Inclusive Design of Autonomous Vehicles: A Public Dialogue Goal 5: Advance accessible intercity transportation systems

USDOT should continue to enforce Amtrak and other rail operators' ADA obligations. 30 years after the passage of the ADA, trains and stations must be accessible, and providers should consider the necessity of stations agents to assist when needed. Trains should provide level boarding, clear audible announcements for the blind and visually impaired, and visual announcements for the deaf and hard of hearing. State and local... more »

We call on DOT to challenge the Airlines and OEM's to provide access to passengers with disabilities that is barrier free. To often passenger with disabilities have incurred bodily harm from being dropped while making transfers out of their personal wheelchairs onto an airline boarding aisle chair, or mishandled by ill trained staff in boarding the plane. Furthermore there are times when the passengers wheelchair or assistive... more »

USDOT should encourage and support continued long distance rail service by Amtrak. Previous proposals to cut long distance rail lines would require passengers with disabilities to make dangerous and unreliable connections between buses and trains where there may not be a station agent to assist, and where the station may not be accessible. In addition, passengers with disabilities rely on long distance rail when other... more »

Passengers with disabilities have the right to accessible air travel, including the provision of accessible announcements. We urge the DOT to mandate visually accessible announcements for deaf and hard of hearing passengers, tactile-accessible announcements for DeafBlind passengers, and clearer audible announcements for blind and vision impaired passengers.

All modes of transportation must link together to ensure a successful accessible journey. In 2018 I flew from Washington DC into San Francisco to go to a conference on accessible air travel. The flight was just under 3 hours and traversed the entire country a span of almost 3000 miles. After collecting my luggage at baggage claim I spent the next 3 hours trying to acquire accessible ground transportation to take me 1.5... more »

Remove barriers for cross-jurisdictional (state and county) public transportation accessible trips to make rides available that are frequent and reliable. For older adults and people with disabilities who cannot drive, the state or county line may represent a barrier to much-needed services such as shopping, healthcare, employment and social visits. Coordination and cooperation between various county governments, or permission... more »

Cities in our area are connected by "regional" or "commuter" routes as opposed to "fixed route" service. This means that Paratransit doesn't run between communities. This leaves people with significant disabilities few options:

1. In theory, someone with a disability could use paratransit to connect to the regional route, take the regional route to the other city, and then use paratransit to get to their final destination.... more »

Rural transit options would require that FTA,DOT Congress designate a rural or frontier category. My idea would impact FTA because it would encourage coordination among state transit planning providers to designate urban , small urbans ,and county hubs . To cut down on passenger share of the intercity city trip costs can we advocate for a transit trip voucher similar to HUD section 8 Give incentive s to rural providers... more »

United Spinal has long advocated for seamless trips between various transportation modes, especially, the last mile. If one segment of a trip is not accessible for a wheelchair user, the entire trip is not accessible. Not enough research has been done to guide efficient and effective seamless accessibility with intracity transportation modes much less with intercity modes across the nation. A university transportation... more »

Make the creation of regional transit authorities easier. For example, Milwaukee tried to establish one, and was blocked by the state legislature (some who, oddly, didn't seem to mind another significantly more white metro area trying to establish one). States should not be able to block the creation of RTAs, nor impede their ability to create fees or taxes to support if the counties choose to.

Unified education for all drivers and DOT employees in regards to What a Service Dog Team is to create and maintain positive interactions for working Service Dog Teams. As part of a Service Dog Team, it is possible for me to leave my home independently and live a full life allowing counterbalance, bracing, and opening doors. It is important, especially with the challenges of fake service dogs, that each member of the... more »

To improve the connectedness of intercity systems, it is important to have those providers who offer intercity service to be part of mobility management networks in regions. All providers and systems need to be talking with each other to ensure that there are no gaps in service - and the connections are accessible. Perhaps even, hubs can be established in cities at which intercity services, can connect with city services,... more »

It is imperative that AmTrak services are not cut down or eliminated. Persons with disabilities rely heavily on public transportation, including AmTrak, and such services must remain consistent.

With the advent of technology and the ongoing use of trains and other forms of public transit is the need for the betterment of things like automated voice announcements. Often time the announcements are not loud enough or are difficult to hear. However, such announcements are critical for blind and visually impaired travelers to know when they are arriving at their stops. This should be a pivotal technological advancement.... more »

Persons who are blind and visually impaired often seek assistance from station agents to do things like locate the proper train track or board the train. However, some stations are failing to provide such services for supposed financial reasons. However, it is imperative that such services continue to exist or come back in many situations. The lack of such agents can make it difficult or unsafe for many blind or visually... more »