42 USC 12184 – Prohibition of discrimination in specified public transportation services provided by private entities
(a) General rule
No individual shall be discriminated against on the basis of disability in the full and equal enjoyment of specified public transportation services provided by a private entity that is primarily engaged in the business of transporting people and whose operations affect commerce.
(b) Construction
Terms Used In 42 USC 12184
- association: when used in reference to a corporation, shall be deemed to embrace the words "successors and assigns of such company or association" in like manner as if these last-named words, or words of similar import, were expressed. See 1 USC 5
- auxiliary aids and services: includes &mdash. See 42 USC 12103
- commerce: means travel, trade, traffic, commerce, transportation, or communication&mdash. See 42 USC 12181
- demand responsive system: means any system of providing transportation of individuals by a vehicle, other than a system which is a fixed route system. See 42 USC 12181
- disability: means , with respect to an individual&mdash. See 42 USC 12102
- individual: shall include every infant member of the species homo sapiens who is born alive at any stage of development. See 1 USC 8
- Lease: A contract transferring the use of property or occupancy of land, space, structures, or equipment in consideration of a payment (e.g., rent). Source: OCC
- over-the-road bus: means a bus characterized by an elevated passenger deck located over a baggage compartment. See 42 USC 12181
- private entity: means any entity other than a public entity (as defined in section 12131(1) of this title). See 42 USC 12181
- specified public transportation: means transportation by bus, rail, or any other conveyance (other than by aircraft) that provides the general public with general or special service (including charter service) on a regular and continuing basis. See 42 USC 12181
- vehicle: includes every description of carriage or other artificial contrivance used, or capable of being used, as a means of transportation on land. See 1 USC 4
For purposes of subsection (a), discrimination includes—
(1) the imposition or application by a 1 entity described in subsection (a) of eligibility criteria that screen out or tend to screen out an individual with a disability or any class of individuals with disabilities from fully enjoying the specified public transportation services provided by the entity, unless such criteria can be shown to be necessary for the provision of the services being offered;
(2) the failure of such entity to—
(A) make reasonable modifications consistent with those required under section 12182(b)(2)(A)(ii) of this title;
(B) provide auxiliary aids and services consistent with the requirements of section 12182(b)(2)(A)(iii) of this title; and
(C) remove barriers consistent with the requirements of section 12182(b)(2)(A) of this title and with the requirements of section 12183(a)(2) of this title;
(3) the purchase or lease by such entity of a new vehicle (other than an automobile, a van with a seating capacity of less than 8 passengers, including the driver, or an over-the-road bus) which is to be used to provide specified public transportation and for which a solicitation is made after the 30th day following the effective date of this section, that is not readily accessible to and usable by individuals with disabilities, including individuals who use wheelchairs; except that the new vehicle need not be readily accessible to and usable by such individuals if the new vehicle is to be used solely in a demand responsive system and if the entity can demonstrate that such system, when viewed in its entirety, provides a level of service to such individuals equivalent to the level of service provided to the general public;
(4)(A) the purchase or lease by such entity of an over-the-road bus which does not comply with the regulations issued under section 12186(a)(2) of this title; and
(B) any other failure of such entity to comply with such regulations; and 2
(5) the purchase or lease by such entity of a new van with a seating capacity of less than 8 passengers, including the driver, which is to be used to provide specified public transportation and for which a solicitation is made after the 30th day following the effective date of this section that is not readily accessible to or usable by individuals with disabilities, including individuals who use wheelchairs; except that the new van need not be readily accessible to and usable by such individuals if the entity can demonstrate that the system for which the van is being purchased or leased, when viewed in its entirety, provides a level of service to such individuals equivalent to the level of service provided to the general public;
(6) the purchase or lease by such entity of a new rail passenger car that is to be used to provide specified public transportation, and for which a solicitation is made later than 30 days after the effective date of this paragraph, that is not readily accessible to and usable by individuals with disabilities, including individuals who use wheelchairs; and
(7) the remanufacture by such entity of a rail passenger car that is to be used to provide specified public transportation so as to extend its usable life for 10 years or more, or the purchase or lease by such entity of such a rail car, unless the rail car, to the maximum extent feasible, is made readily accessible to and usable by individuals with disabilities, including individuals who use wheelchairs.
(c) Historical or antiquated cars
(1) Exception
To the extent that compliance with subsection (b)(2)(C) or (b)(7) would significantly alter the historic or antiquated character of a historical or antiquated rail passenger car, or a rail station served exclusively by such cars, or would result in violation of any rule, regulation, standard, or order issued by the Secretary of Transportation under the Federal Railroad Safety Act of 1970, such compliance shall not be required.
(2) Definition
As used in this subsection, the term “historical or antiquated rail passenger car” means a rail passenger car—
(A) which is not less than 30 years old at the time of its use for transporting individuals;
(B) the manufacturer of which is no longer in the business of manufacturing rail passenger cars; and
(C) which—
(i) has a consequential association with events or persons significant to the past; or
(ii) embodies, or is being restored to embody, the distinctive characteristics of a type of rail passenger car used in the past, or to represent a time period which has passed.