§12184 Prohibition of Discrimination in Specified Public Transportation Services Provided by Private Entities

Summary

Private companies that mainly carry people and whose work affects interstate commerce must not treat someone with a disability unfairly when offering certain public transportation services. Unfair treatment includes using rules that exclude people with disabilities unless the rule is truly needed; failing to make reasonable changes, provide needed aids or services, or remove barriers as other disability rules require; and buying or leasing new vehicles, vans, or rail cars that are not accessible to people who use wheelchairs when the purchase request is made after the 30th day after the law took effect. Over‑the‑road buses must follow specific accessibility regulations. A new small van (under 8 seats) or a new vehicle for demand‑response service may be exempt if the whole system still gives people with disabilities an equal level of service. If a rail car is remanufactured to extend its life 10 years or more, it must be made accessible to the maximum extent feasible. If making changes would seriously harm the historic character of a rail car or station, or would break Federal Railroad Safety Act rules, the accessibility changes are not required. A “historical or antiquated rail passenger car” is one that is at least 30 years old, whose maker no longer makes such cars, and that has historic ties or shows the style of an earlier era.