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+ wheelchair lifts 10
ADAPT (485)
Gazette Telegraph 2-14-89 NATION [Headline] Ruling requires new buses to be wheelchair accessible Associated Press PHILADELPHIA - A federal appeals court Monday ordered the U.S. Department of Transportion to require transit authorities across the country to equip new buses with wheelchair lifts. Attorneys who brought the lawsuit that led to the ruling called it the most important decision ever handed down for handicapped people needing public transportation. The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said a Transportation Department regulation requiring all new buses to accommodate wheelchairs conflicts with another allowing communities to offer only an alternative service, such as special vans, to the handicapped. The court said a rule requiring reservations 24 hours in advance for use of the alternative transporation hinders the spontaneous use of mass transit by the handicapped. As a result, the court ordered transit authorities to make “reasonable accommodations to their programs, i.e. purchase wheelchair-accessible buses. The court also upheld a controversial decision requiring the Transportation Department to eliminate a cap on the amount of money transit authorities need to spend on making transportation accessible. A coalition of disabled people and 12 organizations called Americans Disabled for Accessible Public Transportation filed the lawsuit last year. ADAPT contended that a provision of the federal regulations allowed authorities receiving federal transportation funds to exclude the handicapped from “effective and meaningful" access. The provision allows transit authorities to decide among three types of handicapped-accessible transportation: accessible buses, special vans for the handicapped or a combination of the two. Timothy Gold [Cook], who argued the case before the court, said the ruling was "a major, major victory for the handicapped community."
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El Paso Times Tuesday, Feb. 14, 1989 p.6A [Headline] Court: New buses must have Wheelchair lifts Associated Press PHILADELPHIA — A federal appeals court Monday ordered the U.S. Department of Transportation to require transit authorities across the country to equip new buses with wheelchair lifts. Attorneys who brought the lawsuit that led to the ruling called it the most important decision ever handed down for handicapped people needing public transportation. The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said a Transportation Department regulation requiring all new buses to accommodate wheelchairs conflicts with another allowing communities to offer only an alternative service, such as special vans, to the handicapped. The court said a rule requiring reservations 24 hours in advance for use of the alternative transportation hinders the spontaneous use of mass transit by the handicapped. As a result, the court ordered transit authorities to make “reasonable accommodations to their" programs, i.e. purchase wheelchair-accessible buses," The court also upheld a controversial decision requiring the Transportation Department to eliminate a cap on the amount of money transit authorities need to spend on making transportation accessible. A coalition of disabled people and 12 organizations called Americans Disabled for Accessible Public Transportation filed the lawsuit last year. The coalition contended that a provision of the federal regulations allowed authorities receiving federal transportation money to exclude the handicapped from “effective and meaningful" access. U.S. District Judge Marvin Katz overturned the provision in cases where the transit authority buys any buses. TEXT BOX INSERT: El Paso already buying buses with access El Paso already has a policy that requires wheelchair lifts on all buses, said Mark Dorfman, director of the city's Sun Metro bus service. The policy has been in effect since 1987, when voters approved a half-percent sales tax to finance the city's bus system. City officials promised voters that the additional money from the sales tax would allow all new buses to be equipped with wheelchair lifts, Dorfman said. “We’re getting ready to take bids for 84 new buses, and one of the specifications is that they have lifts,” he said. Dorfman said wheelchair lifts add an average of $15,000 to the cost of a bus.
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RMN [Rocky Mountain News] 2/14/89 [Headline] U.S. requires wheelchair lifts on transit authority buses PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A federal appeals court yesterday ordered the U.S. Department of Transportation to require transit authorities across the country to equip new buses with wheelchair lifts. Attorneys who brought the lawsuit that led to the ruling called it the most important decision ever handed down for handicapped people needing public transportation. The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said a Transportation Department regulation requiring all new buses to accommodate wheelchairs conflicts with another allowing communities to offer only an alternative service, such as special vans, to the handicapped. The court said a rule requiring reservations 24 hours in advance for use of the alternative transportation hinders the spontaneous use of mass transit by the handicapped. As a result, the court ordered transit authorities to make “reasonable accommodations to their programs, i.e. purchase wheelchair-accessible buses.” The court also upheld a controversial decision requiring the Transportation Department to eliminate a cap on the amount of money transit authorities need to spend on making transportation accessible. A coalition of disabled people and 12 organizations called Americans Disabled for Accessible Public Transportation filed the lawsuit last year. ADAPT contended that a provision of the federal regulations allowed authorities receiving federal transportation funds to exclude the handicapped from “effective and meaningful” access. The provision allows transit authorities to decide among three types of handicapped-accessible transportation: accessible buses, special vans for the handicapped, or a combination of the two. U.S. District Judge Marvin Katz overturned the provision in cases where the transit authority buys any buses. He also overturned a regulation requiring authorities to spend no more than 3% of their average annual operating costs on transportation for the handicapped. Katz called the limit arbitrary and said it allowed transit agencies “to eviscerate the civil right” to transit service. Circuit Judge Carol Los Mansmann, in writing the 2-1 opinion, also cited Congress’ intent. “Congress wanted to provide the disabled with the capability to utilize mass transit to the ‘maximum extent feasible.’ The DOT has failed to show that requiring the future purchase of accessible buses oversteps this legislative intent.” In a dissenting opinion, Judge Morton I. Greenberg said the section requiring new buses to be accessible was not meant to apply to transit systems choosing a para-transit system.
