The DOT proposed regulations for Over the Road Buses, OTRBs, i.e.. =
Greyhound, look good! They would require that large companies, with =
profits over $5 million, would have to have half their fleet accessible =
by 2006 and have a fully accessible fleet by 2012. By 2002 they would =
have to supply an accessible bus for folks who called 48 hours ahead to =
reserve a ride. Smaller fixed route companies would have an additional =
year for each step but the same requirements. We will get you more =
details on the regs and how you can send in comments, but in the =
meantime an emergency has come up!
Congressman Bud Shuster, Chair of the House Transportation Committee and
=
other members of Congress -- after waiting one whole day -- are planning
=
to amend the ADA and completely exempt Greyhound and other OTRB =
companies from the ADA and would pre-empt any regulations from the =
Department of Transportation. This amendment would be tacked on during =
the mark up of the "Building Efficient Surface Transportation and Equity
=
Act (BESTEA: HR 2400)"
Please call the members of the full committee and let them know such an =
amendment would be horrible. =20
Points you can bring up:
1) Greyhound has had over 7 years to come up with a way to serve people
=
with disabilities. They have done almost nothing. There is absolutely =
no reason to believe they will do anything unless they are required to =
by the ADA. =20
2) DOT has studied this issue for a VERY long time. They were =
supposed to issue regs in 1994, and now they finally have in 1998. =
Their logic for their proposed rules is very strong and we can get this =
to committee members if they need it.
3) This issue was studied by the Office of Technology Assessment, a =
federal agency, which included members of the transit industry as they =
developed their recommendations, and the OTA found accessible buses were
=
vital.
4) People who have tried to ride under the current system have had =
abominable service. ADAPT's Doggone Shame Report outlines the types of =
experiences: people have been dropped, undressed, physically and =
otherwise harmed trying to ride; they have been told they don't belong =
on Greyhound, had their equipment broken, been required to find someone =
to travel with them, and more. Greyhound's "ADA 800 reservation line" =
is a joke. Share any personal experiences you have had with Greyhound.
5) Greyhound owns a bus manufacturing company. Denver's city transit =
system, RTD recently bought 72 lift-equipped over the road coaches from =
Greyhound's company and the lifts cost $15,000. =20
6) DOT calculated the additional cost for lift equipping Greyhound's bus
=
was 35 cents per ticket (which cost on average $33).
=20
Call and get your friends to call. Shuster and others are serious, and =
seem to think Greyhound's profits are more important than your physical =
safety, let alone your civil rights.
House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
2165 Rayburn House Office Building, Washington DC 20515-6256=09
http://www.house.gov/transportation/
------------------------------------------------------------------------
COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION & INFRASTRUCTURE=20
105th CONGRESS MEMBERSHIP
(updated January 15, 1998)
REPUBLICAN =09
Chairman Bud Shuster, (PA)=09
Don Young, (AK) =09
Thomas E. Petri, (WI) =09
Sherwood L. Boehlert, (NY) =09
Herbert H. Bateman, (VA) =09
Howard Coble, (NC) =09
John J. Duncan, Jr., (TN) =09
Thomas W. Ewing, (IL) =09
Wayne T. Gilchrest, (MD) =09
Jay Kim, (CA) =09
Stephen Horn, (CA) =09
Bob Franks, (NJ) =09
John L. Mica, (FL) =09
Jack Quinn, (NY) =09
Tillie K. Fowler, (FL) =09
Vernon J. Ehlers, (MI) =09
Spencer Bachus, (AL) =09
Steven C. LaTourette, (OH)=09
Sue W. Kelly, (NY) =09
Ray LaHood, (IL) =09
Richard H. Baker, (LA)=09
Frank Riggs, (CA) =09
Charles Bass, (NH) =09
Bob Ney, (OH) =09
Jack Metcalf, (WA) =09
Jo Ann Emerson, (MO) =09
Edward Pease, (IN) =09
Roy Blunt, (MO) =09
Joseph Pitts, (PA) =09
Asa Hutchinson, (AR) =09
Merrill Cook, (UT) =09
J
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ohn Cooksey, (LA) =09
John Thune, (SD) (Vacancy)
Charles W. "Chip" Pickering, Jr., (MS) =A0
Kay Granger, (TX) =A0
Jon D. Fox, (PA)=A0
Thomas M. Davis, (VA)=A0
Frank LoBiondo, (NJ)=A0
J.C. Watts, Jr., (OK)=A0
Jerry Moran, (KS)=A0
Vito Fossella, (NY)=A0
DEMOCRAT
Ranking Democrat James L. Oberstar, (MN)=20
Nick J. Rahall II, (WV)
Robert A. Borski, (PA)
William O. Lipinski, (IL)
Robert E. Wise, Jr. (WV)=20
James A. Traficant, Jr., (OH)=20
Peter A. DeFazio, (OR)=20
Bob Clement, (TN)
Jerry F. Costello, (IL)
Glenn Poshard, (IL) =20
Eleanor Holmes Norton, (DC)
Jerrold Nadler, (NY)=20
Pat Danner, (MO)
Robert Menendez, (NJ)
James Clyburn, (SC)
Corrine Brown, (FL) =20
James A. Barcia, (MI)=20
Bob Filner, (CA)
Eddie Bernice Johnson, (TX)=20
Frank Mascara, (PA)
Gene Taylor, (MS)
Juanita Millender-McDonald, (CA)
Elijah E. Cummings, (MD)=20
Earl Blumenauer, (OR)=20
Max Sandlin, (TX)=20
Ellen Tauscher, (CA)
William J. Pascrell, Jr., (NJ)=20
Jay Johnson, (WI)=20
Leonard L. Boswell, (IA)=20
Jim McGovern, (MA)
Tim Holden, (PA)
Nick Lampson, (TX)
=20
_____________________________________________________________________
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Or call Juno at (800) 654-JUNO [654-5866]