transportation for People with 

Disabilities in the United States,” op. cit., p. 26.

56 Ibid. 

57 Interview, Alice Ritchhart, Transportation Committee Chair, American Council of the 

Blind, March 12, 2013.

58 Interview, Jan Campbell, Chair of Committee on Accessible Transportation, TriMet, 

Portland, Oregon, December 18, 2012.

59 Interview, Christopher G. Bell, Esq., Member, American Council of the Blind of 

Minnesota, February 28, 2013.

60 Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund and TranSystems Corporation, “Stop 

Announcements,” Topic Guides on ADA Transportation, No. 2, “Orientation 

Announcements,” June 2010, accessed November 7, 2013, http://dredf.org/ADAtg/. 

61 Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund and TranSystems Corporation, “Stop 

Announcements,” Topic Guides on ADA Transportation, No. 2, op. cit., “Consistency in 

Stop Announcements.” 

62 Sherry Repscher, ADA Compliance Officer, Utah Transit Authority, Webinar on Stop 

Announcements, Topic Guide on ADA Transportation #2, produced by the ADA 

National Network with Project ACTION and the Disability Rights Education & Defense 

Fund, November 9, 2010.

63 Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund and TranSystems Corporation, “Stop 

Announcements,” Topic Guides on ADA Transportation, No. 2, op. cit., “Stop 

Announcement Lists.”

64 U.S. Access Board, Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to Update ADA Accessibility 

Guidelines for Buses and Vans, July 26, 2010, § T203.13, accessed November 8, 2013, 

http://www.access-board.gov/guidelines-and-standards/transportation/vehicles/updateof-the-guidelines-for-transportation-vehicles/proposal-to-update-guidelines-for-busesand-vans (36 CFR Part 1192). The U.S. Access Board is currently in an extended 

process of drafting and receiving public comment on proposed revisions to ADA 

accessibility guidelines for vehicles used to provide designated and specified public 

transportation. The first draft of such updated vehicle guidelines was released on April 

11, 2007. Following public comment on that first draft, the second draft was released on 

November 19, 2008. A formal notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) was issued on July 

26, 2010, which will lead to promulgation of a final rule after comments to the NPRM are 

analyzed.
370

65 National Council on Disability, “Current State of Transportation for People with 

Disabilities in the United States,” op. cit., pp. 27–29.

66 Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund and TranSystems Corporation, “Stop 

Announcements,” Topic Guides on ADA Transportation, No. 2, op. cit., “Automated 

Announcement Systems.” 

67 U.S. Access Board, op. cit.

68 Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund and TranSystems Corporation, “Stop 

Announcements,” Topic Guides on ADA Transportation, No. 2, op. cit., “Route 

Identification Announcements” and “Automated Route Identification Systems.”

69 Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund and TranSystems Corporation, “Stop 

Announcements,” Topic Guides on ADA Transportation, No. 2, op. cit., “Route 

Identification by Vehicle Operators.” 

70 Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund and TranSystems Corporation, “Stop 

Announcements,” Topic Guides on ADA Transportation, No. 2, op. cit., “Policies and 

Training.” 

71 Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund and TranSystems Corporation, “Stop 

Announcements,” Topic Guides on ADA Transportation, No. 2, op. cit., “Monitoring, 

Progressive Discipline, and Incentives.” 

72 Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund and TranSystems Corporation, “Stop 

Announcements,” Topic Guides on ADA Transportation, No. 2, op. cit., “Monitoring, 

Progressive Discipline, and Incentives.” 

73 Easter Seals Project ACTION, Resource Guide to Effective Approaches for 

Increasing Stop Announcements and Route Identification by Transit Operators, 

Washington, DC, June 2009, p. 54.

74 49 CFR § 27.13(b), 49 CFR Subpart C, §§ 27.121–27.129. This requirement is not in 

the DOT ADA regulation, but rather in what is called Part 27. Part 27 contains other 

transit agency obligations, including the DOT regulation for Section 504 of the 

Rehabilitation Act of 1973, another disability rights law. Part 27, which is formally cited 

as 49 CFR Part 27, was accessed November 8, 2013, http://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/textidx?c=ecfr&SID=d315855e2f2c9f940970f4c191349c12&rgn=div5&view=text&node=49:

1.0.1.1.21&idno=49. 

75 Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund and TranSystems Corporation, “Stop 

Announcements,” Topic Guides on ADA Transportation, No. 2, op. cit., “Complaint 

Investigation.” 

76 Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund and TranSystems Corporation, “Stop 

Announcements,” Topic Guides on ADA Transportation, No. 2, op. cit., “The Rider’s 

Role.” 
371

77 The Changing Paradigm for Paratransit, Easter Seals Project ACTION, “Using Fixedroute To Enhance Paratransit,” unpublished report by the Disability Rights Education & 

Defense Fund for Project ACTION, 2007.

78 Russell Thatcher, Senior Transportation Planner, TranSystems Corporation, personal 

communication, November 5, 2012.

79 TranSystems et al., “Strategy Guide to Enable and Promote the Use of Fixed-Route 

Transit by People with Disabilities,” TCRP Report 163, Transportation Research Board, 

Washington, DC, 2013, op. cit., accessed June 3, 2014, 

http://www.trb.org/Main/Blurbs/170626.aspx. 

80 Julie Carroll, Senior Attorney Advisor to the National Council on Disability, personal 

communication, March 22, 2013.

81 Cliff Perez, op. cit.

82 National Council on Disability, “Current State of Transportation for People with 

Disabilities in the United States,” op. cit. 

83 Disability advocate Christopher S. Hart, U.S. Access Board Public Member and 

former Director of Urban and Transit Projects at the Institute for Human Centered 

Design, personal communication, March 23, 2014.

84 National Council on Disability, “Current State of Transportation for People with 

Disabilities in the United States,” op. cit. 

85 Department of Transportation, 49 CFR Parts 37 and 38 [Docket OST–2006–23985]

RIN 2105–AD54, Transportation for Individuals with Disabilities at Intercity, Commuter, 

and High Speed Passenger Railroad Station Platforms; Miscellaneous Amendments. 

Federal Register, Vol. 76, No. 181, September 19, 2011, p. 57925, Office of the 

Secretary, Department of Transportation. ACTION: Final rule.

86 Federal Register, Vol. 71, No. 38, February 27, 2006, Proposed Rules p. 9761; 

Department of Transportation, 49 CFR Parts 27, 37, and 38, Docket OST–2006–23985,

RIN 2105–AD54, Transportation for Individuals with Disabilities, Notice of Proposed 

Rulemaking, Access to Rail Cars at New or Altered Station Platforms.

87 Dennis Cannon, former Transportation Accessibility Specialist, U.S. Access Board; 

currently, private consultant, Synergy, LLC, personal communication, March 2006. Also, 

Dennis Cannon; Christopher S. Hart, U.S. Access Board Public Member and former 

Director of Urban and Transit Projects, Institute for Human Centered Design; Richard 

Devylder, former Senior Advisor for Accessible Transportation for U.S. DOT; and Gary 

Talbot, Program Director for the Americans with Disabilities Act, Amtrak; personal 

communications between November 2013 and August 2014.

88 Shawn D’Abreu, Paraquad, personal communication related to testimony to U.S. 

Department of Transportation, Public Meeting, August 20, 2010, “concerning the 
372

Department’s pending rulemaking to amend its Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) 

rules.” 

89 Mary Lou Breslin, Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund, personal 

communication related to testimony to U.S. Department of Transportation, Public 

Meeting, August 20, 2010, “concerning the Department’s pending rulemaking to amend 

its Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) rules.” 

90 National Disability Rights Network, “All Aboard (Except People with Disabilities)—

Amtrak’s 23 Years of ADA Compliance Failure,” October 2013, p. 17, accessed October 

20, 2013, http://dadsupport.ndrn.org/pub/NDRN_Amtrak_Report.pdf. 

91 Dennis Cannon, former Transportation Accessibility Specialist, U.S. Access Board; 

currently, private consultant, Synergy, LLC, personal communication, March 2006.

92 Ibid. 

93 Department of Transportation, 49 CFR Parts 37 and 38, Final Rule, op. cit., pp. 

57924–57939.

94 Ibid., p. 57926.

95 Ibid., pp. 57027–57028.

96 ADA & Level Boarding—Consolidated Questions and Answers, Department of 

Transportation, accessed July 16, 2014, http://www.fra.dot.gov/eLib/Details/L03698. 

97 Ibid. 

98 Interview, Richard Devylder, former Senior Advisor for Accessible Transportation for 

U.S. DOT, January 9, 2013.

99 This section was developed from personal communications between November 2013 

and August 2014 with Dennis Cannon, former Transportation Accessibility Specialist, 

U.S. Access Board, and currently a private consultant, Synergy, LLC; Christopher S. 

Hart, U.S. Access Board Public Member and former Director of Urban and Transit 

Projects, Institute for Human Centered Design; Richard Devylder, former Senior Advisor 

for Accessible Transportation for U.S. DOT; Ken Shiotani, Senior Staff Attorney, 

National Disability Rights Network; and Gary Talbot, Program Director for the 

Americans with Disabilities Act, Amtrak.

100 Gary Talbot, Program Director for the Americans with Disabilities Act, Amtrak, 

personal communication, November 13, 2013.

101 Transit Access Report, “Metrolink Has Car Choice Policy but Keeps It Secret from 

Public,” August 26, 2013, p. 1.

102 Ibid. 
373

103 Ibid. 

104 National Disability Rights Network, “All Aboard (Except People with Disabilities)—

Amtrak’s 23 Years of ADA Compliance Failure,” op. cit., pp. 3, 7–9.

105 Interview, Richard Devylder, op. cit.

106 Transit Access Report, “Amtrak Asks That Other Parties Be Added to ADA Station 

Case,” January 25, 2013, p. 5.

107 “Amtrak and Clients of Disability Rights Network Work Together to Improve 

Accessibility at Paoli Station,” Disability Rights Network of Pennsylvania and Amtrak, 

March 27, 2014.

108 National Disability Rights Network, “All Aboard (Except People with Disabilities)—

Amtrak’s 23 Years of ADA Compliance Failure,” op. cit., pp. 15 & 22.

109 Transit Access Report, “Lifts Come Under Challenge As Method for Boarding 

Trains,” May 28, 2013, pp. 1–3 regarding Cope v. Amtrak, No. 12-2882 in U.S. District 

Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

110 Dennis Cannon, former Transportation Accessibility Specialist for the U.S. Access 

Board and currently a private consultant, personal communication, September 28, 2013.

111 National Disability Rights Network, “All Aboard (Except People with Disabilities)—

Amtrak’s 23 Years of ADA Compliance Failure,” op. cit., p. 13. Note that the NDRN 

Report lists “Specific findings by state” starting on p. 27. NDRN also cites Amtrak’s 

February 1, 2009, Report on Accessibility and Compliance with the ADA, stating that this 

report acknowledges that in a survey of its compliance 18 years after passage of the 

ADA, only 48 out of 481 stations were 100% compliant with the ADA, and that by 2013, 

assuming adequate funding, only 269 of its stations would be 100% ADA compliant.

112 Interview, Dennis Cannon, former Transportation Accessibility Specialist, U.S. 

Access Board; currently, private consultant, Synergy, LLC, March 28, 2013. 

113 Dennis Cannon, personal communication, September 5, 2013.

114 Jan Campbell, op. cit. 

115 “Amtrak Previews New Long Distance Cars,” PR Newswire, October 24, 2013, 

accessed November 27, 2013, http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/amtrakpreviews-new-long-distance-cars-229099711.html#prettyPhoto. 

116 Christopher S. Hart, U.S. Access Board Public Member and former Director of Urban 

and Transit Projects, Institute for Human Centered Design, personal communication, 

November 26 and 27, 2013.
374

117 Brad Parmenter, correspondence with the Federal Railroad Administration Office of 

Civil Rights regarding ADA administrative complaint Brad Parmenter v. Amtrak, Case 

No. 2013-0019, June 3, 2014.

118 Michelle Uzeta, Esq., Law Office of Michelle Uzeta, personal communications, 

August 11 and 12, 2014.

119 Minnis v. Greyhound Lines, Inc., No. 8:14-CV-00189 (C.D.Cal. filed Feb. 7, 2014).

120 National Disability Rights Network, “All Aboard (Except People with Disabilities)—

Amtrak’s 23 Years of ADA Compliance Failure,” op. cit., p. 7.

121 Dennis Cannon, personal communication, September 5, 2013.

122 “Thruway Bus Service and Accessibility,” accessed November 27, 2013, 

http://www.amtrak.com/accessible-thruway-bus-service. 

123 National Council on Disability, “Current State of Transportation for People with 

Disabilities in the United States,” op. cit., p. 44.

124 Christopher S. Hart, U.S. Access Board Public Member and former Director of Urban 

and Transit Projects at the Institute for Human Centered Design, personal 

communication, November 26, 2013. 

125 Report on Matters Impairing the Effectiveness and Independence of the Office of 

Inspector General of the National Railroad Passenger Corporation (Amtrak), June 18, 

2009, accessed March 31, 2014, https://archive.org/stream/685741-willkiefarr

gallagherreport/685741-willkiefarrgallagherreport_djvu.txt. 

126 National Council on Disability, “Current State of Transportation for People with 

Disabilities in the United States,” op. cit., p. 47. 

127 42 U.S.C. § 12143; 49 CFR § 37.121.

128 TranSystems et al., “Strategy Guide to Enable and Promote the Use of FixedRoute Transit by People with Disabilities,” TCRP Report 163, Transportation 

Research Board, Washington, DC, 2013, op. cit., accessed June 3, 2014, 

http://www.trb.org/Main/Blurbs/170626.aspx.

129 Richard Devylder, former Senior Advisor for Accessible Transportation for U.S. DOT, 

personal communication, June 2, 2014.

130 Christopher G. Bell, Esq., op. cit. 

131 Transit Access Report, “U.S. Judge Refuses to Dismiss Paratransit Lawsuit in 

Orlando,” August 26, 2013, pp. 1–2. The case is Stravino v. Central Fla. Regional 

Transp. Auth., Civ. No. 13-00808 (M.D. Fla. filed May 24, 2013, amd’d compt filed Aug. 

12, 2013).
375

132 Mark Bradley, Mark Bradley Research and Consulting, and David Koffman, 

Nelson\Nygaard Consulting Associates, “Improving ADA Paratransit Demand 

Estimation: Regional Modeling,” Transit Cooperative Research Program Report 158, 

Transportation Research Board, Washington, DC, 2012, pp. 3–4.

133 David Koffman, David Lewis, David Chia, Jon Burkhardt, and Mark Bradley, 

“Improving ADA Complementary Paratransit Demand Estimation,” Transit Cooperative 

Research Program Report 119, Transportation Research Board, Washington, DC, 2007.

134 Transit Cooperative Research Program Report 158, op. cit.

135 Nelson\Nygaard Consulting Associates with the KFH Group, Transit Sustainability 

Project, Draft Paratransit Final Report, prepared for the Metropolitan Transportation 

Commission, 2011.

