ADA mandate vs. holiday travel demand

On Oct. 29, more than 30 large, fixed-route motorcoach operators are supposed to have 100 percent of their fleets accessible 100 percent of the time to individuals with disabilities. (See Oct. 15 Bus & Motorcoach News.)

But less than a month beyond that date, a very practical test of the accessibility requirement will occur when tens of thousands of travelers attempt to board buses during the Thanksgiving holiday.

Thanksgiving has always been a "peak travel day" for the industry. Other high-traffic periods include the last day of college terms, the days around Christmas, and holiday weekends when many more people than usual travel.

Industry leaders and large fixed-route carriers that are required to meet the 100 percent accessibility deadline are concerned the industry will be unable to accommodate the extra passengers during those times because of the accessibility requirement.

And that could impact scores of tour-and-charter bus operators that supply the line-run operators with extra buses during peak travel periods.

Peter Pantuso of the American Bus Association said some large carriers are applying to the U.S. Department of Transportation for time extensions to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act to "address the huge swell in the number of coaches that are required during peak holiday periods."

In the past, he said, it was common practice for the large scheduled-service carriers to meet demand during peak travel periods by leasing buses from tour-and-charter companies, which are not required to own wheelchair lift-equipped buses.

Meeting demand

"The challenge is going to be, how do you meet the incredible demand that takes place during these peak periods and supply the customers who need transportation, if the buses you dont own have got to be lift equipped and theres no availability in the marketplace?" he asked.

Pantuso said the intent of the Americans with Disabilities Act was to provide accessible service to individuals with disabilities, and carriers are doing so by using wheelchair lift-equipped buses.

But if carriers are unable to lease extra lift-equipped buses during peak travel periods, "you are leaving potentially millions of people behind who wont have access to motorcoach transportation," he said.

"Youre not leaving anybody behind who doesnt have access to the bus because they need a wheelchair lift-equipped bus. Youre leaving a lot of people behind who just need basic transportation," he noted.

In July, the ABA tried one approach to resolve the problem in a letter to U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood.

The letter argued the extra holiday service, using leased buses, or "extra sections," should be considered demand-responsive and thus exempt from the 100 percent accessible requirement.

"ABAs position is that only the first section on a given schedule is the "scheduled" or "fixed-route" bus since it is the only bus that will depart regardless of demand and the only one that operates along a prescribed route, according to a fixed schedule regardless of passenger demand. Any extra sections would be provided based solely on the demand of passengers on that day at that time, and therefore those extra sections are demand-responsive service for the purposes of the ADA rule," the ABA letter said.

Roundly rebuffed

That argument was soundly rebuffed in a response from a USDOT attorney. He wrote:

"When an individual buys a ticket for a bus that is scheduled to leave a location at a certain time and proceed along a route to a specified destination, that ticket is for fixed-route transportation, even if that ticket is for transportation occurring at a heavy traffic time. . . . Service along a prescribed route according to a fixed schedule is the hallmark of a fixed-route system . . . ," said the USDOT letter.

Patuso said it could be a dismal holiday season for some bus travelers if the extensions are denied.

"The average traveling public doesnt know the details of compliance and regulations and rules," he said. "Theyre going to show up on the Wednesday, the day before Thanksgiving, and expect a trip as they have for years and years.

"Where there may have been almost an unlimited amount of vehicles to accommodate them (in the past), there may only be one this time."

He added that those travelers are not the only ones who may lose out.

"Its a tremendous amount of lost revenue and business opportunity to the charter-and-tour businesses, many of whom have chartered to all the fixed-route carriers and scheduled carriers and sometimes commuters during those peak periods," he said.