ALEXANDRIA, Va. The United Motorcoach Association is urging its members, and other coach operators, to make sure they have complied this year with bus industry reporting requirements under the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Under federal rules, all U.S.-based over-the-road bus companies must submit three types of reports to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration every 12 months, documenting requests they have had for accessible bus service and how the requests were handled.

This years reports were due Oct. 27, and cover the reporting period from Oct. 1, 2007, through Sept. 30, 2008.

The three reports operators must submit provide the feds with the following:

Summaries of all accessible/equivalent service requests received during the previous year and the response/services provided by the operator.

The number of passengers who used a wheelchair lift to board an accessible coach.

Summaries of motorcoach fleet composition, including the number of buses in the fleet and the number that are wheelchair accessible.

The splash page of UMAs website, www.uma.org, contains a link to the FMCSAs Overview of Reporting and Other ADA Requirements, and a reporting form.

"It is imperative that over-the-road bus companies comply with these reporting requirements," says UMA Vice President of Industry Relations Ken Presley.

"A companys failure to comply with the requirements may result in a USDOT referral to the U.S. Department of Justice for investigation and possible litigation."

Questions about the requirement can be directed to the FMCSA by e-mailing mc-ecp@dot.gov, or contacting Presley at kpresley@uma.org, or calling him at (800) 424-8262.