Accessibility/ADA Service Obligations

Please use the Information below as a guide when informing us of your concern.

Metro is committed to providing efficient, reliable and accessible transit service to our customers.

A single occurrence of an inconvenient event does not always constitute a violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990. For example, there are occasions when Metro Bus Operators may pass up a rider who uses a wheelchair because the bus is over crowded; because there are two wheelchairs already in the securement area; or because they are instructed by Bus Operations Central Control to pass up riders due to scheduling issues. The ADA requires that a pattern must be associated with an act, such as a Metro Bus Operator who consistently passes up wheelchair users or who passes up one particular person in a wheelchair regularly. If you encounter these acts, please let us know the date and time of boarding, boarding location, line number, and direction of travel. Your assistance in letting us know who is not complying with Metro's policies and rules is welcome and deeply appreciated.

For your reference, below are Metro's ADA obligations to persons with disabilities.

Vehicle Lifts In Operative Condition

Metro Bus Operators are required to cycle lifts and ramps prior to the bus leaving the yard (there is a designated location at each Bus Division for this purpose). Any defects found at that time are to be reported immediately to maintenance. However, Metro is allowed to deploy a bus with a lift or ramp that is not working, providing that no other bus with a working lift or ramp is available at the time the bus is deployed for service. Under no circumstances may Metro deploy a bus with a non-working lift for more than three consecutive days. Metro's policy is to replace a bus with a non-working lift or ramp within the same day the defect is noted.

On occasion, when a lift or ramp may become inoperable during service, Metro will do its best to replace the bus with a ramp or lift that is working without interrupting service. However, because the bus is constantly moving, Metro may not be able to change the bus until it gets to the end of the line.

If an individual cannot board a Metro bus because of mechanical problems and the next accessible bus is scheduled to arrive more than 30 minutes later, and Metro is notified that a rider in a wheelchair cannot board the bus due to lift or ramp problems, Metro will provide alternative transportation as soon as possible. Metro will deploy another bus or request a vehicle from Access Paratransit.

Lift And Securement Use

Metro is required to transport all common wheelchairs and their users (wheelchair must be no more than 30" wide by 48" long and weigh no more than 600 pounds including the user). Wheelchairs must be transported and secured only in the designated securement location on the bus. Metro is allowed to establish a program that requires an individual to permit his or her wheelchair to be secured. However, Metro may not deny transportation to a wheelchair user because the wheelchair cannot be secured or restrained satisfactorily by the vehicle's securement system.

Metro Bus Operators may request the wheelchair user to transfer to a vehicle seat, but Metro Bus Operators may not require that the individual transfer to another seat. It is recommended that persons traveling on a Metro bus using a three or four wheel scooter transfer to a seat because scooters may tip over, even when it is secured so it does not move more than two inches in any direction. Scooters will tip when the handlebars are moved to certain positions. Metro Bus Operators are physically required, when requested by the wheelchair user, to secure the wheelchair and, at the end of the riders' trip, release the wheelchair from the bus securement system.

Metro Bus Operators are to permit individuals with disabilities who do not use wheelchairs, including standees, to use a vehicle's lift or ramp to enter and alight the vehicle. Metro Bus Operators are taught to deploy the ramp or lift upon request or if they feel it would be safer for the rider to board or alight the bus using the ramp or lift.

Metro Bus Operators are to allow any rider who requires the use of the bus lift or ramp to disembark from the bus at any designated stop, unless the following occurs:

1. The lift or ramp cannot be deployed;
2. The lift or ramp will be damaged if it is deployed; or,
3. For temporary conditions at the stop that would preclude the safe use of the stop by all passengers

Other Service Requirements

Metro Bus Operators are to ensure that stops are announced as follows:

1. Internally, all stops; and
2. Externally, at bus stops that serve multiple bus lines

Metro Bus Operators shall permit service animals to accompany individuals with disabilities in buses, trains and facilities. Service animals must have been trained to perform a task for the individual directly related to their needs. (Emotional support animals, therapy animals, snakes, rodents and reptiles are examples of non-service animals. These animals must be in a cage that is of suitable dimensions for the animal and a size that does not block the aisle. Backpacks, purses, and other items used to carry these animals are not suitable carriers allowed on Metro buses).

Metro Bus Operators are required to allow individuals with a disability to travel with a respirator or portable oxygen supply, consistent with applicable Department of Transportation rules on the transportation of hazardous materials (49 CFR subtitle B, chapter 1, subchapter C). Metro requests that individuals bring only one bottle on board a Metro bus.

Metro Bus Operators are to request that able bodied individuals and individuals who are not older adults move from the priority seating area if the seat is needed by a person with a disability or an older adult; however, Metro Bus Operators are not required to enforce the request.

Complementary Paratransit Service

Metro is a public operator of a fixed route system and shall provide paratransit or other special service to individuals with disabilities that is comparable to the level of service provided to individuals without disabilities who use the fixed route system. Metro has appointed Access Services to meet the obligation to provide ADA Paratransit Service to individuals with disabilities who cannot, because of their disability, use Metro's bus and rail services.

The requirements for complementary paratransit do not apply to commuter bus service, commuter rail, or intercity rail systems.

Accessibility / ADA Comment Form