136 TranSystems et al., op. cit.

137 Paratransit Ridership, Nationwide, 1999–2011, FTA National Transit Database.

138 American Public Transportation Association (APTA), op. cit.

139 49 CFR § 37.121(c).

140 Cliff Perez, Systems Advocate, Independent Living Center of the Hudson Valley and 

Chair, National Council on Independent Living Transportation Committee, personal 

communication, November 14, 2013.

141 49 CFR §§ 37.3 and App. D, § 37.3, originally published at 56 Fed. Reg. 45747 

(Sept. 6, 1991).

142 Russell Thatcher, TranSystems Corporation, Workshop at Oregon DOT Conference, 

October 25, 2010. The answers and information provided by TranSystems in this

presentation are not legal opinions, nor are they official regulatory interpretations of the 

FTA, U.S. DOT, U.S. DOJ, or any other government agency. They are opinions based

on the professional experience of staff.

143 TranSystems et al., op. cit.

144 TranSystems et al., op. cit.

145 TranSystems et al., op. cit.

146 TranSystems et al., op. cit.

147 National Council on Disability, “Current State of Transportation for People with 

Disabilities in the United States,” op. cit., pp. 48–54.
376

148 Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund and TranSystems Corporation, 

“Eligibility for ADA Paratransit,” Topic Guides on ADA Transportation, No. 3, “Needs an 

Accessible Vehicle,” June 2010, accessed October 24, 2013, http://dredf.org/ADAtg/. 

149 National Council on Disability, “Current State of Transportation for People with 

Disabilities in the United States,” op. cit. 

150 TranSystems et al., op. cit. Also see Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund and 

TranSystems Corporation, “Eligibility for ADA Paratransit,” Topic Guides on ADA 

Transportation, No. 3, op. cit. “Conditional Eligibility (Some Trips).” 

151 Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund and TranSystems Corporation, 

“Eligibility for ADA Paratransit,” Topic Guides on ADA Transportation, No. 3, op. cit.,

“Conditional Eligibility (Some Trips).”

152 FTA found inadequate consideration of all conditions affecting applicants’ travel in 

several ADA compliance reviews, including these three:

Federal Transit Administration ADA Compliance Review of Central New York 

Regional Transportation Authority, Syracuse, New York, ADA Complementary 

Paratransit Service Compliance Review, conducted April 23–26, 2007, Final 

Report dated March 5, 2008, pp. 48–49, and 51, accessed October 27, 2013, 

http://www.fta.dot.gov/civilrights/12875_3899.html. 

Federal Transit Administration ADA Compliance Review of City of Tucson 

Transit Services Division, Tucson, Arizona, ADA Complementary 

Paratransit Service Compliance Review, conducted March 24–27, 2003, 

Final Report dated April 1, 2004, pp. 24–25, accessed October 27, 2013, 

http://www.fta.dot.gov/civilrights/12875_3899.html. 

Federal Transit Administration ADA Compliance Review of Central Ohio 

Transit Authority (COTA), Columbus, Ohio, ADA Complementary 

Paratransit Service Compliance Review, conducted February 6–9, 2007, 

Final Report dated November 15, 2007, p. 43, accessed October 27, 

2013, http://www.fta.dot.gov/civilrights/12875_3899.html. 

153 Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund and TranSystems Corporation, 

“Eligibility for ADA Paratransit,” Topic Guides on ADA Transportation, No. 3, op. cit., 

“Applying Conditional Eligibility: Trip-by-Trip Eligibility.” 

154 Easter Seals PROJECT ACTION Distance Learning Session: Determining ADA 

Paratransit Eligibility: An Approach, Guidance and Training Materials, Karen Hoesch, 

Executive Director, ACCESS Transportation Systems, March 18, 2010.

155 Letter of Finding by David W. Knight, then ADA Team Leader, Office of Civil Rights, 

Federal Transit Administration, April 30, 2008, regarding FTA Complaint No. 08-0020 

against Access Services, Inc., Los Angeles, California, pp. 1–2.
377

The FTA made a similar point in these two ADA compliance reviews: 

Federal Transit Administration ADA Compliance Review of Transportation 

District Commission of Hampton Roads (Hampton Roads Transit), 

Hampton, Virginia, “Compliance Review of ADA Complementary 

Paratransit Service,” conducted October 8–11, 2002, Final Report dated 

January 28, 2005, pp. 30 & 32, accessed October 9, 2013, 

http://www.fta.dot.gov/civilrights/12875_3899.html. 

Federal Transit Administration ADA Compliance Review of Capital District 

Transportation Authority, Albany, New York, ADA Complementary 

Paratransit Service Compliance Review, conducted June 13–16, 2005, 

Final Report dated January 31, 2007, pp. 26 & 28, accessed October 9, 

2013, http://www.fta.dot.gov/civilrights/12875_3899.html. 

156 National Council on Disability, “Current State of Transportation for People with 

Disabilities in the United States,” op. cit., p. 54.

157 National Transit Institute, Comprehensive ADA Paratransit Eligibility, accessed 

October 9, 2013, http://www.ntionline.com/courses/courseinfo.php?id=8. 

158 Letter to Jacksonville Transit Authority, Jacksonville, Florida, March 23, 2009, Federal 

Transit Administration, accessed July 16, 2014, http://www.fta.dot.gov/12325_11667.html. 

159 Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund and TranSystems Corporation, 

“Eligibility for ADA Paratransit,” Topic Guides on ADA Transportation, No. 3, op. cit.,

“DO: Base Decisions on Most Limiting Condition.” 

160 Federal Transit Administration, Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County 

(METRO) ADA Complementary Paratransit Service Compliance Review, August 16–20, 

2010, pp. 45–47, accessed July 16, 2014, http://www.fta.dot.gov/documents/

Houston_METROLift_Final_Report.pdf. 

161 Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund and TranSystems Corporation, 

“Eligibility for ADA Paratransit,” Topic Guides on ADA Transportation, No. 3, op. cit.,

“DO: Manage Weather-Related Eligibility Appropriately.” 

162 FTA ADA Compliance Review of Transportation District Commission of Hampton 

Roads, op. cit., pp. 30 & 32.

163 Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund and TranSystems Corporation, 

“Eligibility for ADA Paratransit,” Topic Guides on ADA Transportation, No. 3, op. cit., 

“DON’T: Make Blanket Denials Based on Type of Disability,” based on, for example,

FTA ADA Compliance Review of City of Tucson Transit Services Division, Tucson, 

Arizona, op. cit., pp. 24–25.

164 Christopher G. Bell, Esq., op. cit.
378

165 Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund and TranSystems Corporation, 

“Eligibility for ADA Paratransit,” Topic Guides on ADA Transportation, No. 3, op. cit., 

“DO: Apply Variable Conditions Appropriately.” 

166 Federal Transit Administration ADA Compliance Review of Pierce Transit, Tacoma, 

Washington, conducted November 2007, accessed October 9, 2013, 

http://www.fta.dot.gov/civilrights/12875_3899.html. In this ADA compliance review, the 

FTA stated, “The review of sample determinations ... raised questions about whether 

riders are given a choice to participate or not participate in travel training. FTA has 

provided guidance that travel training can be offered but not required and that eligibility 

should be determined based on applicants’ current abilities to independently travel, 

without travel training, should they elect not to participate.” 

167 Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund and TranSystems Corporation, 

“Eligibility for ADA Paratransit,” Topic Guides on ADA Transportation, No. 3, op. cit., 

“DON’T: Base Eligibility on Travel Training Not Yet Completed.” 

168 Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund and TranSystems Corporation, 

“Eligibility for ADA Paratransit,” Topic Guides on ADA Transportation, No. 3, op. cit., 

“DON’T: Deny Eligibility Based on Prior, Occasional Use of the Fixed-route System.” 

169 National Council on Disability, “Current State of Transportation for People with 

Disabilities in the United States,” op. cit., p. 55.

170 Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund and TranSystems Corporation, 

“Eligibility for ADA Paratransit,” Topic Guides on ADA Transportation, No. 3, op. cit., 

“Prior Use of the Fixed-route System.”

171 Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund and TranSystems Corporation, 

“Eligibility for ADA Paratransit,” Topic Guides on ADA Transportation, No. 3, op. cit.,

“DO: Interpret Safety Issues Properly.” 

172 Federal Transit Administration ADA Compliance Review of Pierce Transit, Tacoma, 

Washington, op. cit. 

173 49 CFR § 37.125(c).

174 In many ADA compliance reviews, including the following 10, the FTA addressed 

transit agency failure to inform applicants that they have a right to service if eligibility 

decisions take longer than 21 days.

Federal Transit Administration ADA Compliance Review of Maryland 

Transit Administration (MTA), Baltimore, Maryland, Assessment of ADA 

Complementary Paratransit Service Capacity Constraints, conducted June 

17–21, 2002, Final Report dated January 16, 2003, pp. 23–24, accessed 

October 10, 2013, http://www.fta.dot.gov/civilrights/12875_3899.html. 
379

Federal Transit Administration ADA Compliance Review of Pioneer Valley 

Transit Authority, Springfield, Massachusetts, Assessment of ADA 

Complementary Paratransit Service Capacity Constraints, conducted July 

15–18, 2002, Final Report dated January 21, 2003, p. 21, accessed 

October 10, 2013, http://www.fta.dot.gov/civilrights/12875_3899.html. 

Federal Transit Administration ADA Compliance Review of RochesterGenesee Regional Transportation Authority (R-GRTA), Rochester, New 

York, Assessment of ADA Complementary Paratransit Service Capacity 

Constraints, conducted November 18–21, 2002, Final Report dated 

October 27, 2003, p. 15, accessed October 10, 2013, 

http://www.fta.dot.gov/civilrights/12875_3899.html. 

Federal Transit Administration ADA Compliance Review of Los Angeles 

County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), Los Angeles, 

California, Compliance Review of ADA Complementary Paratransit Service, 

January 27–31, 2003, Final Report dated August 2, 2004, p. 30, accessed 

October 10, 2013, http://www.fta.dot.gov/civilrights/12875_3899.html. 

Federal Transit Administration ADA Compliance Review of Transportation 

District Commission of Hampton Roads (Hampton Roads Transit), op. cit., 

pp. 30 & 32.

Federal Transit Administration ADA Compliance Review of Alameda-Contra 

Costa Transit District (AC Transit) and San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit 

District (BART), Oakland, California, Compliance Review of ADA 

Complementary Paratransit Service, conducted February 24–28, 2003, Final 

Report dated March 16, 2005, pp. 28–29, accessed October 10, 2013, 

http://www.fta.dot.gov/civilrights/12875_3899.html. 

Federal Transit Administration ADA Compliance Review of Capital District 

Transportation Authority, Albany, New York, op cit., pp. 26 & 28.

Federal Transit Administration ADA Compliance Review of Metro, St. 

Louis, Missouri, ADA Complementary Paratransit Service Compliance 

Review, conducted April 11–14, 2005, Final Report dated February 25, 

2007, p. 31, accessed October 10, 2013, 

http://www.fta.dot.gov/civilrights/12875_3899.html. 

Federal Transit Administration ADA Compliance Review of Washington 

Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA), Washington, DC, 

Assessment of ADA Complementary Paratransit Service Capacity 

Constraints, conducted September 24–28, 2001, Final Report dated June 

26, 2007, pp. 22–23, accessed October 10, 2013, 

http://www.fta.dot.gov/civilrights/12875_3899.html. 
380

Federal Transit Administration ADA Compliance Review of Delaware 

Transit Corporation, Dover, Delaware, ADA Complementary Paratransit 

Service Compliance Review, conducted May 15–18, 2007, Final Report 

dated August 29, 2008, pp. 32–33, accessed October 10, 2013, 

http://www.fta.dot.gov/civilrights/12875_3899.html. 

175 Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund and TranSystems Corporation, 

“Eligibility for ADA Paratransit,” Topic Guides on ADA Transportation, No. 3, op. cit.,

“Must Provide Service After 21 Days.” 

176 Federal Transit Administration ADA Compliance Review of Detroit Department of 

Transportation, Detroit, Michigan, Assessment of ADA Complementary Paratransit 

Service Capacity Constraints, conducted September 9–13, 2002, Final Report dated 

July 15, 2003, p. 24, accessed October 10, 2013, http://www.fta.dot.gov/civilrights/

12875_3899.html. 

177 National Transit Institute, Comprehensive ADA Paratransit Eligibility, op. cit.

178 National Council on Disability, “Current State of Transportation for People with 

Disabilities in the United States,” op. cit., p. 54.

179 Easter Seals Project ACTION, Determining ADA Paratransit Eligibility: An Approach, 

Guidance, and Training Materials, Washington, DC, August 2003, p. 5–26, accessed 

October 29, 2013, http://bussafety.fta.dot.gov/uploads/resource/3102_filename. 

180 Ibid., p. 7–31.

181 49 CFR Part 37, App. D, § 37.125.

182 In several ADA compliance reviews, including this one, the FTA found that transit 

agencies imposed requirements on applicants that may be unreasonably burdensome.

Finding: “Following the determination of eligibility, applicants must obtain a photo 

ID. This involves a trip to the COTA Customer Service Office in downtown 

Columbus. For the applicants who were asked to appear for an in-person 

interview, this means a second trip related to the eligibility process is needed 

before the service can be used. Appendix D, relating to 49 CFR Part 37.125, 

states that ‘The [eligibility determination] process may not impose unreasonable 

administrative burdens on applicants...’ Requiring applicants to make a second 

trip to get a photo ID, after submitting a paper application and then appearing for 

an in-person interview, could be considered burdensome.”

Recommendation: “COTA should streamline its eligibility determination 

process so that applicants can have their photo taken in the same trip as 

their in-person interview, so that if applicants are approved they do not 

have to make a second trip to get a photo ID.” 
381

Federal Transit Administration ADA Compliance Review of Central Ohio 

Transit Authority (COTA), op. cit., p. 43. 

183 49 CFR § 37.125(g)(1).

184 Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund and TranSystems Corporation, 

“Eligibility for ADA Paratransit,” Topic Guides on ADA Transportation, No. 3, op. cit.,

“Appeal Process for Denials of Eligibility.” 

185 Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund and TranSystems Corporation, 

“Eligibility for ADA Paratransit,” Topic Guides on ADA Transportation, No. 3, op. cit.,

“Recertification.” 

186 Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. § 2000d et seq., as amended.

187 Personal communication, Suzi Bernais, Disability Rights California, January 28, 2011.

188 File a Title VI Complaint with the FTA, accessed July 23, 2014, 

http://www.fta.dot.gov/civilrights/12328_5104.html. 

189 Alice Ritchhart, op. cit. 

190 National Council on Disability, “Current State of Transportation for People with 

Disabilities in the United States,” op. cit., p. 57.

191 Anderson v. Rochester-Genesee Regional Transportation Authority, 337 F.3d 201, 

(2nd Cir. 2003).

192 Anderson, 337 F.3d at 215 (quoting Letter Brief of the United States at 5 

(October 25, 2002)).

193 Interview, John Day, ADA team leader and Senior Equal Opportunity Specialist, and 

Dawn Sweet, Equal Opportunity Specialist, Federal Transit Administration Office of Civil 

Rights, March 11, 2013.

