Access to Transportation

Approved by the NCIL Membership June, 2004

WHEREAS, People with disabilities seek and are entitled by law to full participation in all of American life, and,

WHEREAS, Full participation in communities throughout the United States by people with disabilities has not yet been achieved, and

WHEREAS, Access to transportation is essential to enable people with disabilities to live full lives as independently as possible in their communities, and 

WHEREAS, More than half a million Americans with disabilities never leave their homes due to the lack of accessible transportation, and

WHEREAS, People with disabilities are four times more likely than the general population to experience difficulty obtaining accessible transportation and

WHEREAS, When traveling, Americans with disabilities often face barriers and challenges related to the environment, infrastructure, inaccessible vehicles and unknowing transportation personnel that alone and in combination severely limit their mobility, and

WHEREAS, without accessible transportation to participate in community activities including employment, the benefits for people with disabilities who have received special education, job training, vocational rehabilitation and many other human service programs may not be realized, and

WHEREAS, without accessible transportation in communities, people with and without disabilities will be deprived of learning, working and playing together, and

WHEREAS, the availability of accessible transportation for people with disabilities is established as a civil right in the Americans with Disabilities Act, and

BE IT THEREFORE RESOLVED: The National Council on Independent Living join with other interests and organizations in advocating for the expansion and use of safe, accessible, reliable, efficient and affordable transportation for and by citizens with disabilities at the local, state, regional and national levels, regardless of geography, throughout the United States as well as providing education and training to members of the organization and others with disabilities about the use of accessible community transportation.

Respectively Submitted by: Project Action