Updated ADA rules governing wheelchairs on public passenger carriers.  Submitted by Carl DuRocher <cduroche@wisc.edu>.

 

 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

DISABILITY LAW GUIDANCE

 

Questions and Answers Concerning Wheelchairs and

Bus and Rail Service

http://www.fta.dot.gov/12325_15055.html

ADA Paratransit Universal Identification Card

Are you ADA eligible for paratransit services (curb-to-curb/door-to-door)?  Have you been required to apply for ADA complementary paratransit eligibility in advance as a visitor to a service area in another county, region, or state prior to your travel?  If so, The Association of University Centers on Disabilities Council on Community Advocacy (AUCD COCA) would like to hear from you.  (Click here for more information on COCA: http://www.aucd.org/template/page.cfm?id=41)

Sections 37.127 (c) and (d) of the DOT ADA regulations require that visitor eligibility be granted to individuals with disabilities who present documentation that they are ADA paratransit eligible in the jurisdiction in which they reside in addition to those who do not have documentation of being determined ADA paratransit eligible by another transit system.
[56 FR 45621, Sept. 6, 1991, as amended at 61 FR 25416, May 21, 1996]

AUCD COCA is seeking input from individuals with disabilities who use ADA paratransit services in their local communities and on occasions have to travel outside of their service area to another county, region, or state as a visitor. The purpose is to determine the feasibility or need for a national universal identification card.  This card would satisfy Sections 37.127 (c) (d) and serve as documentation of the individual's place of residence as well as proof that the individual is unable to use fixed route transit.  

Please join the discussion on this blog and share your travel experiences.  Questions to consider when sharing:

•     Upon eligibility for ADA paratransit services, were you issued a proof of eligibility identification card?  If yes:

•     Has your identification card been honored by other ADA paratransit service providers outside of your local service area or jurisidiction?  If no:

•     What were the procedures or requirements you had to meet to determine eligibility in the county, region, or state you were traveling to?

•    What do you think about the idea of the use of a national universal ADA paratransit identification card and what would be your recommendation on how to implement the program?