194 Jonathan Klein and Susan Clark, FTA Office of Civil Rights, “Items from Selected 

Topics in Paratransit Operations,” Project ACTION Distance Learning Session, 

March 17, 2009.

195 Federal Transit Administration ADA Compliance Review of Fresno Area Express, 

Fresno, California, Dec. 10–13, 2007, p. 15, accessed July 16, 2014,

http://www.fta.dot.gov/documents/FAX_Final_Report.pdf. 

196 Department of Transportation, 49 CFR Parts 37 and 38, Final Rule, op. cit., p. 57931.

197 Transit Access Report, “FTA Review in Savannah, Georgia, Finds Undercount of 

Denials,” June 11, 2013, p. 6.
382

198 The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) at 42 U.S.C. § 12143(c)(3), accessed 

October 14, 2013, https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/42/12143, and the 

Department of Transportation (DOT) ADA regulation at 49 CFR § 37.131 and 49 CFR 

Part 37, App. D, § 37.131, accessed October 14, 2013, http://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/textidx?c=ecfr&SID=d315855e2f2c9f940970f4c191349c12&rgn=div5&view=

text&node=49:1.0.1.1.27&idno=49. 

199 National Council on Disability, “Current State of Transportation for People with 

Disabilities in the United States,” op. cit., p. 69.

200 An FTA letter pursuant to an earlier DOJ and DOT, FTA investigation found that a transit 

agency “must design and implement its system to avoid busy signals and achieve minimal 

telephone wait times.” DOT, FTA Letter by Michael A. Winter to Christine Malafi, County 

Attorney, Suffolk County Department of Law, Hauppauge, New York, February 15, 2007, 

accessed March 27, 2015 at http://www.fta.dot.gov/printer_friendly/12325_10295.html. 

201 Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund and TranSystems Corporation, 

“Telephone Hold Time in ADA Paratransit,” Topic Guides on ADA Transportation, No. 4, 

“Introduction,” June 2010, accessed October 14, 2013, at http://dredf.org/ADAtg/. 

202 Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund and TranSystems Corporation, 

“Telephone Hold Time in ADA Paratransit,” Topic Guides on ADA Transportation, No. 4, 

op. cit., “Best Practices in Telephone Hold Times.” 

203 In several ADA compliance reviews, including these two, the FTA stated that 

measuring telephone hold times by the maximum allowable time is clearly preferred to 

measuring hold times by the average hold time.

Federal Transit Administration ADA Compliance Review of City of Tucson 

Transit Services Division, op. cit., p. 32.

Federal Transit Administration ADA Compliance Review of Metro, St. 

Louis, Missouri, op. cit., p. 38 and 39.

204 Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund and TranSystems Corporation, 

“Telephone Hold Time in ADA Paratransit,” Topic Guides on ADA Transportation, No. 4, 

op. cit., “Best Method: Maximum Allowable Hold Times.” 

205 Ibid. 

206 Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund and TranSystems Corporation, 

“Telephone Hold Time in ADA Paratransit,” Topic Guides on ADA Transportation, No. 4, 

op. cit., “Another Method: Hourly Average of Hold Times.” 

207 Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund and TranSystems Corporation, 

“Telephone Hold Time in ADA Paratransit,” Topic Guides on ADA Transportation, No. 4, 

op. cit., “Another Method: Hourly Average of Hold Times,” based on FTA compliance 

reviews quoted in the Topic Guide.
383

208 Transit Access Report, “Recording of ADA Trip Denials Was an Issue in Fresno 

Review,” September 25, 2013, p. 3.

209 Transit Access Report, “Letter to Fresno Gives Reasons for Planning New ADA 

Review,” September 25, 2013, p. 5.

210 Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund and TranSystems Corporation, 

“Telephone Hold Time in ADA Paratransit,” Topic Guides on ADA Transportation, No. 4, 

op. cit., “‘Where’s My Ride’ Calls.” 

211 American Public Transportation Association (APTA), Accessibility Call Center Working

Group, Recommended Practices for Handling ADA Complementary Paratransit 

“Where’s My Ride?” Calls, draft version released for public comment, May 15, 2009, 

pp. 4–5, accessed April 16, 2015, http://www.projectaction.org/Portals/3/Documents/

Training/APTA%20WheresMyRide-final.doc. 

212 This FTA ADA compliance review addressed the importance of an adequate number 

of dispatchers to avoid creating a bottleneck in the system that causes overly long 

secondary holds and makes dispatchers unavailable to handle other calls.

DOT FTA ADA Compliance Review of Pierce Transit, Tacoma, 

Washington, op. cit. 

213 Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund and TranSystems Corporation, 

“Telephone Hold Time in ADA Paratransit,” Topic Guides on ADA Transportation, No. 4, 

op. cit., “Secondary Holds.” 

214 Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund and TranSystems Corporation, 

“Telephone Hold Time in ADA Paratransit,” Topic Guides on ADA Transportation, No. 4, 

op. cit., “No Busy Signals.” 

215 Michael Winter, Letter, op. cit.. 

216 Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund and TranSystems Corporation, 

“Telephone Hold Time in ADA Paratransit,” Topic Guides on ADA Transportation, No. 4, 

op. cit., “No Busy Signals.” 

217 In this ADA compliance review, the FTA found that a limit on the number of trips a 

caller may arrange on a single telephone call can increase hold times due to the need 

for repeated customer calls.

Finding: “Metro accepts only four one-way trip requests per call during 

peak call times. This policy can increase the length of telephone queues 

by requiring reservationists to handle multiple calls rather than one to 

serve one customer and placing multiple calls rather than one in the 

phone queue.” 
384

Federal Transit Administration ADA Compliance Review of Metro, St. 

Louis, Missouri, op. cit., p. 39.

218 Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund and TranSystems Corporation, 

“Telephone Hold Time in ADA Paratransit,” Topic Guides on ADA Transportation, No. 4, 

op. cit., “Avoid Limits on the Number of Trip Requests Per Call.” 

219 Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund and TranSystems Corporation, 

“Telephone Hold Time in ADA Paratransit,” Topic Guides on ADA Transportation, No. 4, 

op. cit. “Communication Access.” 

220 CFR § 37.165(f) and 49 CFR Part 37, App. D, § 37.165.

221 Origin to Destination Service, Disability Law Guidance, U.S. Department of 

Transportation, September 1, 2005, accessed October 20, 2013, 

http://www.fta.dot.gov/12325_3891.html. 

222 With regard to its legal authority, the DOT Disability Law Guidance on Origin to 

Destination Service states, “This guidance has been approved through the Department 

of Transportation’s Disability Law Coordinating Council as representing the official views 

of the Department on this matter.” DOT enforces the public transit provisions of the 

ADA, and its enforcement actions carry out the views in its guidance.

223 A fundamental alteration is a modification that is so significant that it alters the 

essential nature of the services offered. See 42 U.S.C. §12182(b)(2)(a)(ii) and 28 CFR

§ 36.302; and 42 U.S.C. § 12182(b)(2)(A)(ii), 28 CFR §35.130(b)(7) and 28 CFR Part 

35, App. A, § 35.130(b)(7). See also PGA Tour, Inc. v. Martin, 532 U.S. 661 (2001), and 

additional potentially relevant judicial authority including Burkhart v. Washington 

Metropolitan Transit Auth., 112 F.3d 1207 (D.C. Cir. 1997); Melton v. Dallas Area Rapid 

Transit, 391 F.3d 669 (5th Cir. 2004); and Boose v. Tri-County Metropolitan Trans. Dist. 

of Oregon, 587 F.3d 997 (9th Cir. 2009).] or “undue burden.” 

224 Undue burden means significant difficulty or expense. Determination of what 

constitutes an undue burden must be made on a case-by-case basis, based on the 

resources of the covered entity. If a requested action is an undue burden, the covered 

entity must provide an alternative action that would not be an undue burden, if one exists, 

which would ensure, to the maximum extent possible, that individuals with disabilities 

receive the services offered by the covered entity. This “undue burden” concept was first 

identified in Southeastern Community College v. Davis, 442 U.S. 397 (1979), prior to the 

ADA. See also 42 U.S.C. § 12182(b)(2)(A)(iii), 28 CFR §§ 36.104, 36.303, and 28 CFR

Part 36, App. B, §§ 36.104, 36.303; and 42 U.S.C. § 12134(b), 28 CFR §§ 35.150(a)(3), 

35.164 and 28 CFR Part 35, App. A, § 35.150(a)(3). Additional potentially relevant judicial 

authority includes Burkhart v. Washington Metropolitan Transit Auth., 112 F.3d 1207 

(D.C. Cir. 1997), Melton v. Dallas Area Rapid Transit, 391 F.3d 669 (5th Cir. 2004), and 

Boose v. Tri-County Metropolitan Trans. Dist. of Oregon, 587 F.3d 997 (9th Cir. 2009).
385

225 Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund and TranSystems Corporation, “Originto-Destination Service in ADA Paratransit,” Topic Guides on ADA Transportation, No. 5, 

“Transit Policies and Operational Issues,” June 2010, accessed October 17, 2013, at 

http://dredf.org/ADAtg/. 

226 Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund and TranSystems Corporation, “Originto-Destination Service in ADA Paratransit,” Topic Guides on ADA Transportation, No. 5, 

“Decision #1: Whether to Provide Door-to-Door Service For All Trips,” June 2010, 

accessed October 17, 2013, at http://dredf.org/ADAtg/. 

227 Richard DeRock, General Manager, Link Transit, Wenatchee, Washington, 

Comments on Department of Transportation Docket OST-2006-23985, April 19, 2006, 

p. 4.

228 National Academy of Sciences, Transit Cooperative Research Program (TCRP) 

Synthesis 60, Practices in No-Show and Late Cancellation Policies for ADA Paratransit, 

Transportation Research Board, Washington, DC, 2005 (research conducted in 2004), 

p. 10.

229 National Council on Disability, “Current State of Transportation for People with 

Disabilities in the United States,” op. cit., p. 80.

230 MetroAccess Door-to-Door Service Policy, Washington Metropolitan Area Transit 

Authority, 2008.

231 Richard DeRock, General Manager, Link Transit, Wenatchee, Washington,

Comments on Department of Transportation Docket OST-2006-23985, April 19, 2006, 

p. 4.

232 MetroAccess Door-to-Door Service Policy, op. cit.

233 Personal communication with a California disability services program director who 

wished to remain anonymous, May 2006.

234 Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund and TranSystems Corporation, “Originto-Destination Service in ADA Paratransit,” Topic Guides on ADA Transportation, No. 5, 

op. cit., “Local Policies Vary.” 

235 Karen Hoesch, Executive Director, ACCESS Transportation Systems, Pittsburgh, 

Pennsylvania, personal communication, January 3, 2007.

236 Julie Carroll, Senior Attorney Advisor, National Council on Disability, Washington, 

DC, personal communication, February 23, 2009.

237 Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund and TranSystems Corporation, “Originto-Destination Service in ADA Paratransit,” Topic Guides on ADA Transportation, No. 5, 

op. cit., “Identifying Passengers.” 
386

238 Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund and TranSystems Corporation, “Originto-Destination Service in ADA Paratransit,” Topic Guides on ADA Transportation, No. 5, 

op. cit., “Operational Judgment Needed.” 

239 Where otherwise unstated, the material in this section is derived from “Origin-toDestination Service in ADA Paratransit,” Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund 

and TranSystems Corporation, Topic Guides on ADA Transportation, No. 5, op. cit.,

“Additional Examples: When Is Door-to-Door Service Required?” 

240 Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority, Riding the T, Accessible Services, Guide to 

the Ride Service, p. 10, accessed March 26, 2015, http://www.mbta.com/uploadedFiles/

documents/RIDEGUIDE010107R1.5.pdf. 

241 The Metropolitan Transportation Authority New York City Transit, Guide to Access-A-Ride 

Service, accessed March 27, 2015, http://web.mta.info/nyct/paratran/guide.htm#assistance. 

242 Easter Seals Project ACTION Distance Learning Session: Determining ADA 

Paratransit Eligibility: An Approach, Guidance and Training Materials, Part 1, Karen 

Hoesch, op. cit.

243 Easter Seals Project ACTION Audio Conference, Open Mic—What’s on Your Mind—

A General Session on the ADA, November 9, 2005, with and Cheryl Hershey and David 

Knight, U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Transit Administration, Office of 

Civil Rights.

244 Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund and TranSystems Corporation, “Originto-Destination Service in ADA Paratransit,” Topic Guides on ADA Transportation, No. 5, 

op. cit., “Public Input in the Planning Process.” 

245 Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund and TranSystems Corporation, “Originto-Destination Service in ADA Paratransit,” Topic Guides on ADA Transportation, No. 5, 

op. cit., “Vehicle Operator Training.” 

246 DOT, FTA Compliance Review, Metropolitan Transit System, San Diego, California, 

Final Report dated June 4, 2009, pp. 31 & 32, accessed October 15, 2013, 

http://www.fta.dot.gov/civilrights/12875_3899.html. 

247 Debra Mair, Executive Director, Utah Independent Living Center, Salt Lake City, 

Utah, personal communication, February 5, 2013, and Andy Curry, Director, Roads to 

Independence, Ogden, Utah, personal communication, February 5, 2013.

248 Utah Transit Authority Paratransit Rider’s Guide, revised September 2012, p. 14. At 

the time of this writing in November 2013, a check on the UTA website for possibly 

updated Rider’s Guide language found only this note: “See also: Paratransit Rider’s 

Guide (coming soon),” accessed November 27, 2013, http://www.rideuta.com/mc/

?page=RidingUTA-Accessibility-ParatransitServices. 

249 Interview, Richard Devylder, op. cit. 
387

250 Alice Ritchhart, op. cit. 

251 Interview, Tracee Garner, Outreach Coordinator, Loudoun (Virginia) ENDependence 

(LEND) Center, January 15, 2013.

252 Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund and TranSystems Corporation, “OnTime Performance in ADA Paratransit,” Topic Guides on ADA Transportation, No. 6, 

“Using the One-Hour Scheduling Window Correctly,” June 2010, accessed October 21, 

2013, at http://dredf.org/ADAtg/. 

253 Federal Transit Administration ADA Compliance Review of Rochester-Genesee 

Regional Transportation Authority (R-GRTA), op. cit., p. 46.

254 Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund and TranSystems Corporation, “OnTime Performance in ADA Paratransit,” Topic Guides on ADA Transportation, No. 6, op. 

cit., “Using the One-Hour Scheduling Window Correctly.” 

255 FTA findings regarding the need to consider appointment times have appeared in 

several ADA compliance reviews, including these three:

Federal Transit Administration ADA Compliance Review of Metropolitan 

Tulsa Transit Authority, Tulsa, Oklahoma, Assessment of ADA 

Complementary Paratransit Service Capacity Constraints, conducted 

March 11–14, 2002, Final Report dated October 3, 2002, p. 39, accessed 

April 16, 2015, http://www.fta.dot.gov/documents/Tulsa_Final_

Report_021003.doc. 

Federal Transit Administration ADA Compliance Review of RochesterGenesee Regional Transportation Authority (R-GRTA), op. cit., p. 46, 

accessed April 16, 2015, http://www.fta.dot.gov/documents/Rochester_

Final_Report_031027.doc. 

