While
the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990 requires public transit services, under specific conditions, to be accessible to persons
with special needs, it did not impose a statutory deadline for fleet
accessibility. The ADA did require all key
stations to be accessible by July 1993 but allowed the Federal Transit
Administration (FTA) to grant an extension up to July 2020 for stations
requiring structural modifications to bring them into compliance.
FTA
has collected data on ADA accessibility since 1993.
An accessible station is one that provides ready access and does not have
physical barriers that prohibit and/or restrict access by individuals with
disabilities, including those who use wheelchairs.
Source
U.S.
Department of
Transportation, Federal Transit Administration, FY 2002 Performance Plan (Washington, DC: 2003).
