Welcome fellow travelers.  Up until this point we have been knee-deep in the planning of a trip.  We’ve taken virtual trips.  We’ve talked about travel insurance and travel agents.   Now I want to start looking at actually getting someplace.  To do that we first have to explore the different modes of transportation in terms of accessibility.  Let’s begin by looking at travel by bus.

For years bus companies have been promoting the use of their services as the best way to get from point A to point B.  The trouble is that buses have never been very accessible, and, depending who you ask, may still not be.

On March 25, 1998 the Department of Transportation published the first draft of a rule covering accessibility of buses.  The proposed rule would have forced companies like Greyhound, the nation’s largest interstate bus company, to install built-in lifts and replace several seats with ones that could be folded to allow wheelchairs to have more room onboard.  But, after a great deal of wrangling by Greyhound, a final draft of the regulation required that, as of October 1, 2001, companies must provide accessible bus service at every location that they serve, but only if they receive 48 hours notice by a consumer.  According to the document passengers would no longer have to provide 48 hours' notice once new, accessible buses were bought and entire fleets became lift-equipped.

But, not everyone has been happy with the way the new rule was written or with the way individual companies are implementing it.  For example, in 2004 the Colorado Cross-Disability Coalition sued the city of Colorado Springs over its new commuter bus service to downtown Denver.  According to the coalition, the buses don't have wheelchair lifts, they pass wheelchair users by, and the drivers don't have proper training to board passengers using wheelchairs.  The coalition also claimed that the need for disabled passengers to call 48 hours ahead while able-bodied riders simply show up at bus stops to wait was unfair.

In some states there is no need for the advanced notice clause.  Officials in Seattle, Washington, for example, began installing wheelchair lifts in the Metro buses in 1978.   Now their entire fleet of commuter buses is fully accessible.  The buses are air-conditioned, have lowered floors, have ramps for wheelchair users, and are devoid of steps at the doors.

For more information contact the Department of Transportation at 1-866-377-8642 (www.dot.gov).  Customers with Disabilities can also contact Greyhound’s Travel Assistance Line at 1-800-752-4841 (www.greyhound.com).