Number: RS22676
Title: Public Transportation Providers' Obligations Under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
Authors: Carol Toland, American Law Division 
Abstract: The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), 42 U.S.C. §§ 12101 et seq., is a broad non-discrimination statute that includes a prohibition of discrimination in public transportation. To prevent such discrimination, the ADA imposes several affirmative obligations on transportation providers, including a requirement that providers offer separate "paratransit" service, or accessible origin-to-destination service, for eligible individuals with disabilities. Under the statute, the level of such service must be "comparable" to the level of service offered on fixed route systems to individuals without disabilities. Department of Transportation regulations implement this "comparable" standard with specific requirements regarding the scope and manner of paratransit service. Regarding the time taken by providers to respond to individuals' requests for paratransit service, recent case law suggests that providers' legal obligation under the ADA and accompanying regulations is to avoid discriminatory "patterns or practices" of service.
Pages: 6
Date: November 7, 2008