Rethinking Equality and Difference: Disability Discrimination in Public Transportation

Abstract

People with physical disabilities' in the United States have faced, and continue to struggle against, many social and economic disadvantages. Over the years, laws have explicitly excluded people with disabilities from holding public office,' serving on juries, 3 marrying, 4 working in certain occupations, 5 bearing children,' attending school, 7 and even from being seen on public streets. 8 Even today, people with disabilities are "substan-1. This Note will use the term "disability" in place of "handicap." Although there is disagreement about which term is preferable, many people believe "handicap" carries connotations of inferior status. The phrase "people with disabilities" in place of "disabled people" or "the disabled" emphasizes that people should not be reduced to their disabilities. See NATIONAL EASTER SEAL SOc', PORTRAYING PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES IN THE MEDIA § I (undated). This Note uses "disability" to include all physical disabilities covered by § 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. See 29 U.S.C.A. § 706(8)(B) (West Supp. 1988). Section 504 covers any person who has, is regarded as having, or has a record of having a physical or mental impairment which substantially limits one or more of that person's major life activities. Id. Some examples of disabilities included in this definition are hearing impairments, epilepsy, visual impairments, and neuromotor impairments. The discussion in this Note will be limited to physical disabilities, since the issue of equality for people with mental disabilities may raise somewhat different questions. For a discussion of equality in the context of mental disability, see Comment, We Have Met the Imbeciles and They Are Us:

COVID-19 Public Transit Precautions: Trade-offs between Risk Reduction and Costs

“…Previous transportation studies involving vulnerable populations have focused on inequalities related to disabled populations on public transit 26 as well as the distributional impacts of public transit decisions on equity indicators. 27 Other papers have explored the potential increases in travel demand from AVs serving elderly, disabled and other non-driving populations.…”

Accessible Transportation and the Built Environment on College Campuses

“…The language was changed in 1979 to read "equal access," which encompassed the notion that mass transit should be designed for both the disabled and nondisabled and included the requirement for new fixed-route systems to become accessible. Other developments included the court case American Public Transit Association v. Lewis in 1981, which held that the expensive changes required for buses were out of the authority of the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) (12).…”

Disaggregating Race and Ethnicity

“…When geography is combined with other socioeconomic characteristics, the potential demands for transportation suggest what has been described as structural discrimination (McCluskey, 1988). That is, where investments are made that limit access and mobility to persons because of mental or physical functionality, income, or other capability constraints, these investments may serve to place the persons at a disadvantage.…”