Transportation
Access to public transportation is a key to independence and full community participation for people with disabilities. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) sets forth specific requirements for transit systems including fixed route buses, light and heavy rail systems, ADA complementary paratransit, over-the-road buses, shuttles, and other forms of publicly and privately-funded public transportation.
DREDF advocates for the development and implementation of strong, comprehensive ADA transportation requirements, works toward additional accessible transportation service, and provides in-depth training for people with disabilities and others on ADA transportation that includes current policy developments and best practices.
Latest Updates
Coalitions
Consortium for Constituents with Disabilities Transportation Task Force. DREDF is an active participant of the Task Force and has served as a Co-Chair from 2018 to present. CCD’s Task Force page includes recent and past AV-related comments.
Autonomous Vehicle (AV) Tenets. A coalition of more than 55 organizations, including DREDF. The AV Tenets serve as a guide to federal legislation and policy on the development and deployment of AVs. The AV Tenets are divided into four main categories: prioritizing the safety of all road users; guaranteeing accessibility for all; preserving consumer and worker rights; and, ensuring local control and sustainable transportation.
Autonomous Vehicles (AVs), Also Known as Self-Driving Cars
Fully autonomous vehicles (AV) or self-driving cars are on the horizon. Self-driving cars can cause the kind of cataclysmic change in the lives of people with disabilities that the invention of the automatic washing machine did for women. But, the promise of the technology will only be realized if the cars are truly accessible to people with disabilities, and the laws and policies developed by states or the federal government do not present unnecessary restrictions based on myths or fear. DREDF is working in coalition with other disability advocacy groups to promote the interests of disabled people as AV technology and accompanying laws and policies move forward.
Addressing Disability & Ableist Bias in Autonomous Vehicles: Ensuring Safety, Equity & Accessibility in Detection, Collision Algorithms & Data Collection
This brief considers bias within pedestrian detection and collision behavior algorithms, lack of disability representation in the datasets used to train and test AVs, and the need for ethics frameworks that give full recognition to disabled people’s humanity and fundamental rights.
Read the BriefConsortium for Constituents with Disabilities Autonomous Vehicles Principles
Disability policy priorities developed by DREDF and 19 other national disability advocacy organizations.
Read the PrinciplesFully Accessible Autonomous Vehicles Checklist
Anything that a car maker includes as a feature or enhancement for people without disabilities should be designed to be accessed by people who are blind, Deaf, have mobility disabilities, cognitive disabilities, etc.
Get the ChecklistSelf-Driving Cars: Mapping Access to a Technology Revolution
This report explores the emerging revolution in automobile technology and the promise it holds for people with disabilities, as well as the obstacles the disability community faces to realizing that promise.
Read the ReportAutonomous Vehicles: Driving Employment for People with Disabilities Information-Gathering Session Summary Report, Office of Disability Employment Policy
The U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP) developed key takeaways to inform future policy development to ensure accessible AVs can be leveraged to drive employment for people with disabilities.
Read the Informational Brief