Disability Awareness Day
October 20, 2004

Americans with Disabilities Act

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), passed in 1990, provides people with disabilites many important rights in the area of transportation.

Specific requirements include:

• Public buses must be accessible to people in wheelchairs
  
• Drivers must announce their stops out loud to benefit visually impaired passengers
  
• Transit stations must be readily accessible to people with disabilities, including features such as elavators and escalators
  
• Signage and fare vending machines must be accessible to people with visual or hearing impairments
  
• If the local transit authority cannot adequately serve its clients with disabilities in its regular system, it is required to create a parallel transportation system (paratransit) for people with disabilities

For more information, follow these links:

• ADA homepage
• Federal Transit Administration ADA Section