PROJECT ACTION: IMPROVING TRANSIT ACCESSIBILITY THROUGH RESEARCH AND DEMONSTRATION

The passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)(42 USC 12101) on July 26th 1991 revolutionized federal policy on discrimination based on disability. For the first time in United States history, people with all types of disabilities have a civil right and access to public and private services. ADA's statutory provisions cover employment, programs, activities, and services of state and local governments, public and private transportation, public accommodations, and telecommunications. The debate centred around a civil right to public transportation in light of the costs of making fixed route systems accessible. Disability advocates argued for fully accessible fixed route instead of separate but equal paratransit, usually provided using small vans and taxicabs. In passing the legislation, the federal government solved this conflict by issuing a national mandate to require full accessibility in transportation, both accessible fixed route service and complementary paratransit, as a reasonable accommodation, for persons with disabilities who cannot use the mainline transit systems. ADA complementary paratransit must be comparable to the service available to the general riding public in terms of service area, days and hours of service, fares, response time, and capacity. The ADA focuses on integrating people with disabilities into fixed route systems, therefore individuals with disabilities must apply to use ADA paratransit services.