Public Transportation Providers’ Obligations Under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Page: 4 of 8
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Public Transportation Providers' Obligations Under the Americans with Disabilities Act
Specifically, transportation entities "shall not, on the basis of disability, deny to any individual
with a disability the opportunity to use the entity's transportation service for the general public, if
the individual is capable of using that service."g Furthermore, entities shall not require that
individuals with disabilities sit in specific seats9 or be accompanied by an attendant.'0
Minimum Service Requirements
The statutory language provides little guidance regarding the required scope of paratransit
service. It merely requires entities to offer a level of service that is "comparable" to the level of
service offered to the general public." The ADA therefore required the Department of
Transportation to develop minimum service criteria to "determine the level of services" sufficient
to be "comparable" with services offered to individuals without disabilities.'2 Note that the
regulations do not prohibit public entities from offering paratransit services that exceed these
minimum service requirements."
Eligibility
The regulations require entities to provide paratransit service to all "paratransit-eligible"
individuals,'4 including non-resident visitors "who present documentation that they are ADA
paratransit eligible."5 An individual is paratransit-eligible if he or she is an individual with a
disability who meets the requirements for one of three categories. The first eligibility category
includes individuals who are unable, as a result of a physical or mental impairment, to board and
ride accessible fixed-route transit systems.16 Department commentary accompanying the final rule
shows that the department intended this first category to especially target individuals who are
unable to "navigate the system." ' The second eligibility category includes individuals who are
able to use accessible vehicles but whose fixed-route system lacks accessible vehicles.8 Finally,
the third eligibility category includes individuals "who have specific impairment-related
conditions which prevents such individual from traveling to a boarding location or from a
disembarking location on such system."'9
The regulations also require entities to provide paratransit service to one individual
accompanying each paratransit-eligible individual.20 This accompanying-individual allowance
does not address assistance by personal care attendants; rather, it enables individuals with
8 49 C.F.R. 37.5(b) (2008).
9 49 C.F.R. 37.5(c) (2008).
10 49 C.F.R. 37.5(e) (2008).
" 42 U.S.C. 12143(a) (2008).
12 42 U.S.C. 12143(b) (2008).
3 49 C.F.R. 37.131(g) (2008).
1 49 C.F.R. 37.123(a) (2008).
1s 49 C.F.R. 37.127 (2008).
16 49 C.F.R. 37.123(e)(1) (2008).
17 56 Fed. Reg. 45601.
18 49 C.F.R. 37.123(e)(2) (2008).
1949 C.F.R. 37.123(e)(3) (2008). See also 56 Fed. Reg. 45602.
20 49 C.F.R. 37.123(f) (2008).Congressional Research Service
2
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Toland, Carol. Public Transportation Providers’ Obligations Under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), report, November 7, 2008; Washington D.C.. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc821610/m1/4/?q=%22Discrimination%20against%20the%20disabled%22: accessed April 28, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.