Federal Transit Administration ADA Compliance Review of Southeastern 

Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA), Philadelphia, 

Pennsylvania, Assessment of ADA Complementary Paratransit Service 

Capacity Constraints, conducted March 6–10, 2000, Final Report dated 

November 17, 2000, p. 54, accessed April 16, 2015, 

http://www.fta.dot.gov/documents/Philadephia_Final_Report_001117.doc. 

256 DOT, FTA Letter to Rochester-Genesee Regional Transportation Authority, 

October 27, 2003, by Michael Winter, as discussed in Transit Access Report, Option 

Urged for ADA Riders to State Desired Arrival Time, Pace Publications, November 25, 

2003, p. 5.

257 Ibid., p. 45.
388

258 Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund and TranSystems Corporation, “OnTime Performance in ADA Paratransit,” Topic Guides on ADA Transportation, No. 6, op. 

cit., “Using the One-Hour Scheduling Window Correctly.” 

259 DOT, ADA Compliance Review Final Reports, Paratransit, New York City Transit, 

New York, New York (NYCT), October 22, 2004, pp. 58 & 65, accessed March 27, 

2015, http://www.fta.dot.gov/civilrights/12875_3899.html. 

260 Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund and TranSystems Corporation, “OnTime Performance in ADA Paratransit,” Topic Guides on ADA Transportation, No. 6, op. 

cit., “Negotiated Time Versus Scheduled Time.” 

261 DOT, FTA ADA Compliance Review Final Reports, Paratransit, Sun Metro LIFT,

El Paso, Texas, May 24, 2001, p. 22, accessed March 27, 2015, 

http://www.fta.dot.gov/civilrights/12875_3899.html. 

262 DOT, FTA ‘ADA Compliance Review, Birmingham Jefferson County Transit Authority 

(BJCTA), Final Report October 25, 2002, p. 51, Memphis Area Transit Authority 

(MATA), Final Report August 1, 2000, p. 30, accessed March 27, 2015, 

http://www.fta.dot.gov/civilrights/12875_3899.html. 

263 Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund and TranSystems Corporation, “OnTime Performance in ADA Paratransit,” Topic Guides on ADA Transportation, No. 6, op. 

cit., “Negotiated Time Versus Scheduled Time.” 

264 Transit Access Report, “ADA Complaint Spurs a Review of when Pickup Window

Starts,” September 10, 2013, pp. 1 & 6.

265 Many FTA ADA compliance reviews have addressed the need for transit agencies to 

monitor all aspects of on-time performance, not only pickups. DOT, FTA ADA 

Compliance Review of Memphis Area Transit Authority, op. cit., p. 30.

266 Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund and TranSystems Corporation, “OnTime Performance in ADA Paratransit,” Topic Guides on ADA Transportation, No. 6, op. 

cit., “The Pickup Window.” 

267 Transit Access Report, September 10, 2013, op. cit.

268 In a draft ADA compliance review of the Autoridad Metropolitana de Autobuses 

(AMA) paratransit service in San Juan, Puerto Rico, the FTA found that the AMA 

60-minute pickup window can result in service that is not comparable to fixed-route

service and can result in untimely pickups, and appears to be a capacity constraint. It 

also stated that pickup windows up to 30 minutes are the industry standard, and result 

in wait times that are more comparable to that of the fixed-route service. Federal Transit 

Administration ADA Compliance Review of Autoridad Metropolitana de Autobuses 

(AMA), San Juan, Puerto Rico, conducted October 2007 (draft).
389

269 Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund and TranSystems Corporation, “OnTime Performance in ADA Paratransit,” Topic Guides on ADA Transportation, No. 6, op. 

cit., “Avoid Very Early As Well As Late Pickups.” 

270 In many ADA compliance reviews, including these five– Central New York Regional 

Transportation Authority (Syracuse, NY), Palm Tran Incorporated (Palm Beach County, 

FL), New York City Transit (NY), Pierce Transit (Tacoma, WA), Pioneer Valley Transit 

Authority (Springfield, MA), FTA expressed concern about the numbers of early pickups 

and the pressuring of passengers to board early.

DOT, FTA ADA Compliance Review, accessed March 27, 2015, 

http://www.fta.dot.gov/civilrights/12875_3899.html. 

271 Letter of Finding by John R. Day, Acting ADA Team Leader, Office of Civil Rights, 

Federal Transit Administration, December 18, 2008, regarding FTA Complaint No. 

07-0203 against Access Transportation, the King County Metro paratransit service, 

Seattle metropolitan area, Washington State.

272 Michael A. Winter, then Director, Federal Transit Administration Office of Civil Rights, 

letter to Rochester-Genesee Regional Transportation Authority (RGRTA), October 27, 

2003, as discussed in Transit Access Report, November 25, 2003, op. cit., p. 5.

273 A number of other FTA ADA compliance reviews, including these five, found 

problematic patterns of late arrivals that could form a capacity constraint. For example, 

one review stated, “The goal for on-time drop-offs is 91%. This goal would result in 

people being late for appointments for almost one in ten trips. Someone who uses [this 

service] to commute to work could be late once every two weeks while still achieving 

this performance goal.” DOT, FTA ADA Compliance Review Final Reports, accessed

October 21, 2013 at http://www.fta.dot.gov/civilrights/12875_3899.html. 

274 National Transit Institute, Paratransit Scheduling and Dispatching Fundamentals. 

Also, FTA ADA compliance reviews consider drop-offs that are more than 30 minutes 

early and make a formal finding if there are a large percentage of drop-offs that early. 

Early drop-offs were singled out by the FTA as a problem in these four ADA compliance 

reviews: Pierce Transit (Tacoma, WA), Central New York Regional Transportation 

Authority, (Syracuse, NY), City of Tucson Transit Services Division (AZ), and Capital 

District Transportation Authority (Albany, NY). 

275 Many FTA ADA compliance reviews have found a problematic lack of tracking of 

various aspects of on-time performance, due to the lack of a drop-off window or a failure 

to measure timely or too-early drop-offs. Several such findings restated the FTA concern 

that “For many trips, such as medical, work, school, and business appointments, on-time 

drop-offs are more important to the customer than on-time pickups.” Ibid. 

276 Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund and TranSystems Corporation, “OnTime Performance in ADA Paratransit,” Topic Guides on ADA Transportation, No. 6, op. 

cit., “On-Time Drop-offs and the Drop-off Window.” 
390

277 Russell Thatcher (TranSystems Corporation) during teleconference with Easter 

Seals Project ACTION, ADA National Network (DBTACs), “Promising Practices and 

Solutions in Accessible Transportation: Paratransit Operations Series,” February 17, 

2010.

278 Federal Transit Administration, Americans with Disabilities Act Circular C 4710.1, 

Amendment 1, Draft Chapters for Public Comment, op. cit., p. 8-16.

279 Ibid. 

280 Several FTA Letters of Finding, including these two, and most FTA ADA compliance 

reviews, including this one, have determined whether the paratransit ride time was 

allowable by basing it on the fixed-route time to reach the same destination from the 

same origin.

Letter of Finding by David W. Knight, then ADA Team Leader, Office of 

Civil Rights, Federal Transit Administration, July 30, 2008, regarding FTA 

complaint No. 07-0286 against St. Louis Metro, St. Louis, Missouri.

Letter of Finding by John R. Day, Acting ADA Team Leader, Office of Civil 

Rights, Federal Transit Administration, December 18, 2008, regarding FTA 

Complaint No. 07-0203 against Access Transportation, the King County 

Metro paratransit service, Seattle metropolitan area, Washington State.

Federal Transit Administration ADA Compliance Review of Central New 

York Regional Transportation Authority, Syracuse, op. cit., p. 84.

281 National Council on Disability, “Current State of Transportation for People with 

Disabilities in the United States,” op. cit., p. 69.

282 49 CFR § 37.133(b) and 49 CFR Part 37, App. D, § 37.133.

283 Easter Seals Project ACTION, “Paratransit Operations Q&A” with Sue Clark and 

Dawn Sweet, FTA Office of Civil Rights, http://www.projectaction.org/Portals/3/

Documents/Training/Paratransit%20Operations%20with%20FTA%20Transcript.pdf. 

The FTA recommended accepting all requests for subscription service, in order to 

reduce the number of on-call trips that must be addressed in the reservations and 

scheduling process. DOT, FTA ADA Compliance Review of Toledo Area Regional 

Transit Authority (Toledo, Ohio), ADA Complementary Paratransit Service Capacity 

Constraints, Final Report September 10, 2001, p. 32, accessed October 22, 2013, 

http://www.fta.dot.gov/civilrights/12875_3899.html. 

284 Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund and TranSystems Corporation, “On-Time 

Performance in ADA Paratransit,” Topic Guides on ADA Transportation, No. 6, op. cit.

285 Federal Transit Administration, Americans with Disabilities Act Circular C 4710.1, 

Amendment 1, Draft Chapters for Public Comment, op. cit., pp. 8–20.
391

286 National Council on Disability, “Current State of Transportation for People with 

Disabilities in the United States,” op. cit., p. 73.

287 Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Department of Transportation (DOT) 

regulation at 49 C.F.R § 37.125(h) and 49 CFR Part 37, App. D, § 37.125, accessed 

October 24, 2013, http://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?c=ecfr&SID=d315855e2f2c9f94

0970f4c191349c12&rgn=div5&view=text&node=49:1.0.1.1.27&idno=49. 

288 National Council on Disability, “Current State of Transportation for People with 

Disabilities in the United States,” op. cit., p. 76.

289 Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund and TranSystems Corporation, “NoShows in ADA Paratransit,” Topic Guides on ADA Transportation, No. 7, 

“Recommended No-Show Procedures,” June 2010, accessed October 24, 2013, 

http://dredf.org/ADAtg/. 

290 National Council on Disability, “Current State of Transportation for People with 

Disabilities in the United States,” op. cit., p. 73.

291 49 CFR Part 37, App. D, § 37.125, originally published at 56 Fed. Reg. 45747 

(Sept. 6, 1991).

292 National Council on Disability, “Current State of Transportation for People with 

Disabilities in the United States,” op. cit., p. 75. 

293 49 CFR § 37.125(h)(1).

294 National Council on Disability, “Current State of Transportation for People with 

Disabilities in the United States,” op. cit. 

295 Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund and TranSystems Corporation, “NoShows in ADA Paratransit,” Topic Guides on ADA Transportation, No. 7, op. cit., “What 

Is Beyond the Rider’s Control?” 

296 National Academy of Sciences, Transit Cooperative Research Program (TCRP) op. 

cit., pp. 16–17. 

297 National Council on Disability, “Current State of Transportation for People with 

Disabilities in the United States,” op. cit., p. 74.

298 DOT, FTA Letter by Michael Winter, to Richard White, Washington Metropolitan Area 

Transit Authority, December 22, 2003.

299 In several ADA compliance reviews, including these four—Gary Public 

Transportation Corporation (Gary, IN), Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation 

Authority, Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District and San Francisco Bay Area Rapid 

Transit District (Oakland, CA), City of Tucson Transit Services Division (AZ)—the FTA 

has found that transit agency no-show policies may be overly restrictive even when the 
392

transit agencies have not suspended any riders recently for excessive no-shows. DOT, 

FTA ADA Compliance Review, ADA Complementary Paratransit Service Final Reports, 

accessed October 24, 2013, http://www.fta.dot.gov/civilrights/12875_3899.html. 

300 Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund and TranSystems Corporation, “NoShows in ADA Paratransit,” Topic Guides on ADA Transportation, No. 7, op. cit.,

“Consider the Frequency of Trips Missed.” 

301 Transit Access Report, Proportional No-Show Policy Adopted in Ann Arbor, 

Michigan,” August 25, 2010, p. 5.

302 Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund and TranSystems Corporation, “NoShows in ADA Paratransit,” Topic Guides on ADA Transportation, No. 7, op. cit.,

“Pattern or Practice Means Both Substantial Number and Above-Average Frequency.” 

303 “We find EBPC policy to cancel automatically a return trip if the rider was a ‘no show’ 

for the first half of the trip not acceptable.” Letter of Finding by Cheryl L. Hershey, then 

ADA Group Leader, Office of Civil Rights, Federal Transit Administration, February 27, 

2001, regarding FTA Complaint No. 00055 against Alameda-Contra Costa Transit 

District, Oakland, California, p. 2. Also National Transit Institute, Paratransit Scheduling 

and Dispatching Fundamentals. 

304 Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund and TranSystems Corporation, “NoShows in ADA Paratransit,” Topic Guides on ADA Transportation, No. 7, op. cit., “Don’t 

Cancel the Return Trip.” 

305 Transit Access Report, “Rights Office Plans to Respond To Policy on Subsequent 

Trips,” June 22, 2013, p. 1.

306 Transit Access Report, “Bad Hygiene Called ‘Disruptive’ In Analysis of ADA 

Suspension,” October 20, 2013, p. 6.

307 Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund and TranSystems Corporation, “NoShows in ADA Paratransit,” Topic Guides on ADA Transportation, No. 7, op. cit.,

“Alerting the Rider of No-Shows.” 

308 Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund and TranSystems Corporation, “NoShows in ADA Paratransit,” Topic Guides on ADA Transportation, No. 7, op. cit.,

“Notification Before Suspensions.” 

309 DOT, FTA ADA Compliance Review of Central New York Regional Transportation 

Authority, Syracuse, op. cit., pp. 50 & 51. 

310 Easter Seals Project ACTION Distance Learning Session, Selected Topics in 

Paratransit Operations, Transcript of remarks by Jonathan Klein, Federal Transit 

Administration Region 9, and Sue Clark, Federal Transit Administration Office of Civil 

Rights, March 17, 2009, p. 7.
393

311 In this ADA compliance review, the FTA found that a transit agency may not charge 

riders for fares related to no-shows or late cancellations as a condition of reinstatement 

of the service, and that financial penalties are acceptable only in lieu of a suspension, at 

the rider’s option. DOT, FTA ADA Compliance Review of Metropolitan Transit System 

(MTS), San Diego, California, op. cit., pp. 53 & 55. 

312 Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund and TranSystems Corporation, “NoShows in ADA Paratransit,” Topic Guides on ADA Transportation, No. 7, op. cit.,

“Financial Penalties—Optional Only.” 

313 Transit Access Report, “FTA Rejects Mandatory Fines For ‘No-Shows’ by ADA 

Riders,” November 26, 2012, p. 1.

314 49 CFR Part 37, App. D, § 37.125, op. cit.

315 Ibid. 

316 Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund and TranSystems Corporation, “NoShows in ADA Paratransit,” Topic Guides on ADA Transportation, No. 7, op. cit.,

“Appeal Process for No-Show Suspensions.” 

317 Ibid. 

318 Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund and TranSystems Corporation, “NoShows in ADA Paratransit,” Topic Guides on ADA Transportation, No. 7, op. cit., “NoStrand Policies.” 

319 National Council on Disability, “Current State of Transportation for People with 

Disabilities in the United States,” op. cit., p. 76.

