Facts About Equity in Transportation for People with Disabilities
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Though people with disabilities
live in every community, our transportation policy has undermined the Americans
with Disabilities Act’s (ADA) promise of equal opportunity in transportation
for people with disabilities, resulting in isolation from jobs, housing, health
care, and education. As policymakers discuss such important issues as how best
to rebuild and repair our nation’s roads, bridges, railways, and ports, and
where and how to prioritize investments in public transportation, it is vital
that they take into consideration the needs of people with disabilities.
- People with disabilities make up
about 6 million (40
percent) of the almost 15 million people
in this country who have difficulties getting the transportation they
need.[1] Because many people with
disabilities do not have the option to drive cars, lack of access to
other modes of transportation disproportionately harms them.
- About 560,000 people with disabilities never leave home because of
transportation difficulties.[2 ]
-
Twenty years
after passage of the ADA, transportation choices for people with
disabilities are still extremely limited. The ADA has led to major
improvements in transit systems across the United States; however, there
are persistent gaps in compliance that continue to create significant
barriers for people with disabilities.
-
Accessible
transportation options—including accessible buses, railway systems,
taxis, and paratransit—allow people with disabilities important
opportunities in education, employment, health care, housing, and
participation in community life.
- People
with disabilities who live in rural communities face even greater
barriers to accessible transportation. A significant lack of funding to
rural communities means that public transportation, and especially
accessible transportation, is often in very short supply.
-
The
unemployment rate of people with
disabilities is 12.9 percent. The unemployment rate for people
without disabilities is 8.7 percent.[ 3]
-
The lack of
transportation options in many communities is a major barrier to employment
opportunities for people with disabilities.
-
Without
access to transportation, people with disabilities will not be part of
society’s economic environment and will continue to be alienated from the
economic mainstream, thus causing a myriad of other problems, like
homelessness and institutionalization.
-
Safe and
accessible rights-of-way are essential elements of community life.
Rights-of-way include streets, sidewalks, crosswalks, curb ramps, crossing
signals, street parking, and other public infrastructure, and are crucial to
viable transportation for people with disabilities.
- Because
many individuals with disabilities have increased health care needs,
isolation from providers can have a profound impact on quality of life, health,
and safety. Accessible transportation options can make the difference between
health care access and isolation for adults and the children in their care.
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Learn More about Transporation Equity
[1]
U.S.
Department of Transportation: Bureau of Transportation Statistics.(2003). Transportation Difficulties Keep Over Half a
Million Disabled at Home. Retrieved from http://www.bts.gov/publications/special_reports_and_issues_briefs/issue_briefs/number_03/pdf/entire.pdf
[2] U.S. Department
of Transportation: Bureau of Transportation Statistics. (2003). Transportation Difficulties Keep Over Half a
Million Disabled at Home. Retrieved from http://www.bts.gov/publications/special_reports_and_issues_briefs/issue_briefs/number_03/pdf/entire.pdf
[3] United States Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor
Statistics, Jan. 2012 at http://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.t06.htm
