APRIL

The Americans with Disabilities Act and Accessible Transportation: Challenges and Opportunities

On Thursday, November 17^th, APRIL Executive Director, Billy Altom had the opportunity to testify before the Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) on the issues surrounding the lack of available, affordable and accessible transportation options for people with disabilities in rural America. He was joined by David M. Capozzi, Executive Director, U.S. Access Board, Washington DC; Marca Bristo, President and CEO, Access Living, Chicago, IL; Jill Houghton, Executive Director, US Business Leadership Network, Washington, DC.

The goal of this hearing was to explore the important role of accessible transportation in the lives of people with disabilities, particularly in securing and retaining employment. The hearing

focused on ways to further the four goals of the Americans with Disabilities Act: equal

opportunity, full participation, independent living and economic self-sufficiency. Whether

individuals with disabilities reside in urban or rural America, the availability of accessible

transportation has a significant impact in determining whether these individuals have equal

opportunity for employment and participation in community activities. APRIL was asked to provide information in the four following areas:

• Why accessible transportation for individuals with disabilities is critical in achieving the

goals of the ADA, particularly improving employment outcomes;

• What are some of the best practices and innovative programs that you and APRIL

members are working on to address the lack of accessible transportation in rural areas;

• What specific challenges are there for individuals with disabilities in rural areas in finding

and utilizing accessible transportation; and

• Describe how travel accessibility has evolved over the course of your professional career,

and any recent challenges you or your colleagues at APRIL have experienced in your travels, particularly in rural areas.

To read each of the presenters full written testimony or view the proceedings click here or visit the Senate HELP committee website.

http://help.senate.gov/hearings/hearing/?id=8d2471d5-5056-9502-5d10-0eac4326582a

APRIL’s own Billy Altom gave a “Truth to Power” presentation at the 2011 National Rural Assembly in St. Paul, Minnesota on June 28^th. Billy’s “Truth to Power” was All Public Transportation should be accessible to all users all the time. He concludes his presentation with an original song about the woes of rural transportation entitled I Wanna Ride.

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Transportation Improvements Key for Future of Rural MN

Public News Service-MN

September 06, 2011

ST. PAUL, Minn. - If rural Minnesota is going to thrive, improvements in public transportation have to be part of the picture, according to the Association of Programs for Rural Independent Living (APRIL). The group's Executive Director, Billy Altom, says the ability to get around affects every facet of a person's life, and without it, the negative effects can pile up like dominoes."It's almost a snowball effect sometimes, when you look at, 'Well if I lose my ride, then the next, I've lost my job, I've lost my house,' and then you wind up in dire straits."Altom says part of the problem with the current systems is that each transportation provider has its own restrictions and routes, many of which don't coordinate with each other. He says getting them to work together would be more efficient, cut costs and improve accessibility.

While there are transportation options in most rural areas for the elderly, poor and people with disabilities, Altom says they need to be better coordinated. Right now, in his view, there's no real system in place."It's more of a, for lack of a better term, kind of a hodge-podge of different little providers. You may have Human Services that are providing here, another nonprofit is doing it here. They're not coordinated - yet the monies come from, basically, the same pot of money."So, Altom's group says, all the providers in rural areas need to get on the same page. He adds that they also need a voice in work on the next federal transportation bill, which he hopes will cover a six-year time period."Because if you just do a two-year bill and you're trying to coordinate programs, by the time regulations and stuff come out of the feds - we're two years in, we haven't done anything. So, if we can spread it out into that six years, I think we'll be much better off."Altom says the next transportation bill also needs to be equitable. He says only six percent of federal transit funding supports rural areas, where 25 percent of Americans live.

Click here to view this story on the Public News Service RSS site and access an audio version of this and other stories: http://www.publicnewsservice.org/index.php?/content/article/22053-1

Public News Service has also carried this interview in South Dakota, New Mexico,

Montana, Idaho, Virginia, West Virginia and Arizona.

Testimony for the Record
Submitted to:
House Committee on Transportation & Infrastructure
Subcommittee on Highways and Transit
March 29th, 2011 Hearing
“Improving and Reforming our Nation’s Surface Transportation Programs”

Transportation is a critical link to opportunity—connecting us to jobs, schools, housing, health care, and grocery stores. However, our inadequate, outdated, and underfunded transportation systems are keeping too many Americans from fully connecting and contributing to the national economy.

Complete testimony PDF file

Complete testimony Word file