320 Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund and TranSystems Corporation, “NoShows in ADA Paratransit,” Topic Guides on ADA Transportation, No. 7, op. cit.,

“Functional Equivalent of a No-Show.” 

321 DOT, FTA ADA Compliance Review of Central Ohio Transit Authority, op. cit., p. 43.

322 Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund and TranSystems Corporation, “NoShows in ADA Paratransit,” Topic Guides on ADA Transportation, No. 7, op. cit.,

“Functional Equivalent of a No-Show.” 

323 Transit Access Report, “FTA Says It Will Put in Writing the Issues That Draw 

Reviews,” March 11, 2013, p.3. 

324 Ibid. 

325 Transit Access Report, “Rights Office Disputes Penalty for a ‘Same-Day’ 

Cancellation,” July 25, 2013, p. 1.
394

326 Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund and TranSystems Corporation, “NoShows in ADA Paratransit,” Topic Guides on ADA Transportation, No. 7, op. cit.

327 Toby Olson, Executive Secretary, Washington State Governor’s Committee on 

Disability Issues and Employment, personal communication, November 19, 2013.

328 The Changing Paradigm for Paratransit, Easter Seals Project ACTION, “Looking 

Within and Without: Moving a Transit Agency and a Transit Association toward 

Embracing Paratransit,” op. cit.

329 National Research Council, Transportation Research Board Transportation 

Cooperative Research Program Report 9, “Transit Operations for Individuals with 

Disabilities,” 1995, accessed March 27, 2015, http://onlinepubs.trb.org/onlinepubs/

tcrp/tcrp_rpt_09-a.pdf.

330 Based on TranSystems Corp., Regional Paratransit Study, Regional Public 

Transportation Authority, Phoenix, AZ, 2008.

331 Ibid. 

332 As one of many examples, Transit Access Report, “FTA Turns Down a Rider’s Bid 

for Vehicle with Reclining Seat,” February 25, 2009, p. 1. A passenger was able to 

obtain a vehicle with a reclining seat under a previous service contract; the new contract 

did not include any vehicles in the fleet with this feature.

333 Transit Access Report, “Rights Office, Reversing Itself, Rules out Side-Facing 

Travel,” January 12, 2009, p. 4, quoting an FTA Letter of Finding to Santa Cruz Metro 

regarding side-facing securement for a particular passenger, among other matters, 

dated August 14, 2008.

334 Scott Crawford, personal communication, October 21, 2013.

335 Interview, Richard Weiner, Principal, Nelson\Nygaard Consulting Associates, 

September 16 and 24, 2013. Additional information from other sources has been 

inserted, as identified.

336 49 CFR § 37.123(f).

337 DOT, FTA Letter of Finding by Cheryl L. Hershey, former ADA Group Leader, Office 

of Civil Rights, FTA Complaint No. 99096, December 31, 2003, accessed March 27, 

2015, http://www.fta.dot.gov/civilrights/12875_3899.html. 

338 Karen Hoesch, Executive Director of ACCESS Transportation Systems, Pittsburgh, 

Pennsylvania, speaking at Alameda County Mobility Workshop, Ed Roberts Campus, 

Berkeley, California, July 16, 2012.

339 National Council on Disability, “Current State of Transportation for People with 

Disabilities in the United States,” op. cit., p. 93.
395

340 Russell Thatcher, TranSystems Corporation, personal communications, July 30, 

2004, & November 4, 2013.

341 Tracee Garner, op. cit.

342 Jan Campbell, op. cit.

343 DOT Disability Law Guidance, accessed October 1, 2013, http://www.fta.dot.gov/

12325_3886.html. 

344 Transit Access Report, “Official Says FTA Will Enforce New ADA Paratransit 

Guidance,” Volume 13, Number 6 (November 25, 2005), p. 1.

345 National Council on Disability, “Current State of Transportation for People with 

Disabilities in the United States,” op. cit., p. 101.

346 ADA Compliance Review Final Reports, accessed October 1, 2013, 

http://www.fta.dot.gov/civilrights/12875_3899.html. 

347 National Council on Disability, “Current State of Transportation for People with 

Disabilities in the United States,” op. cit., pp. 101–102.

348 This reflects what was posted on the FTA “ADA Compliance Review Final Reports” 

website in November 2013; accessed November 1, 2013, 

http://www.fta.dot.gov/civilrights/12875_3899.html. 

349 U.S. Government Accountability Office, “Highlights of GAO-13-17,” a report to the 

Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, U.S. Senate. November 15, 2012.

350 Transit Access Report, “GAO Report Focuses Attention On FTA’s Compliance 

Reviews,” December 10, 2012, p. 1.

351 Transit Access Report, “FTA Says It Will Put in Writing The Issues That Draw 

Reviews,” March 11, 2013, p. 3.

352 Richard Devylder, former Senior Advisor for Accessible Transportation for U.S. DOT, 

personal communication, October 23, 2013; Cliff Perez, interview, op. cit.; and Christopher S. 

Hart, U.S. Access Board Public Member and former Director of Urban and Transit Projects, 

Institute for Human Centered Design, personal communication, November 13, 2013.

353 Richard Devylder, personal communication, October 3, 2013. 

354 This reflects what was posted on the FTA “ADA Compliance Review Final Reports” 

website; accessed March 31, 2014, http://www.fta.dot.gov/civilrights/12875_3899.html. 

355 This reflects what was posted on the FTA “ADA Compliance Review Final Reports” 

website on August 12, 2014; accessed August 12, 2014, http://www.fta.dot.gov/

civilrights/12875_3899.html. 
396

356 Federal Transit Administration, Central Midlands Regional Transit Authority 

Paratransit Compliance Review Final Report, Columbia, South Carolina, conducted 

January 6–9, 2014, Final Report dated June 30, 2014, accessed August 13, 2014, 

http://www.fta.dot.gov/civilrights/12875_3899.html. 

357 Federal Transit Administration, Metropolitan Council Paratransit Compliance Review 

Final Report, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota, conducted September 30–October 4, 

2013, Final Report dated March 17, 2014, accessed August 13, 2014, 

http://www.fta.dot.gov/civilrights/12875_3899.html. 

358 Toby Olson, Executive Secretary of the Washington State Governor’s Committee on 

Disability Issues and Employment, personal communication, August 14, 2014.

359 Ibid. 

360 Federal Transit Administration, Central Midlands Regional Transit Authority 

Paratransit Compliance Review Final Report, Columbia, South Carolina, Section 5.8, 

“Reasonable Policies for Proposed Service Suspensions for Missing Scheduled Trips 

and the Right to Appeal,” pp. 38–41, conducted January 6–9, 2014, Final Report dated 

June 30, 2014, accessed August 13, 2014, http://www.fta.dot.gov/civilrights/

12875_3899.html. 

361 Toby Olson, Executive Secretary of the Washington State Governor’s Committee on 

Disability Issues and Employment, personal communication, August 14, 2014.

362 Ibid. 

363 Rider Complaint Form, Federal Transit Administration Office of Civil Rights, 

accessed July 23, 2014, http://www.fta.dot.gov/civilrights/12875_14816.html. 

364 U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Transit Administration, Letters of Finding 

According to Subject, accessed October 23, 2013, http://www.fta.dot.gov/civilrights/

12875_3900.html. 

365 Transit Cooperative Research Program Legal Research Digest 23, The Americans 

with Disabilities Act: The Federal Transit Administration’s Letters of Findings and 

Compliance Assessments, July 2007, Transportation Research Board of the National 

Academies, accessed October 23, 2013, http://www.trb.org/Publications/Blurbs/

159195.aspx. 

366 Easter Seals Project ACTION, “Paratransit Operations Q&A with FTA,” Sue Clark 

and Dawn Sweet, FTA Office of Civil Rights, June 2011.

367 Interview, John Day and Dawn Sweet, op. cit. 

368 Transit Access Report, “FTA Rejects Mandatory Fines for ‘No-Shows’ by ADA 

Riders,” November 26, 2012, p. 1.
397

369 Transit Access Report, “St. Louis Metro Told to Rethink Its Handling of ADA NoShows,” Volume 21, Number 5 (March 11, 2014), pp. 1 & 3.

370 Transit Access Report, “Escalator and Elevator Outages Attract FTA Oversight 

Attention,” Volume 21, Number 5 (March 11, 2014), pp. 1 & 6.

371 Federal Transit Administration, Americans with Disabilities Act Circular C 4710.1, 

Amendment 1, Draft Chapters for Public Comment, February 2014, accessed June 26, 

2014, http://www.fta.dot.gov/legislation_law/12349_15846.html and 

http://www.fta.dot.gov/documents/Proposed_ADA_Circular_Amendment_1.pdf. 

372 “U.S. DOT and U.S. DOJ Fine Tornado Bus Company $55,000 for Violating 

Americans with Disabilities Act Accessibility Requirements,” September 27, 2010, 

accessed March 27, 2015, http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/newsroom/usdot-and-usdoj-finestornado-bus-company-55000-violating-americans-disabilities-act. 

373 “Justice Department Fines Houston Bus Company $55,000 for Violating the ADA,” 

March 9, 2011, accessed October 23, 2013, http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/2011/March/

11-crt-300.html. 

374 Settlement Agreement under the Americans with Disabilities Act Between the United 

States of America and Jet Set Line, September 13, 2012, accessed October 23, 2013, 

http://www.ada.gov/jet_set_line_sa.htm. 

375 Settlement Agreement under the Americans with Disabilities Act Between the United 

States of America and VIP Jet Tours Corp./Pegasus Transportation, September 20, 

2012, accessed October 23, 2013, http://www.ada.gov/vip_jet_tours_sa.htm. 

376 35 CFR § 35.190(e).

377 “Justice Department Announces ADA Settlement with Intercity Bus Company, 

Megabus,” May 15, 2011, accessed October 23, 2013, http://www.justice.gov/

opa/pr/2011/May/11-crt-625.html. 

378 “Justice Department Settles with New Jersey Bus Company Over Unequal 

Treatment of Passengers with Disabilities,” May 29, 2013, accessed October 23, 2013, 

http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/2013/June/13-crt-614.html. 

379 Settlement Agreement between the United States of America and SuperShuttle 

International, Inc. Under the Americans with Disabilities Act, June 5, 2013, accessed 

October 23, 2013, http://www.ada.gov/supershuttle.htm. DOJ had a previous 2002 

settlement agreement with SuperShuttle regarding providing accessible vehicles and 

employee training.

380 “Justice Department Resolves Americans with Disabilities Act Lawsuit with Jackson, 

Mississippi, Public Transportation System,” March 24, 2010, accessed October 23, 

2013, http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/2010/March/10-crt-303.html. 
398

381 “Justice Department Settles Lawsuit Alleging Discrimination by the Detroit 

Department of Transportation,” November 3, 2005, accessed October 23, 2013, 

http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/2005/November/05_crt_590.html. 

382 National Council on Disability, “Current State of Transportation for People with 

Disabilities in the United States,” op. cit., pp. 147–148.

383 Federal Transit Administration, FY2013 Triennial Review Workshop Workbook, 

accessed November 15, 2013, http://www.fta.dot.gov/5-24_0700_Grantee_Handbook.pdf. 

384 Toby Olson, Executive Secretary, Washington State Governor’s Committee on 

Disability Issues and Employment, personal communication, August 7, 2014.

385 Transit Access Report, “FTA Questions Route Deviation As a Means of ADA 

Compliance,” October 25, 2013, pp. 1–3.

386 Toby Olson, Executive Secretary, Washington State Governor’s Committee on 

Disability Issues and Employment, personal communication, August 7, 2014.

387 Ibid. 

388 Ibid. 

389 National Council on Disability, “Current State of Transportation for People with 

Disabilities in the United States,” op. cit., p. 149.

390 Ibid. 

391 Toby Olson, Executive Secretary, Washington State Governor’s Committee on 

Disability Issues and Employment, personal communication, July 28, 2014.

392 Route Deviations, website of CATC/The Bus, accessed July 28, 2014, 

http://catcbus.com/route-deviations/. 

393 Riding Utah Transit Authority (UTA) “Route Finder,” accessed July 28, 2014, 

http://www.rideuta.com/ridinguta/routes/routefinder.aspx?g=5. 

394 Utah Transit Authority, Route Map for F94, The Sandy Flex, accessed July 28, 2014, 

http://www.rideuta.com/uploads/routef94apr2014sch.pdf. 

395 Toby Olson, Executive Secretary, Washington State Governor’s Committee on 

Disability Issues and Employment, personal communication, July 28, 2014.

396 Ibid. 

397 49 CFR §37.5(a).

398 Toby Olson, Executive Secretary, Washington State Governor’s Committee on 

Disability Issues and Employment, personal communication, July 28, 2014.
399

399 TranSystems et al, op. cit. 

400 Russell Thatcher, TranSystems Corporation, personal communication, 

September 17, 2010.

401 49 CFR § 37.3 (“Wheelchair,” including definition of “common wheelchair”).

402 National Council on Disability, “Current State of Transportation for People with 

Disabilities in the United States,” op. cit., p. 36.

403 U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, 

Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Docket No. 2006-OST-23985.

404 Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund (DREDF), Comments on U.S. 

Department of Transportation (DOT) Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, Americans with 

Disabilities Act (ADA), Docket No. 2006-OST-23985.

405 Department of Transportation, 49 CFR Parts 37 and 38, Final Rule, op. cit., pp. 

57924–57939.

406 Department of Transportation, 49 CFR Parts 37 and 38, Final Rule, op. cit., p. 57936.

407 U.S. Department of Transportation, “DOT Final Rule on Transportation for 

Individuals with Disabilities at Intercity, Commuter, and High-Speed Rail Platforms; 

Miscellaneous Amendments,” accessed on April 7, 2015, http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/

FR-2011-09-19/html/2011-23576.htm. 

408 Federal Transit Administration, Americans with Disabilities Act Circular C 4710.1, 

Amendment 1, Draft Chapters for Public Comment, op. cit., pp. 2–9.

409 Ibid. 

410 Department of Transportation, 49 CFR Parts 37 and 38, Final rule, op. cit., “Mobility 

Device Size and Type,” p. 57929.

411 Department of Transportation, 49 CFR Parts 37 and 38, Final rule, op. cit., “Mobility 

Device Size and Type,” p. 57929–57930.

412 Interview, John Day and Dawn Sweet, op. cit. 

413 Transit Access Report, “On the Record ... FTA Applies Its Current Rules on Big or 

Heavy Wheelchairs,” October 10, 2013, p. 8.

414 Karen Hoesch, Executive Director, ACCESS Transportation Systems, personal 

communication, May 17, 2012.

415 Katie Heatley, President/CEO of Outreach, April 2, 2013. Santa Clara Valley 

Transportation Authority (VTA) contracts with Outreach and Escort, Inc. (OUTREACH), 
400

a local nonprofit agency, to provide paratransit services to persons with disabilities who 

are unable to use VTA’s fixed-route bus and light rail services.

416 Andy Curry, Director, Roads to Independence, Ogden, Utah, personal 

communication, February 5, 2013. This problem was also extensively discussed at a 

three-day in-depth ADA transportation training program in Ogden, Utah, November 5–7, 

2008, led by Toby Olson, Executive Secretary, Washington State Governor’s 

Committee on Disability Issues and Employment, and Marilyn Golden, Policy Analyst, 

Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund.