ADAPT (609)
Austin American-Statesman ~ Tuesday, February 14, 1989 [Headline] Court mandates Wheelchair access on nation’s buses PHILADELPHIA (AP) - A federal appeals court Monday ordered the U.S. Department of Transportation to require transit authorities nationwide to equip new buses with wheelchair lifts. Attorneys who brought the lawsuit called the ruling the most important decision ever handed down for disabled people needing public transportation. The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said a Transportation Department regulation requiring all new buses to accommodate wheelchairs conflicts with another allowing communities to offer only an alternative service, such as special vans, to the handicapped. The court said a rule requiring reservations 24 hours in advance for use of the alternative transportation hinders the spontaneous use of mass transit by the handicapped. As a result, the court ordered transit authorities to make “reasonable accommodations to their programs, i.e. purchase wheelchair-accessible buses.” The court also upheld a controversial decision requiring the Transportation Department to eliminate a cap on the amount of money transit authorities must spend on making transportation accessible. In Austin, Anthony Kouneski, general manager of Capital Metro, said-Monday's decision “will not significantly affect our service.” Kouneski said more than 50 percent of Capital Metro's buses already are equipped with wheelchair lifts, and that 80 vehicles on order also will be equipped with lifts. He said Capital Metro also operates Special Transit Service vans for people whose disabilities prevent the use of conventional wheelchair lifts. A coalition of "disabled people and 12 organizations called Americans Disabled for Accessible Public Transportation filed the lawsuit last year. ADAPT contended that a provision of the federal regulations allowed authorities receiving federal transportation funds to exclude the disabled from “effective and meaningful" access. The provision allows transit authorities to decide among three types of transportation: accessible buses, special vans for the handicapped, or a combination of the two. US District Judge Marvin Katz overturned the provision in cases where the transit authority buys any buses. He also overturned a regulation requiring authorities to spend no more than 3 percent of their average annual operating costs on transportation for the disabled. Katz called the limit arbitrary. Timothy Gold [sic, really Timothy Cook], who argued the case before the court, said the ruling was “a major, major victory for the handicapped community.” He said he hoped the ruling would not be appealed.
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The NATIONAL DISABILITY ACTION CENTER Timothy M. Cook, Director For Immediate Release Contact: Timothy M. Cook 202/467-5730 DISABILITY GROUPS DELIGHTED BY DOT RULING ON ACCESSIBLE BUSES United States Transportation Department Secretary Samuel Skinner, stating his strong "support of policies that would substantially improve access to mass transit services for handicapped persons," today proposed a new regulation "requiring all new buses to be accessible,“ and "requiring supplemental paratransit service . . comparable to the service for the general public for persons who could not use the fixed route transit service." The regulation was issued in response to a court suit brought by Americans Disabled for Accessible Public Transportation (ADAPT) and twelve other national disability organizations. Wade Blank, head of ADAPT, stated that he was "delighted that the Administration finally has followed through on its commitment to persons with disabilities." The regulation will require all buses that are newly purchased or remanufactured to include wheelchairs lifts in their design and manufacture. According to Timothy M. Cook, of the Washington—based National Disability Action Center, the attorney for the disability groups, "this new rule will immensely enhance the lives of persons with disabilities throughout the country. It will open education, employment, and social opportunities heretofore closed to individuals with disabilities simply because they have had no way to get there." -30-
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CAPE COD TIMES, FRIDAY, March 24, 1989 [Headline] Vigil planned to aid disabled By KAREN JEFFREY, STAFF WRITER Twenty-five members of the Cape Organization for the Rights of the Disabled are in Cambridge today as part of a nationwide effort to support a February court ruling requiring wheelchair lifts on new public buses. More than 100 advocates for people with disabilities from across the state are scheduled to hold a vigil at noon in front oi the U.S. Department of Transportation office in Cambridge protesting the department's proposed appeal of a recent federal court ruling that requires wheelchair lifts on new public buses nationwide. The Cambridge vigil will coincide with similar events in other states. “This is about separate but equal facilities" said Mike Early, CORD president. "The 3rd District Court has ruled you can't have separate but equal facilities for people who are handicapped. And we don't want to see the Department oi Transportation try to appeal that decision." In addition to ruling that new buses for public transportation systems must include wheelchair lifts, the court also ordered the department to eliminate a 3 percent cap on the amount of money transit authorities must spend to improve transportation for the disabled. In its decision, the court noted that 24-hour reservation services required for alternative mass transportation for people with disabilities hinders spontaneous use of mass transit. The court ordered transit authorities to make what the court called "reasonable accommodations to their programs."
