Written by: Katie Hunt Thomas
Hello! This year, my columns are bite sized briefings on the different issue areas that are the focus of our advocacy. My last column focused on Access to Health Care, and this column focuses on Access to Public Transportation. Enjoy your reading!
Access to Public Transit
Access to public transit has always been important to the disability rights movement. In 1978, a group of people who used mobility devices, the Gang of 19, blocked one of the busiest intersections in downtown Denver after the group’s leader was told he could not get on the bus. They demanded that the City of Denver install ramps on more than 200 new busses so that they could ride public transit. The protest lasted 24 hours. At night, some of the protesters left their wheelchairs to sleep on the hard concrete. Eventually, the city answered their demands and made the busses accessible.[1]
Accessible public transit was also important to the grassroots movement that resulted in the Americans with Disabilities Act, which was passed in 1990. An entire section of the ADA is dedicated to ensuring that private and government- owned public transportation is accessible to people with disabilities.[2] This has resulted in sprawling and detailed regulations issued by the U.S. Department of Transportation governing the architecture, programs, and policies of public transit companies in the U.S.[3]
Why is access to public transit so important? Many people with disabilities can’t drive because of their disability. And in the U.S., our communities are set up for those who can drive. If someone is unable to use public transit because it is inaccessible, they are unable to access basic goods like groceries, get to work, get to medical appointments, and otherwise participate in community life. Without accessible public transportation, many people with disabilities cannot live independently and are either isolated in their homes or forced into institutions.
Barriers and Civil Rights in Public Transportation
If the ADA requires public transportation to be accessible, then why advocate? What are we still asking for? The reality is that, while the ADA requires public transportation to be accessible to people with disabilities, the availability of public transit is limited. The ADA only requires that public transit be accessible if it is available. It does not require public transit to actually be available. People with disabilities have a civil right to accessible public transit, but there is no civil right to public transit itself.
Many areas of Ohio, especially rural areas, have no public transit at all. In areas where public transit is available, like Toledo, it is only available in limited areas. For example, in Toledo, our Regional Transit Authority (TARTA) only covers Lucas County, so a person with a disability cannot take a direct public transit route from Toledo to Perrysburg, or to Monroe, Michigan. Even within Lucas County, there are often not enough busses and drivers to get people with disabilities to work, school, and medical appointments in a reliable and timely manner. Busses are often late, or a rider has to be on the bus for several hours to travel a short distance. While the ability to get from place to place is a core need for anyone who wants to travel in the world, the shortage and unreliability of public transit in Ohio are major stressors in the life of anyone who cannot drive.
The Ability Center’s Goals
At the Ability Center, our long-term advocacy goals in transportation include working to develop a comprehensive, multi-modal public transportation system in NW Ohio and ensuring that our existing public transportation systems are accessible to people with disabilities. Over the years, we have learned that the more differing public transit options exist, the better people with disabilities can navigate our community. Potential public transit options include busses, but they also include bikes, scooters, trollies, air travel, and passenger rail.
Ensuring that local transit is accessible to those with disabilities
For many years, The Ability Center has participated in creating our local transportation plans in collaboration with TARTA and Lake Erie West and worked with state legislators to ensure that Ohio continues to provide funding for our public transportation systems. One of our larger projects includes working with TARTA to resolve systemic passenger complaints, increase the accessibility of their bus stops, and representing The Ability Center on TARTA’s customer advisory committee. We also work with the City of Toledo on ensuring that
Expanding our Transit Options: Passenger Rail
Finally, the Ability Center has coordinated with Lake Erie West and the City of Toledo to bring additional passenger rail options to Toledo. Right now, Toledo has a unique opportunity to benefit from a federal passenger rail program, the Corridor ID Program, to get enhanced passenger rail connections in our region. Several years ago, the federal government set aside money for states to develop enhanced passenger rail through Corridor ID. The State of Ohio applied to the federal government to designate four different passenger rail routes that Ohio can develop as part of the Corridor ID program, and the federal government chose a Detroit-Toledo-Cleveland route as part of that federal program.
Even though the route has already been identified by our federal and state government, each phase of the multi-year program requires a state or local match to move forward. Thus, advocates need to make their voices heard to ensure that matching funds are provided by our local and state government to make the route happen.
The Ability Center has been working with our partners at Lake Erie West and the City of Toledo to draw attention to the voices of people with disabilities who need these inter-city passenger rail connections. For those who cannot drive, passenger rail provides an accessible mode of travel from city to city for medical appointments (like at the Cleveland Clinic or University of Michigan), work, travel, and visiting family and friends.
It also provides an accessible method of long-distance travel. Air travel can be especially difficult for many people with disabilities. Airports are difficult to get to, require walking long distances to get to the air hanger, and the cramped nature of planes makes it difficult for people to bring mobility equipment. Many people with disabilities must be separated from their wheelchairs and are thus trapped in their seats during flights. Airplane bathrooms are too small for those who have mobility equipment to use, and it is difficult to find a last minute flight because airplanes have to plan to accommodate the extra weight of a mobility device.
Passenger rail offers a much more accessible alternative where people with disabilities can hold on to their mobility device and remain independent while traveling, use the restrooms, and find last minute connections in case of a cancellation.
The Ability Center runs a coalition, the Disability and Aging Rail Coalition, to help coordinate advocacy around passenger rail in our region. You can sign up to be part of this coalition below.
The Ability Center’s mission revolves around supporting the independence of people with disabilities in our community. Key to that mission is ensuring that those whose disability prevents them from driving have as many options as possible to get from place to place. That’s why advocating for increased accessible transportation options is a pillar of our advocacy.
Our advocacy team loves to engage with those who are interested in our work or in the work of The Ability Center. Sign up for our newsletter at or reach out to jpatalita@abilitycenter.org.
[1] Joseph Shapiro, Stephanie Wolf, In 1978, They Stopped Busses – and Helped Launch a Disability Rights Movement, National Public Radio (April 2026), available at https://www.npr.org/2026/03/19/nx-s1-5675264/how-an-act-of-civil-disobedience-in-1978-denver-helped-propel-disability-rights
[2] 42 USC 12141, et seq.; The statute can be accessed at: https://www.ada.gov/law-and-regs/ada/#subchapter-ii—public-services-title-ii
[3] 49 CFR 27, et seq.; Regulations are available at: https://www.transit.dot.gov/regulations-and-guidance/civil-rights-ada/ada-regulations
