[Travelandtourism] Good News For Travelers With Disabilities

[cheryl echevarria]

This is from Forbes Magazine:

Traveling with a disability may become a little bit easier.
 Earlier today the Department of Transportation proposed a regulation that 
would require airline Web sites and automated airport kiosks to be 
accessible, and a new federal rule announced last week strengthens 
protections at train station platforms.

Under the proposed air travel rule, airlines would be required to make their 
Web sites accessible over a two-year period, and ensure that their ticket 
agents do the same. If passed, the requirement would apply to U.S. and 
foreign carriers with Web sites marketing air transportation to U.S. 
consumers for travel within, to or from the United States.  Small ticket 
agents would be exempt, according to the Department.

"I strongly believe that airline passengers with disabilities should have 
equal access to the same services as all other travelers," Transportation 
Secretary Ray LaHood said in a statement released today of the proposed 
rule.

In addition, airlines and airports that use automated kiosks for services 
such as printing boarding passes and baggage tags would have to ensure that 
any kiosk ordered 60 days after the rule takes effect is accessible.  This 
requirement would apply to U.S. and foreign carriers and U.S. airports that 
own, lease or control automated airport kiosks at U.S. airports with 10,000 
or more annual boardings.

The proposed regulation is an important step, said Eric Lipp, executive 
director of the Open Doors Organization, a nonprofit group in Chicago 
serving people with disabilities.  "I've never met an airline that hasn't 
wanted an accessible Web site. It just comes down to money." The exorbitant 
expense, he said, has precluded the airlines from developing sites, even 
though the technology is readily available. "People want to see Web sites be 
accessible. Isn't it overdue?"

Open Doors estimates that people with disabilities spend about $15 billion 
annually on travel.

And with the growing population of aging baby boomers, the number of people 
with disabilities in the United States is expected to increase.

But while technology for accessible kiosks exists, the kiosks themselves 
have not been manufactured and are not yet available in the marketplace, so 
providing them will be a much greater challenge.

Currently, the Department of Transportation requires that carriers make 
discounts available to passengers who cannot use inaccessible Web sites and 
must make telephone or in-person reservations. Also, if passengers with 
disabilities are unable to use the kiosk because it is not accessible, 
carriers are required to provide equivalent service, such as having an 
airline employee assist in operating the kiosk.

The proposal is the latest in a series of rules to implement the Air Carrier 
Access Act (ACAA), originally issued May 2008

The new rail station rule is intended to give passengers better access to 
intercity, commuter and high-speed train travel across the country.

"By putting this protection in place, passengers with disabilities will be 
able to get on and off any accessible car that is available to passengers at 
a new or altered station platform." Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said 
in a statement issued late last week by the Department of Transportation, 
which is amending its Americans with Disabilities Act regulations (ADA).

Amtrak has been proactive in recent years in making train stations in large 
cities ADA compliant, said Lipp, the Open Doors executive, but the smaller, 
often privately owned stations, have often been slow to implement change.



Leading the Way in Independent Travel!

Cheryl Echevarria
http://www.echevarriatravel.com
631-456-5394
reservations at echevarriatravel.com

Affiliated as an Independent Contractor with Superior Travel, located in 
Baldwin, NY. www.superiortravel.com

Affiliated as an Independent Contractor with Absolute Cruise & Travel, Inc.