417 Utah Transit Authority Paratransit Rider’s Guide, revised September 2012, p. 17. At 

the time of this writing in November 2013, a check on the UTA website for possibly 

updated Rider’s Guide language found only this note: “See also: Paratransit Rider’s 

Guide (coming soon),” accessed November 27, 2013, 

http://www.rideuta.com/mc/?page=RidingUTA-Accessibility-ParatransitServices. 

418 National Council on Disability, “Current State of Transportation for People with 

Disabilities in the United States,” op. cit., pp. 109–115.

419 28 CFR § 35.130(b)(7). 

420 National Council on Disability, “Current State of Transportation for People with 

Disabilities in the United States,” op. cit., p. 110.

421 For example:

Melton v. Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART), 391 F.3d 669 (5th Cir. 2004), 

Boose v. Tri-County Metropolitan Trans. Dist. of Oregon, 587 F.3d 997 

(9th Cir. 2009).

422 National Council on Disability, “Current State of Transportation for People with 

Disabilities in the United States,” op. cit., pp. 109–115.

423 49 CFR Part 27, 49 CFR § 27.19.

424 Burkhart v. Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA), 112 F.3d 

1207 (D.C. Cir. 1997).

425 U.S. Department of Justice amicus brief in Burkhart. 

426 Transit Access Report, “Reasonable Modification Rule Invoked for Side-Facing 

Travel,” January 10, 2006, p. 1.

427 National Council on Disability, “Current State of Transportation for People with 

Disabilities in the United States,” op. cit., p. 109.

428 Transit Access Report, “DOT Still Reported Weighing ‘Modification’ Rule for Transit,” 

November 12, 2013, p. 6.
401

429 49 CFR § 39.21.

430 U.S. DOT Announces Reasonable Modification Rule to Improve Access to Public 

Transportation for Individuals with Disabilities, accessed April 8, 2015 

http://www.fta.dot.gov/newsroom/news_releases/12286_16374.html. 

431 Transit Access Report, “Court OKs Denial of Request for Pickup by Sedan or Taxi,” 

Volume 15, Number 4, November 2008, p. 3.

432 National Council on Disability, “Current State of Transportation for People with 

Disabilities in the United States,” op. cit., p. 33.

433 Douglas J. Cross, Easter Seals Project ACTION Distance Learning Seminar, 

“Wheelchair Securement on Buses and Paratransit Vehicles,” April 14, 2009.

434 Tracee Garner, op. cit. 

435 National Council on Disability, “Current State of Transportation for People with 

Disabilities in the United States,” op. cit., pp. 33–36.

436 For example: 

Federal Transit Administration ADA Compliance Review of Maryland 

Transit Administration (MTA), op. cit., p. 25.

Federal Transit Administration ADA Compliance Review of Autoridad 

Metropolitana de Autobuses (AMA), San Juan, Puerto Rico, Review of Lift 

Reliability and Maintenance for Operation of Accessible Fixed-route Bus 

Service, conducted March 5–8, 2007, Final Report dated October 15, 

2007, p. 38, available at http://www.fta.dot.gov/documents/AMA_Lifts_

Final_Report_071015.doc. 

437 For example:

Federal Transit Administration ADA Compliance Review of Suburban 

Mobility Authority for Regional Transportation (SMART), Detroit, Michigan,

Review of Reliability, Maintenance, and Operation of Accessible Fixedroute Bus Service, conducted May 9–12, 2005, Final Report dated 

February 1, 2007, p. 30, accessed November 9, 2013, 

http://www.fta.dot.gov/civilrights/12875_3899.html. 

438 Ibid., p. 31.

439 Federal Transit Administration, Americans with Disabilities Act Circular C 4710.1, 

Amendment 1, Draft Chapters for Public Comment, op. cit., p. 2-11.
402

440 For example:

Federal Transit Administration ADA Compliance Review of Washington 

Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA), Washington, DC, Review of 

Lift Reliability and Maintenance for Operation of Accessible Fixed-route

Bus Service, conducted August 20–23, 2007, Final Report dated August 

29, 2008, p. 37, accessed November 9, 2013, 

http://www.fta.dot.gov/civilrights/12875_3899.html. 

441 Federal Transit Administration, Americans with Disabilities Act Circular C 4710.1, 

Amendment 1, Draft Chapters for Public Comment, op. cit., pp. 2–9.

442 Ibid. 

443 U.S. Access Board, Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to Update ADA Accessibility 

Guidelines for Buses and Vans, July 26, 2010, § T402.4 and T502.2, op. cit. 

444 TranSystems et al, op. cit. 

445 The WC19 Information Resource: Crash-tested Wheelchairs & Seating Systems, 

Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center (RERC) on Wheelchair Transportation 

Safety, accessed November 9, 2013, http://www.rercwts.org/WC19.html. 

446 Douglas J. Cross, Easter Seals Project ACTION Distance Learning Seminar Series 

(Audio Conference), “Wheelchair Securement on Buses and Paratransit Vehicles,” April 

14, 2009, Outline.

447 Ibid. 

448 Russell Thatcher, TranSystems Corporation, personal communication, November 5, 

2012.

449 Katherine Hunter-Zaworski and Joseph R. Zaworski, “Assessment of Rear Facing 

Wheelchair Accommodation on Bus Rapid Transit,” Final Report for Transit IDEA 

Project 38, January 2005, accessed November 9, 2013, http://onlinepubs.trb.org/

onlinepubs/archive/studies/idea/finalreports/transit/Transit38_Final_Report.pdf. 

450 Terry Parker, personal communication, October 24, 2010.

451 “No Change to U.S. DOT ADA Regulations for Service Animals and Mobility 

Devices,” posted April 13, 2011, accessed April 16, 2015, http://adainformation.org/

blog/no-change-us-dot-ada-regulations-service-animals-and-mobility-devices. 

452 Federal Transit Administration, Americans with Disabilities Act Circular C 4710.1, 

Amendment 1, Draft Chapters for Public Comment, op. cit., p. 2-12.

453 Ibid. 
403

454 Federal Transit Administration, Americans with Disabilities Act Circular C 4710.1, 

Amendment 1, Draft Chapters for Public Comment, op. cit., pp. 2-12–2-13.

455 “No Dogs Allowed—Discrimination by D. C. Taxicabs Against People Who Use 

Service Dogs,” Equal Rights Center, Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights & 

Urban Affairs, and Hogan Lovells, September 2010, accessed November 26, 2013, 

http://www.equalrightscenter.org/site/DocServer/Taxicab_Report.pdf?docID=242, 

emphasis in original.

456 Department of Justice, “Justice Department Reaches Settlement with Supershuttle

Under the Americans with Disabilities Act,” June 5, 2013, accessed November 26, 

2013, http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/2013/June/13-crt-643.html. 

457 Transit Access Report, “$150,000 Settlement Reported in NYCT Service Animal Case,” 

October 25, 2013, p. 6, regarding Estelle Stamm v. New York City Transit, No. 04-2163.

458 Donna Smith, Director of Training, Easter Seals Project ACTION, and Rosemary 

Gerty, then Division Manager, Regional Accessibility, Regional Transportation Authority 

(RTA), Chicago, IL, personal communications, February 24, 2009.

459 Federal Transit Administration, Americans with Disabilities Act Circular C 4710.1, 

Amendment 1, Draft Chapters for Public Comment, op. cit., p. 2-13.

460 Federal Transit Administration, Americans with Disabilities Act Circular C 4710.1, 

Amendment 1, Draft Chapters for Public Comment, op. cit., p. 214.

461 The material in this chapter was derived from Karen Hoesch, Executive Director of 

ACCESS Transportation Systems in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, “Reviewing ADA 

Paratransit Policies: Are You in Compliance?,” Oregon DOT Transit Conference, 

October 25, 2010.

462 National Association of the Deaf, “Communication Access Realtime Translation,” 

accessed March 5, 2014, http://www.nad.org/issues/technology/captioning/cart. 

463 University of Washington, “What Is Real-Time Captioning?,” accessed March 5, 

2014, http://www.washington.edu/doit/Faculty/articles?386. 

464 Federal Transit Administration, Americans with Disabilities Act Circular C 4710.1, 

Amendment 1, Draft Chapters for Public Comment, op. cit., p. 2-14.

465 Guidance for the Safe Transportation of Medical Oxygen for Personal Use on Buses and 

Trains, accessed June 28, 2014, http://bussafety.fta.dot.gov/show_resource.php?id=4407. 

466 Federal Transit Administration, Americans with Disabilities Act Circular C 4710.1, 

Amendment 1, Draft Chapters for Public Comment, op. cit., p. 2-14.

467 Interview, Ken Shiotani, Senior Staff Attorney, National Disability Rights Network, 

April 30, 2014.
404

468 Ibid. 

469 Mary Lamielle, Executive Director, National Center for Environmental Health 

Strategies, July 29, 2014.

470 Ibid. 

471 Ibid. 

472 Interview, Susan Molloy, long-time advocate for people with chemical and electrical 

sensitivities, July 11, 2014.

473 Mary Lamielle, op. cit. 

474 U.S. Access Board, Indoor Environmental Quality Project Report, 2006, accessed 

August 7, 2014, http://www.access-board.gov/research/completed-research/indoorenvironmental-quality. 

475 Federal Transit Administration, Americans with Disabilities Act Circular C 4710.1, 

Amendment 1, Draft Chapters for Public Comment, op. cit., p. 2-14.

476 National Council on Disability, “Current State of Transportation for People with 

Disabilities in the United States,” op. cit., p. 151.

477 Christopher G. Bell, Esq., op. cit. 

478 Bill Bishop, The Rural Blog, accessed March 15, 2013, http://irjci.blogspot.com/2012/

04/almost-30-percent-of-americans-live-in.html. 

479 APRIL Transportation Act Reauthorization Position Statement, January 2010.

480 Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21), Pub. L. 112-141, 126 

Stat. 405 (2012).

481 Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users, 

Pub. L. 109-59, 119 Stat. 1144 (2005).

482 U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Transit Administration, Section 5310 

definition, accessed April 9, 2013 http://www.fta.dot.gov/grants/13093_3556.html. 

483 U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Transit Administration, Section 5311 

definition, accessed April 9, 2013, http://www.fta.dot.gov/grants/13093_3555.html. 

484 U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Transit Administration, Section 5316 

definition, accessed April 9, 2013 http://www.fta.dot.gov/grants/13093_3550.html. 

485 U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Transit Administration. Section 5317 

definition, accessed April 9, 2013 http://www.fta.dot.gov/grants/13093_3549.html. 
405

486 Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users, 

Pub. L. 109-59, 119 Stat. 1144 (2005) and Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st 

Century Act, Pub. L. 112-141, 126 Stat. 405 (2012).

487 Enders and Seekins, University of Montana, Section 5310 Transportation State 

Management Plans: A Baseline Review, p. 2, accessed March 27, 2015, 

http://rtc.ruralinstitute.umt.edu/_rtcBlog/wp-content/uploads/5310SMPTechnical

Report1.pdf. 

488 APRIL Transportation Act Reauthorization Position Statement: Rural Transportation 

for People with Disabilities, January 2010.

489 Enders and Seekins, Technical Report, “A Review of FTA Section 5310 Program 

State Management Plans: A Legacy Program in Transition,” February 4, 2009, accessed 

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490 University of Montana Rural Institute, “Rural Policy Guidelines: What Is Unavailable, 

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491 U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Transit Administration, Tribal Transit 

Program, accessed April 16, 2015, http://www.fta.dot.gov/grants/15926_3553.html. 

492 Partnership for Mobility Management, accessed August 15, 2013, 

http://web1.ctaa.org/webmodules/webarticles/anmviewer.asp?a=3180. 

493 Brad Bernier, Tom Seekins, and Kitty Herron, “Making Transportation Work for 

People with Disabilities in Rural America,” 1996, accessed March 27, 2015, 

http://scholarworks.umt.edu/ruralinst_independent_living_community_participation/27/. 

494 Transportation Services for People with Disabilities in Rural and Small Urban 

Communities, Summary Report, Easter Seals Project ACTION, p. 23, accessed July 19, 

2013, http://www.nchsd.org/libraryfiles/Transportation/ACTION_Rural_Transportation_

Summary_Report.pdf. 

495 Human Service Coordinated Transportation, 2013 HTS Proposal Packet, 

“Anchorage Metropolitan Area Transportation Solutions Is Soliciting Grant Proposals for 

Human Service Transportation Funds,” accessed April 8, 2015, http://www.muni.org/

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496 Mobility Management Independent Living Program, ESPA, accessed April 9, 2013, 

http://www.projectaction.org/Initiatives/MobilityManagement/MobilityManagement

IndependentLivingProgram.aspx. 

497 Jodi Hausen, “Linking National Parks, Gateway Communities, Linx Bus System to 

Launch Soon,” July 16, 2011, accessed July 29, 2013, 

http://www.bozemandailychronicle.com/news/article_027fed9c-af44-11e0-8b6c001cc4c03286.html. 
406

498 Easter Seals Project ACTION, Lessons Learned from the Mobility Management 

Independent Living Coaches Program and Mobility Management Outreach Activities, 

Accessible Community Transportation In Our Nation, p. 27.

499 Center for Independent Living Western Wisconsin website, accessed April 9, 2013, 

http://www.cilww.com/. 

500 Living Independence Network Corporation website, accessed April 9, 2013, 

http://lincidaho.org/. 

501 Laura Tillman, “Idaho Non-Profit Makes a Go of Public Transit,” accessed March 15, 

2013, http://www.dailyyonder.com/twin-falls-transportation/2011/02/01/3155. 

502 Good News Mountaineer Garage website, accessed April 9, 2013, 

http://www.goodnewsmountaineergarage.com/. 

503 National Council on Disability, “Current State of Transportation for People with 

Disabilities in the United States,” op. cit., pp. 152–153.

504 APRIL Traveler’s Cheque Final Analysis, 2006, accessed April 11, 2013, 

http://www.april-rural.org/images/stories/2013/APRIL_Travelers_Cheque_Final_

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505 CADET Project Accomplishments Report, Arkansas Rehabilitation Services, 2005.

506 Planning for Transportation in Rural Areas, U.S. Department of Transportation, 

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507 Rural and Small Community Planning, U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal 

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508 National Council on Disability, “Current State of Transportation for People with 

Disabilities in the United States,” op. cit., p. 20.

509 Fact Sheet: Enhanced Mobility of Seniors and Individuals with Disabilities Section 

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510 William S. Murrow, Jr., “Urban Mass Transportation Acts,” accessed March 26, 2015, 

http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-3407400292.html. 

511 Scott Bogren, “Rural Transit: You Can Get There from Here,” p. 1, accessed July 18, 

2013, http://www.ctaa.org/webmodules/webarticles/articlefiles/ct/spring98/rural_transit.pdf. 
407

512 National Council on Disability, “Current State of Transportation for People with 

Disabilities in the United States,” op. cit., pp. 143–145.

513 Transit Access Report, “Study Finds Mobility Benefits in Transportation 

Coordination,” January 10, 2005, p. 5.

