The DOT rules for implementing Section 504 guarantee handicapped persons their civil rights with respect to the use of public transit systems, but due to the barriers which still remain in the community, improvement in mobility is questioned. Current estimates of the cost of full accessibility vary between $5-$8 billion, to be spent over the next 30 years. Many argue that accessible transit is a less effective alternative for improving the mobility of handicapped individuals than solutions involving combinations of paratransit and conventional transit. The high costs of implementing the changes mandated by DOT’s rules for Section 504, coupled with predictions that these changes would remove barriers for relatively few users, has created considerable controversy.
Samenvatting