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Page 8-A EXPRESS-NEWS, San Antonio, Texas, Tuesday, February 14, 1939 [Headline] Federal court order could have impact on VIA budget Complied from Staff and Wire Reports INSERTED QUOTE: “ The impact of the majority‘s decision will be very substantial throughout the country and will interfere with the local decision-making authority. I feel the court is overreaching." - Judge Morton Greenberg PHILADELPHIA — A court order Monday requiring the US Department of Transportation to require transit authorities to equip new buses with wheelchair lifts could have a significant impact on the budget of San Antonio's VIA Metropolitan Transit. Attorneys who brought the lawsuit that led to the ruling called it the most important decision ever handed down for handicapped people needing public transportation. Carol Ketcherside, assistant for governmental affairs to VIA manager Wayne Cook, said the wheelchair lifts add at least $15,000 to the cost of a new bus. The average life-time of a VIA bus is 12 years, she said, and when the expense is spread across a fleet of 500 buses, the cost for lifts "would be significant." The $15,000 cost does not include the cost for maintaining the lifts or for refitting bus stops to make them accessible, she said. All bus stops being built by VIA currently are accessible, however. The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said Monday a Transportation Department regulation requiring all new buses to accommodate wheelchairs conflicts with another allowing communities to offer only an alternative service, such as special vans to the handicapped, which VIA offers. The court said a rule requiring reservations 24 hours in advance for use of the alternative transportation hinders the spontaneous use of mass transit by the handicapped. As a result, the court ordered transit authorities to make "reasonable accommodations to their programs, i.e. purchase wheelchair-accessible buses." The court also upheld a controversial decision requiring the Transportation Department to eliminate a cap on the amount of money transit authorities need to spend on making transportation accessible. A federal judge ordered VIA in 1985 to upgrade its services for the handicapped following a class action suit brought in 1983. The bus company's response was to create VIAtrans, a fleet of specially equipped vans that provide service to the handicapped who give advance notice. Ketcherside also said VIA already spends more than the 3 percent maximum the Transportation Department can require for its accessibility programs. "We far exceed the requirements of the federal government" she said. She said VIA will have to wait to see whether the Transportation Department will appeal the ruling or issue new regulations in accordance with the appeals court order to determine how it will affect the transit company. A coalition of disabled people and 12 organizations called Americans Disabled for Accessible Public Transportation (ADAPT) filed the lawsuit last year that led to the appeals court decision. ADAPT contended that a provision of the federal regulations allowed authorities receiving federal transportation funds to exclude the handicapped from "effective and meaningful" access. The provision allows transit authorities to decide among three types of handicapped-accessible transportation: accessible buses, vans for the handicapped, or combination of the two. U.S. District Judge Marvin Katz overturned the provision in cases where the transit authority buys any buses. He also overturned a regulation requiring authorities to spend no more than 3 percent -- of their average annual operating budget on transportation for the handicapped. Katz called the limit arbitrary and said it allowed transit agencies "to eviscerate the civil right" to transit service that Congress mandated for the handicapped. Circuit Judge Carol Las Mansmann in writing the 2-1 opinion also cited Congress' intent. "Congress wanted to provide the disabled with the capability to utilize mass transit to the 'maximum extent feasible.' The DOT has failed to show that requiring the future purchase of accessible buses oversteps this legislative intent." Mansmann wrote. In a dissenting opinion, Judge Morton Greenberg said the section requiring new buses to be accessible was not meant to apply to transit systems choosing paratransit system, such as special vans. He also [said] the 3 percent cap was not arbitrary. “ The impact of the majority‘s decision will be very substantial throughout the country and will interfere with the local decision-making authority," Greenberg wrote, "I feel the court is overreaching." Timothy Gold [Cook] who argued the case before the court, said the ruling was “a major, major victory for the handicapped community ... we can't say enough positve things about it." Gold [Cook], who is now director of the Washington-based National Disability Action Center, said he hoped the ruling would not be appealed in light of President Bush's recent comments about wanting to bring the handicapped into the mainstream."