514 The examples in the remainder of this chapter are derived from “The Changing 

Paradigm for Paratransit, Easter Seals Project ACTION,” unpublished report by the 

Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund for Project ACTION, 2007.

515 The Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District of Oregon (Portland, Oregon), 

which provides public transportation for the Portland, Oregon metropolitan area.

516 Interview, Pam Ward, Transit Administrator, Ottumwa Transit Authority, based in 

Ottumwa, Iowa, August 6, 2007, for “The Changing Paradigm for Paratransit, Easter 

Seals Project ACTION,” unpublished report by the Disability Rights Education & 

Defense Fund for Project ACTION, 2007.

517 Interview, Jon McNulty, Executive Director, Regional Transportation Program (RTP) 

based in Portland, Maine, August 6, 2007, for “The Changing Paradigm for Paratransit, 

Easter Seals Project ACTION,” unpublished report by the Disability Rights Education 

& Defense Fund for Project ACTION, 2007.

518 National Academies, Transportation Research Board, Strategies to Increase 

Coordination of Transportation Services for the Transportation disadvantaged, June 2004, 

accessed April 8, 2015 at http://onlinepubs.trb.org/Onlinepubs/tcrp/tcrp_rpt_105.pdf. 

519 “DOT Recognizes Deaf and Hard of Hearing Truck Drivers!,” February 1, 2013, 

accessed November 28, 2013, https://www.nad.org/news/2013/2/dot-recognizes-deafand-hard-hearing-truck-drivers. 

520 Interview, Howard Rosenblum, Chief Executive Officer, National Association of the 

Deaf, July 22, 2013.

521 Katie Hathaway, Managing Director, Legal Advocacy, American Diabetes 

Association, e-mailed communication, February 1, 2013.

522 ADA Audio Conference Series, “Public Rights-of-Way: What Are the Rules?,” 

May 19, 2009, Lois Thibault, Coordinator of Research, U.S. Access Board.

523 Ibid. 

524 Easter Seals Project ACTION, teleconference call July 11, 2007, “You Can’t Get 

There from Here,” Dennis Cannon.

525 Kinney v. Yerusalim, 9 F.3d 1067 (3d Cir. 1993), cert. denied, 511 U.S. 1033 (1994).
408

526 Barden v. City of Sacramento, 292 F.3d 1073 (9th Cir. 2002), cert. denied, 539 U.S. 

958 (2003).

527 “Landmark Case Establishes Nationwide Standard for Public Sidewalks,” Disability 

Rights Advocates, accessed August 23, 2013, http://dralegal.org/impact/cases/bardenv-sacramento. 

528 Ctr. for Independence of the Disabled, New York v. City of New York, No. 14-CV5884 (S.D.N.Y. filed Jul 30, 2014).

“Civil Rights Advocates Challenge New York City’s Failure to Make Its 

Sidewalks Safe for Wheelchair Users and Blind People,” Disability Rights 

Advocates, New York City, New York, July 30, 2014, accessed August 8, 

2014, http://www.dralegal.org/pressroom/press-releases/civil-rightsadvocates-challenge-new-york-citys-failure-to-make-its. Also see “Suit by 

Disabled Seeks Safer NYC Walks,” ‘Durability + Design, August 4, 2014, 

accessed March 26, 2015, http://www.durabilityanddesign.com/

news/?fuseaction=view&id=11780; and “‘Dangerous’ Sidewalks Ignoring 

NYC’s Disabled: Lawsuit,” Rich Calder, New York Post, July 30, 2014, 

accessed August 8, 2014, http://nypost.com/2014/07/30/dangeroussidewalks-ignoring-nycs-disabled-lawsuit/. 

530 Willits v. City of Los Angeles, 925 F.Supp.2d 1089 (C.D. Cal. 2013).

531 Disability Rights Legal Center, “DRLC Receives Favorable and Precedential Ruling 

on Inaccessible Sidewalk and Curb Ramp Case,” March 20, 2013, accessed August 11, 

2014, http://www.disabilityrightslegalcenter.org/drlc-receives-favorable-andprecedential-ruling-inaccessible-sidewalk-and-curb-ramp-case. 

532 Ochoa v. City of Long Beach, No. 2:14-CV-4307 (C.D.Cal. filed Jun. 6, 2014).

533 Disability Rights Galaxy, “Sidewalks access lawsuit targets Long Beach,” Galaxy 

Report, June 16, 2014, accessed March 26, 2015, http://disabilityrightsgalaxy.com/

sidewalks-access-lawsuit-targets-long-beach/. 

534 Proposed Guidelines for Pedestrian Facilities in the Public Right-of-Way, Published 

in the Federal Register on July 26, 2011. 36 CFR Part 1190, Docket No. ATBCB 2011-

04, Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board, Notice of Proposed 

Rulemaking.

535 Alice Ritchhart, op. cit. 

536 Christopher G. Bell, Esq., op. cit.

537 Christopher G. Bell, Esq., Member, American Council of the Blind of Minnesota, 

personal communication, August 14 and 15, 2013. Bell, an attorney, explained that he 

drew this conclusion because the ADA Title II DOJ regulations, and specifically the 

General Prohibitions section, contain several provisions upon which FHWA could 
409

compel the installation of the APS. He added that several years previously, FHWA had 

issued a finding compelling the Maryland Highway Administration to install APS.

538 TranSystems et al, op. cit. 

539 Interview, Dennis Cannon, op. cit. Also see National Complete Streets Coalition of 

Smart Growth America at http://www.smartgrowthamerica.org/complete-streets, and 

What Are Complete Streets? at http://www.smartgrowthamerica.org/completestreets/complete-streets-fundamentals/complete-streets-faq. 

540 Interview, Richard Devylder, op. cit. 

541 Tracee Garner, op. cit. 

542 Federal Transit Administration ADA Compliance Review, Pueblo (CO), p. 35, June 

2007, accessed September 10, 2013, http://www.fta.dot.gov/civilrights/12875_3899.html. 

543 Russell Thatcher, Senior Transportation Planner, TranSystems Corporation, 

personal communication, February 19, 2009.

544 ADA Audio Conference Series, “Public Rights-of-Way: What Are the Rules?,” May 

19, 2009, Lois Thibault, Coordinator of Research, U.S. Access Board.

545 Easter Seals Project ACTION, teleconference call July 11, 2007, “You Can’t Get 

There from Here,” Dennis Cannon.

546 Interview, Richard Devylder, op. cit. 

547 Easter Seals Project ACTION, teleconference call July 11, 2007, “You Can’t Get 

There from Here,” Dennis Cannon.

548 Alice Ritchhart, op. cit. 

549 Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund and TranSystems Corporation, 

“Eligibility for ADA Paratransit,” Topic Guides on ADA Transportation, No. 3, op. cit.,

“Don’t Make Blanket Denials Based on Type of Disability.”

550 Transit Access Report, “FTA Allows Nonstandard Braille on Tallahassee Bus Stop 

Poles,” April 25, 2013, pp. 2–3.

551 TranSystems et al, op. cit.

552 Young Park, Interim Director, Transit Development, TriMet, personal communication to 

Russell Thatcher, Senior Transportation Planner, TranSystems Corporation, June 29, 2013.

553 Easter Seals Project ACTION, teleconference call July 11, 2007, “You Can’t Get 

There from Here,” Dennis Cannon.

554 TranSystems et al, op. cit.
410

555 TranSystems et al, op. cit. 

556 “Toolkit for the Assessment of Bus Stop Accessibility and Safety,” published by Easter 

Seals Project ACTION (Accessible Community Transportation In Our Nation), January 1, 2006.

557 TranSystems et al, op. cit. 

558 ADA Audio Conference Series, “Public Rights-of-Way: What Are the Rules?,” May 

19, 2009, Lois Thibault, Coordinator of Research, U.S. Access Board.

559 Interview, Angela Van Etten, Coordinator, Treasure Coast Services Coalition for 

Independent Living Options, Florida, and former President, Little People of America, 

April 25, 2013.

560 Easter Seals Project ACTION, teleconference call July 11, 2007, “You Can’t Get 

There from Here,” Dennis Cannon.

561 See “Structured Negotiations,” Disability Rights Legal Advocacy, website of the law 

office of Lainey Feingold, accessed September 10, 2013, http://lflegal.com/negotiations. 

562 “San Francisco—National Leader in Installing Accessible Pedestrian Signals,” 

Disability Rights Legal Advocacy, website of the law office of Lainey Feingold, accessed 

September 10, 2013, http://lflegal.com/2010/03/sf-aps. 

563 Easter Seals Project ACTION, teleconference call July 11, 2007, “You Can’t Get 

There from Here,” Donna Smith, Director of Training.

564 Easter Seals Project ACTION, teleconference call July 11, 2007, “You Can’t Get 

There from Here,” Dennis Cannon.

565 Christopher G. Bell, Esq., op. cit.

566 U.S. Access Board, “Proposed Accessibility Guidelines for Pedestrian Facilities in 

the Public Right-of-Way,” July 26, 2011, accessed April 8, 2015, 

http://www.access-board.gov/attachments/article/743/nprm.pdf.

567 ADA Audio Conference Series, “Public Rights-of-Way: What Are the Rules?,” May 

19, 2009, Lois Thibault, Coordinator of Research, U.S. Access Board.

568 Interview, Richard Devylder, op. cit. 

569 Kinney v. Yerusalim, 9 F.3d 1067 (3d Cir. 1993), cert. denied, 511 U.S. 1033 (1994).

570 Letter from Thomas E. Perez, Assistant Attorney General, Civil Rights Division, U.S. 

Department of Justice, January 5, 2010.

571 Lois Thibault, then Coordinator of Research, U.S. Access Board, personal 

communication, July 2010.
411

572 “Department of Justice/Department of Transportation Joint Technical Assistance on 

the Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act Requirements to Provide Curb Ramps 

when Streets, Roads, or Highways Are Altered through Resurfacing,” U.S. Department 

of Justice and U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration, 

June 22, 2013, accessed September 29, 2013, http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/civilrights/

programs/doj_fhwa_ta.cfm. 

573 Ibid. 

574 Ibid. 

575 Webinar, Federal Highway Administration, “Technical Assistance on the Americans 

with Disabilities Act Requirements to Provide Curb Ramps Through Resurfacing,” 

August 20 & 21, 2013.

576 28 CFR § 35.133, “Maintenance of Accessible Features,” accessed April 16, 2015, 

https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/28/35.133.

577 “Questions and Answers About ADA/Section 504,” Federal Highway Administration, 

accessed September 29, 2013, http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/civilrights/programs/ada_

sect504qa.cfm#q31. 

578 Tinker v. Commissioner, N.H. Dep’t of Transp., N.H. Sup. Ct. No. 2009-0012 

(decided June 10, 2009), accessed October 14, 2013, http://www.drcnh.org/

SupremeCourtTinker2.pdf. 

579 Margot Sanger-Katz, “New Hampshire Supreme Court Sides with Sidewalk Activist—

Disabled Man Wins Push to Clear Way,” The Concord Monitor, June 13, 2009, p. 20.

580 National Council on Disability, “Current State of Transportation for People with 

Disabilities in the United States,” op. cit., p. 145.

581 Christopher G. Bell, Esq., op. cit. 

582 Tracee Garner, op. cit. 

583 Jan Campbell, op. cit. 

584 DREDF, The Cooperative, KFH Group, and TranSystems Corporation, Accessible 

Transit Service for All, unpublished, 2013.

585 49 CFR §§ 37.29(c) and 37.167(d), accessed May 27, 2014, http://www.ecfr.gov/

cgi-bin/text-idx?c=ecfr&SID=d315855e2f2c9f940970f4c191349c12&rgn=div5&view=

text&node=49:1.0.1.1.27&idno=49 - 49:1.0.1.1.27.2.18.5.

586 WUSA Channel 9, Washington, DC, May 13 and 22, 2013, accessed October 31, 

2013, http://www.wusa9.com/news/article/259124/158/DC-Cabs-Strand-DisabledPassengers-On-Camera. 
412

587 American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD), press release, April 30, 

2014, accessed July 4, 2014, http://www.aapd.com/resources/press-room/pressreleases/new-york-city-taxi-surcharge.html. 

588 National Council on Disability, “Current State of Transportation for People with 

Disabilities in the United States,” op. cit. 

589 National Council on Disability, “Current State of Transportation for People with 

Disabilities in the United States,” op. cit., pp. 132–137.

590 This information and the following sections are from the 2005 NCD report unless 

otherwise identified. National Council on Disability, “Current State of Transportation for 

People with Disabilities in the United States,” op. cit., pp. 132–137. 

591 National Council on Disability, “Current State of Transportation for People with 

Disabilities in the United States,” op. cit., p. 133.

592 National Council on Disability, “Current State of Transportation for People with 

Disabilities in the United States,” op. cit., p. 135.

593 Ibid. 

594 Ibid. 

595 National Council on Disability, “Current State of Transportation for People with 

Disabilities in the United States,” op. cit., p. 135.

596 National Council on Disability, “Current State of Transportation for People with 

Disabilities in the United States,” op. cit., p. 136.

597 National Council on Disability, “Current State of Transportation for People with 

Disabilities in the United States,” op. cit., pp. 136–137.

598 Ibid. 

599 Ibid. 

600 Ibid. 

601 National Council on Disability, “Current State of Transportation for People with 

Disabilities in the United States,” op. cit., p. 130.

602 Norma Reyes, Commissioner, City of Chicago Department of Consumer Services, 

“Taxi Summit: Providing Effective Accessible Taxi Services,” an FTA-sponsored 

dialogue meeting, New York, New York, April 10–11, 2007.
413

603 City of Chicago, Business Affairs and Consumer Protection, “Public Vehicles” 

webpage, accessed April 10, 2015, http://www.cityofchicago.org/city/en/depts/

bacp/supp_info/bacppublicvehicles.html. 

604 City of Chicago, “Mayor Emanuel Awards Taxicab Driver a Taxicab Medallion for 

Outstanding Service to Disabled Community,” March 26, 2014, accessed April 10, 2015,

http://www.cityofchicago.org/city/en/depts/bacp/provdrs/vehic/news/2014/mar/taxicab

emedallionaward.html. 

605 This information and the reference to Mayor Rahm Emanuel at the beginning of the 

Chicago section are excerpts from “Hailing the Future: Expanding the Availability of 

Wheelchair Accessible Taxicabs in Massachusetts,” the authors of which conducted a 

number of case studies in cities across the U.S. to find models to use in their home 

state. “Hailing the Future: Expanding the Availability of Wheelchair Accessible Taxicabs 

in Massachusetts,” Law Office 9, Northeastern University School of Law, Legal Skills in 

Social Context Social Justice Program, in conjunction with The Disability Policy 

Consortium, March 11, 2013, pp. 80–85, accessed March 26, 2015, 

https://www.scribd.com/doc/260068795/Hailing-the-Future-Expanding-the-availability-ofwheelchair-accessible-taxicabs-in-Massachusetts. 

606 “Hailing the Future: Expanding the Availability of Wheelchair Accessible Taxicabs in 

Massachusetts,” op. cit., pp. 85–87.

