- Deadline: 12:00 Noon Central Time; Monday, October 17, 2016
The Access Living ADA lawsuit against Uber regarding wheelchair accessible rides has been widely covered in the press.
Access Living (of Metropolitan Chicago) has organized a sign on letter regarding access to transportation, including transit in the new economy. Please join Access Living in making a public statement for cross-disability solidarity. Access Living believes that advocating for transit access cannot leave some groups behind, even as other disability groups may have benefited from new transit choices.
Once the signatures are gathered, the letter will be made public in order to demonstrate the seriousness of holding transit services accountable under the ADA. Access Living is asking for national, state and local groups to sign on to the letter below.
If your organization is willing to sign on, please email Amber Smock at [email protected] with the appropriate full name of your group by 12:00 Noon Central on Monday, October 17. The letter will be made public on Tuesday, October 18.
Letter of Support:
We the undersigned organizations, affirm and support the right of people with disabilities to travel services under Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990. For decades, transportation issues have been at the forefront of our movement for independence and civil rights in the United States. People with disabilities have the moral and legal right to equivalent transit services, including, but not limited to, rideshare services like Uber.
Furthermore, we emphasize that transit services must serve ALL people with disabilities as defined by the ADA, not just some of us. While new developments in the transit industry have benefited some people with disabilities, these developments have left others out of the mainstream of American life, effectively relegating them to social isolation and invisibility. We, like others in our society, have employment, family, social and civic obligations that require us to be able to travel in a speedy and affordable fashion. The current status quo is not acceptable. It is long past time to ensure equivalent ride service for all. Disability transit considerations should always be part of the original planning of systems, not an afterthought.
We, the undersigned, support the efforts of Access Living and other groups to hold transit services accountable for serving people with disabilities.
Signatories to Date:
- Access Living of Metropolitan Chicago
- ADA Legacy Project
- Brazoria County Center for Independent Living
- Center for Disability Rights
- Chicago Hearing Society, a division of Anixter Center
- Disability Policy Consortium of Massachusetts
- Disability Rights Center
- Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund
- Disability Rights Oregon
- National Council on Independent Living
- National Council on Independent Living Region 6 – New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas and Louisiana
- Northwest Down Syndrome Association
- Road to Freedom Bus Tour
- Texas Disability Project
I support this position. Transportation is vital and people with disabilities need access to all modes of transportation to live full and productive lives.