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2/89 New York Times [Headline] Court Orders Buses Fitted for Handicapped PHILADELPHIA, Feb. 14 (AP) - A Federal appeals court ordered the Department of Transportation on Monday to require transit authorities around the country to equip new buses with wheelchair lifts. In its ruling, the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, in Philadelphia, said another Transportation Department regulation allowing communities to offer the handicapped services like special vans hindered the spontaneous use of mass transit by the disabled. The court also upheld a decision requiring the Transportation Department to eliminate a 3 percent limit on the amount of money transit authorities must spend to make transportation accessible. The lawsuit, filed by Americans Disabled for Accessible Public Transportation, a coalition of disabled people, and 12 organizations, attacked a provision of the Federal regulations on public transportation that allows local authorities to offer people in wheelchairs transportation in buses, special vans or a combination of the two. Judge Carol Los Mansmann of the appeals court, writing the 2-to-1 decision, said, "Congress wanted to provide the disabled with the capability to utilize mass transit to the ‘maximum extent feasible.'" Timothy M. Cook, director of the Washington-based National Disability Action Center, who argued the case before the court, said the ruling was "a major, major victory" for the handicapped. But a spokesman for transit agencies said the ruling did not address vexing problems. Albert Engelken, deputy executive director of the American Public Transit Association, said wheelchair lifts receive limited use where they exist and are an added expense to transit agencies at a time when Federal subsidies have been dwindling. Many local transportation officials declined comment on the ruling because they had not seen it. But Peter Dimond a spokesman for Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority in Boston, said, "we have made a pledge that all buses we purchase in the future will be lift-equipped." It costs $15,000 to equip a bus with a wheelchair lift and buses cost about $200,000, according to Joaquin Bowman, a spokesman for the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority.
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A-12 /The Houston Post/Wednesday, February 15, 1989 NATION & WORLD [Headline] Disabled hail ruling on bus access [Subheading] Court requires transit agencies to install wheelchair lifts ASSOCIATED PRESS PHILADELPHIA — Advocates for the disabled Tuesday hailed a federal court ruling requiring wheelchair lifts on new public buses, but a spokesman for transit agencies said the ruling doesn‘t address vexing problems. “We've been grappling with this for a long time," said Albert Engelken, deputy executive director of the American Public Transit Association in Washington. He said wheelchair lifts receive limited use where they exist and are an added expense to transit agencies at a time when federal subsidies are dwindling. A 3rd U.S. Circuit Court ol Appeals panel ruled 2-1 Monday that Congress has made its wishes on accessibility clear, and lift-equipped buses are part ol that mandate. The court ordered the Department of Transportation to rewrite a regulation allowing communities to offer alternative paratransit service, such as van rides. James D. Fornari, a New York City attorney for a group of veterans with spinal cord injuries, said the ruling will force transit systems to look for the most efficient means of serving disabled people. He said the ruling also could influence DOT regulations on light rail and commuter rail systems. Transportation department spokesman Bob Marx said DOT attorneys had not seen the decision and would not comment. Officials of Houston's Metropolitan Transit Authority also had not seen the decision, but MTA spokeswoman Carol Boudreaux said the authority would comply with any new regulations. Representatives of the disabled community in Houston lauded the ruling. “The disabled community is excited and we hope Alan Kiepper, manager of Houston Metro, hears this message from the courts and the disabled community. Access is a civil right," said Vicki Harris, executive director of the Center for Independent Living. Currently, Metro's MetroLift program provides scheduled curb-to-curb transportation for mentally or physically disabled persons who are unable to ride regular buses. Bob Kafka, an American Disabled for Accessible Public Transportation representative who joined Harris at a news conference, said he believed the cost of retrofitting buses with wheelchair lifts would be too costly, but said he hoped the ruling would force Metro to buy new buses with lifts. "Disabled people are part of this community, and they should have access to mainline transit," he said. Engelken said his association's board, which comprises the heads of transit agencies across the nation, believes agencies should be able to decide on a local basis how best to serve disabled people. lt costs $15,000 to equip a bus with a wheelchair lift, and buses cost about $200,000, said Joaquin Bowman, a spokesman for the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority.
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Rocky Mtn. News Local Briefs [Headline] Wheelchair-lift issue in court’s lap, lawyer says U.S. Attorney Michael Norton yesterday told a group of disabled activists that the federal government’s appeal of a court ruling on bus wheelchair lifts was out of his hands. Norton appeared before 40 wheelchair-bound members of ADAPT, American Disabled for Access to Public Transit, who had camped several hours outside his 12th floor offices in Denver’s federal building. ADAPT members are angry about an appeal by the U.S. Justice Department on behalf of the Department of Transportation. The appeal seeks to overturn a federal court ruling requiring all local transit buses to be equipped with wheelchair lifts. Thirty protesters were arrested Monday for blocking the doors of the Radisson Hotel, where their target, the Urban Mass Transportation Administration, was holding a conference.