607 National Council on Disability, “Current State of Transportation for People with 

Disabilities in the United States,” op. cit., p. 131.

608 James Weisman, SVP and General Counsel, United Spinal Association, personal 

communication, November 6, 2013.

609 University of Michigan Law School, Civil Rights Litigation Clearinghouse, Case 

Profile of Noel v. New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission, 2012 WL 2437954 

(2d Cir. June 28, 2012), accessed April 16, 2015, http://www.clearinghouse.net/

detail.php?id=12217. 

610 Carol Tyson, Senior Policy Associate, United Spinal Association, personal 

communication, April 23, 2013.

611 “New Yorkers Continue Legal Battle for Wheelchair Accessible Taxi Fleet,” regarding 

Noel et al. v. Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC), accessed November 3, 2013, 

http://www.dralegal.org/impact/cases/noel-et-al-v-taxi-and-limousine-commission-tlc. 

612 Matt Flegenheimer, “City Opposes Bill Requiring Wheelchair Accessibility for New 

Cabs, New York Times, April 18, 2013, accessed November 3, 2013, 

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/19/nyregion/city-wont-support-bill-for-new-cabs-to-bewheelchair-accessible.html?_r=0. 
414

613 Courtney Gross, “Bloomberg Pushes Back Over Wheelchair-Accessible Cabs,” NY1, 

October 21, 2011, accessed March 24, 2015, http://www.ustaxilimo.com/index.php?

threads/bloomberg-pushes-back-over-wheelchair-accessible-cabs.4594/.

614 Matt Flegenheimer, “N.Y. Ruling Revives Plan for Expanded Taxi-Hailing Service,” 

New York Times, June 6, 2013.

615 PR Newswire, “Greater New York Taxi Association—Taxis for All Campaign,” June 

6, 2013, accessed November 3, 2013, http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/

greater-new-york-taxi-association-taxis-for-all-campaign-210445561.html. 

616 James Weisman, SVP and General Counsel, United Spinal Association, personal 

communication, November 6, 2013.

617 Jennifer Peltz, “Judge Blocks New NYC Taxi Plan Weeks Before Start,” Associated 

Press, October 8, 2013.

618 Pete Donohue, New York Daily News, “Nearly 500 City Cabs Violate the Americans 

with Disabilities Act, says Attorney General Eric Schneiderman,” November 19, 2013, 

accessed November 21, 2013, http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/500-city-cabsviolate-federal-law-ag-article-1.1522696#ixzz2lKLfiLtA. 

619 Letter to Anthony Foxx, Secretary of Transportation, U.S. Department of 

Transportation, from Kristen Clarke, Chief, Civil Rights Bureau, New York Office of the 

Attorney General, November 15, 2013.

620 “City of New York and Disability Advocates Announce Landmark Settlement to 

Dramatically Increase NYC Taxicab Accessibility,” press release from Disability Rights 

Advocates (DRA), NYC Mayor’s Office for People with Disabilities, NYC Law 

Department Office of the Corporation Counsel, and NYC Taxi & Limousine Commission, 

December 6, 2013.

621 Ibid. 

622 Ibid. 

623 Transit Access Report, “Accessibility Phase-in Planned for Half of New York Taxi 

Fleet,” December 10, 2013, p. 6. 

624 James Weisman, SVP and General Counsel, United Spinal Association, personal 

communication, April 30, 2014.

625 American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD), press release, April 30, 

2014, accessed July 4, 2014, http://www.aapd.com/resources/press-room/pressreleases/new-york-city-taxi-surcharge.html. 
415

626 “National Federation of the Blind and Four Blind People File Suit Against 

RideCharge, Inc. and Three Taxicab Companies in California,” National Federation for 

the Blind, April 2, 2014.

627 Ibid. 

628 “Board Hosts Demonstration of Accessible Taxi Payment Technology,” Creative 

Mobile Technologies, February 20, 2013, accessed October 31, 2013,

http://www.creativemobiletech.com/post22013.shtml. 

629 Uber spokesperson, National Council on Disability meeting at the Ed Roberts 

Campus in Berkeley, California, May 5, 2014.

630 Ibid. 

631 Ted Trautman, , ”Will Uber Serve Customers with Disabilities?”, NextCity Newsletter, 

June 30, 2014, accessed October 22, 2014, http://nextcity.org/daily/entry/wheelchairusers-ride-share-uber-lyft. 

632 Richard Petty, Program Director at Independent Living Research Utilization, 

Houston, Texas, personal communication, August 8, 2014; Lex Frieden, Professor at 

the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Director of independent 

living research at TIRR Memorial Hermann, and longtime disability advocate, Houston, 

Texas, personal communication, August 10, 2014; Toby Olson, Executive Secretary of 

the Washington State Governor’s Committee on Disability Issues and Employment, 

Tacoma, Washington, personal communication, August 8, 2014; Carol Tyson, Senior 

Policy Associate, United Spinal Association, Washington, DC, personal communication, 

August 8, 2014; and Marca Bristo, President and CEO, Access Living, Chicago, Illinois, 

personal communications, August 11, 2014.

633 Beth Finke, Interactive Community Coordinator, Easter Seals Headquarters, 

Chicago, accessed August 8, 2014, http://blog.easterseals.com/should-ride-sharingservices-adhere-to-the-americans-with-disabilities-act/. 

634 Andrew Zaleski, “Welcome to the Uber Wars—Maryland Is the First State to Rule the 

Silicon Valley Startup a Transportation Company, Not an App. Will Uber Fight Back?,” 

Politico Magazine, September 2, 2014, accessed March 24, 2015, 

http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2014/09/welcome-to-the-uber-wars110498.html#.VRFmHPnF-Ps. 

635 Interview, Annette Williams, Manager, San Francisco Municipal Transportation 

Agency (SFMTA) Accessible Services Program, September 18, 2013.

636 “The Phantom Cab Driver Phites Back,” April 15, 2014, posted by taxi driver Ed 

Healy, accessed July 6, 2014, http://phantomcabdriverphites.blogspot.com/2014/04/

just-say-no-chris-hayashis-letter-to.html?m=1. 
416

637 Christiane Hayashi, former Deputy Director, Taxis & Accessible Services, San 

Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (now retired), “‘Just Say No’—Chris Hayashi’s 

Letter to the Seattle City Council on TNCs,” March 12, 2014, letter to the Seattle City 

Council, accessed July 6, 2014 at http://phantomcabdriverphites.blogspot.com/2014/

04/just-say-no-chris-hayashis-letter-to.html?m=1. 

638 Interview, Annette Williams, Manager, San Francisco Municipal Transportation 

Agency (SFMTA) Accessible Services Program, September 18, 2013.

639 Ted Trautman, op. cit.

640 Lex Frieden, Professor at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, 

Director of independent living research at TIRR Memorial Hermann, and longtime 

disability advocate, personal communication, June 4, 2014.

641 Christiane Hayashi, op. cit.

642 Summary of CPUC Rulemaking, accessed March 24, 2015, http://www.cpuc.ca.gov/

PUC/Enforcement/TNC/TNC+Required+Reports.htm. 

643 Kate Toran, Interim Director, Taxis & Accessible Services, and Christiane Hayashi, 

Deputy Director, Taxis & Accessible Services, both at the San Francisco Municipal 

Transportation Agency, personal communications to Carolyn Said, reporter, San 

Francisco Chronicle, February 12, 2014.

644 For example:

“Uber’s Fight with DC Officials Resumes as Taxi Commission Issues New 

Sedan Regulations,” from the blog “dcist,” September 20, 2012, accessed 

November 29, 2013, http://dcist.com/2012/09/ubers_fight_with_

dc_officials_resum.php

“DC Council Argues Uber’s Future in Bizarre, Daylong Hearing,” from 

“dcist,” September 25, 2012, accessed November 29, 2013, 

http://dcist.com/2012/09/dc_council_argues_ubers_future_in_b.php

Martin Di Caro, WAMU 88.5, “DC Again Takes on Upstart Competitor to 

Taxicabs,” May 16, 2013, accessed November 2, 2013, 

http://wamu.org/news/13/05/16/dc_again_takes_on_upstart_competitor_to

_taxicabs. 

645 Adrianne Jeffries, “Uber Wins Unanimously in Washington, DC, Which Is Now 

Rewriting Its Taxi Laws,” The Verge, December 4, 2012, accessed March 17, 2014, 

http://www.theverge.com/2012/12/4/3728850/washington-dc-taxi-uber-regulations. 

646 Interview, Carol Tyson, Senior Policy Associate, United Spinal Association, 

November 12, 2013.
417

647 Government of the District of Columbia, Office of Human Rights, Human Rights Act 

of 1977, as amended March 14, 2007, Title 2, Chapter 14—Human Rights District of 

Columbia Code, § 2-1401.02 (24.)

648 Council on the District of Columbia, Committee on Transportation and the 

Environment, Public Hearing, Mary M. Cheh, Chairperson, May 12, 2014, accessed July 

4, 2014, http://dc.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=29&clip_id=2228. 

649 Carol Tyson, Senior Policy Associate, United Spinal Association, personal 

communications, May 14 & 21, July 7, 2014.

650 Marca Bristo, President and CEO, Access Living, Chicago, Illinois, personal 

communications, July 4 & 7, 2014.

651 Richard Petty, Program Director at Independent Living Research Utilization, personal 

communication, May 29, 2014.

652 Lex Frieden, Professor at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, 

Director of independent living research at TIRR Memorial Hermann, and longtime 

disability advocate, personal communication, May 2, 2014.

653 Lex Frieden, Professor at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, 

Director of independent living research at TIRR Memorial Hermann, and longtime 

disability advocate, personal communication, June 6, 2014.

654 Richard Petty, Program Director at Independent Living Research Utilization, personal 

communication, June 6, 2014.

655 Ibid. 

656 Henry Yates, For Hire Vehicle Association of Seattle/King County, personal 

communication, April 1, 2014.

657 Henry Yates, For Hire Vehicle Association of Seattle/King County, personal 

communication, July 8, 2014.

658 Henry Yates, For Hire Vehicle Association of Seattle/King County, personal 

communications, July 8 and 9, 2014.

659 Toby Olson, Executive Secretary of the Washington State Governor’s Committee on 

Disability Issues and Employment, personal communication, July 14, 2014.

660 U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, 

ADA Guidelines for Over-the-Road Bus Companies, accessed November 15, 2013,

http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/rules-regulations/bus/company/ada-guidelines.htm. 

661 National Council on Disability, “Current State of Transportation for People with 

Disabilities in the United States,” op. cit., p. 139.
418

662 National Council on Disability, “Current State of Transportation for People with 

Disabilities in the United States,” op. cit., p. 140. 

663 Alice Ritchhart, op. cit. 

664 Washington Post, Discrimination Watch, “Hedging Your Bets—Buses Flout Rules,” 

January 28, 2007.

665 Associated Press, July 12, 2007.

666 Ted Knappen, personal communication, September 27, 2008.

667 Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund (DREDF), Letter to DOT Secretary Mary 

Peters, February 6, 2007.

668 Congressmen Jim Oberstar and Peter A. DeFazio, Letter to Administrator John Hill 

of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, October 11, 2007, accessed April 8, 

2015, http://www.buses.org/files/FMCSA%20ADA%20compliance%2010_11_07.pdf. 

669 Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, “Report on the 

Over-the-Road Bus Transportation Accessibility Act of 2007,” June 23, 2008, accessed 

April 8, 2015, http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CRPT-110srpt395/html/CRPT110srpt395.htm. 

670 “Information Alert on ADA Transportation: Public Law 110-291, The Over-the-Road 

Bus Transportation Accessibility Act of 2008, Was Signed into Law on July 30, 2008,” 

accessed November 17, 2013, http://dredf.org/public-policy/transportation/informationalert-on-ada-transportation/. 

671 From the same document: Under DOT’s regulatory definition, a large operator or 

large OTRB company has gross annual transportation revenues equal to or exceeding 

$9.3 million. This threshold is based upon the definition of Class I motor carrier and is 

adjusted annually for inflation with Bureau of Labor Statistics data.

672 U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, 

“ADA Guidelines for Over-the-Road Bus Companies,” op. cit. 

673 Interview, Richard Devylder, op. cit. 

674 U.S. Department of Transportation, Office of the Secretary of Transportation, 

“Guidance on Interline Service and Notice to Passengers,” 49 CFR §§ 37.187, 37.193, 

accessed April 16, 2015, http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/sites/fmcsa.dot.gov/files/docs/

Guidance_on_Interline_Service_and_Notice_to_Passengers_508.pdf. 

675 Toby Olson, Executive Secretary, Washington State Governor’s Committee on 

Disability Issues and Employment, personal communication, November 19, 2013.
419

676 U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, 

“ADA Guidelines for Over-the-Road Bus Companies,” op. cit. Emphasis added.

677 Transit Access Report, “DOT Maintains, for the Record, That Asking for Notice Is 

Passé,” May 28, 2013, p. 5.

678 Transit Access Report, “Government Forces Bus Line to Remove ‘Notice’ 

Language,” June 11, 2013, p. 7.

679 Docket # DOT-OST-2013-0014; comments were due in April 2013.

680 Federal Register, “Retrospective Review of the Americans with Disabilities Act 

Regulations for Over-the-Road Bus Operators” by the U.S. Department of 

Transportation, Comment filed by Adirondack Trailways, Pine Hill Trailways, and New 

York Trailways, April 29, 2013, ID DOT-OST-2013-0014-0007, accessed April 9, 

2015, http://federal.eregulations.us/rulemaking/commentview/dot-ost-2013-0014-0001. 

681 Ibid. 

682 Toby Olson, Executive Secretary, Washington State Governor’s Committee on 

Disability Issues and Employment, personal communication, November 21, 2013.

683 This was one of the many Megabus low-floor double-decker OTRBs. Because there 

is a passenger compartment over a luggage compartment, it meets the OTRB definition.

684 “Settlement Agreement Under the Americans with Disabilities Act between the 

United States of America and Megabus U.S.A LLC and Megabus Northeast LLC,” press 

release dated May 16, 2011, accessed November 18, 2013, http://www.ada.gov/

megabus_settle.htm. 

685 The Bridge—Supporting People with Disabilities to Enforce Their Civil Rights, “Left in 

the Dust—Greyhound Bus Strands Wheelchair User,” Disability Rights Montana, August 

2010, accessed November 20, 2013, http://www.disabilityrightsmt.org/janda3/files/

articles/1284735053_DRM_NL_2010August-2-web.pdf. Also, Beth Brenneman, 

Disability Rights Montana, personal communications, October 14, 2009, November 2, 

2009, and February 25, 2010.

686 Jennifer McPhail, personal communication, December 7, 2009.

687 A professional familiar with the over-the-road bus industry, who wished to remain 

anonymous, personal communication, September 10, 2013.

688 “Wheelchairs, Mobility Aids, and Other Power-Driven Mobility Devices,” 

U.S. Department of Justice, accessed April 1, 2014, http://www.ada.gov/opdmd.htm. 
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National Council on Disability

1331 F Street, NW, Suite 850

Washington, DC 20004