ADA Transportation Webinar Series

The ADA National Network in collaboration with Project Action and Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund (DREDF) held a series of seven webinars covering the Topic Guides on ADA Transportation. The series was coordinated by the Great Lakes ADA Center and Southwest ADA Center (formerly DBTAC). All sessions were recorded and are Archived.

The Topic Guides on ADA Transportation were funded by the Federal Transit Administration to provide technical assistance on transportation to transit agencies, riders, and advocates. The guides bring together the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Department of Transportation ADA regulations, FTA determinations, and best operational practices for ADA compliance. The Topic Guides also draw information from many other sources.

The Topic Guides on ADA Transportation were developed by the DREDF and TranSystems Corporation. They are available online at http://www.dredf.org/ADAtg/.

Topics Covered Included:

  • Equipment Maintenance (Topic Guide 1)
  • Stop Announcements and Route Identification (Topic Guide 2)
  • Eligibility for ADA Paratransit (Topic Guide 3)
  • Telephone Hold Time in ADA Paratransit (Topic Guide 4)
  • Origin to Destination Service in ADA Paratransit (Topic Guide 5)
  • On-Time Performance in ADA Paratransit (Topic Guide 6)
  • No-Shows in ADA Paratransit (Topic Guide 7)
Presenter(s):
Marilyn Golden, DREDF Policy Analyst
Marilyn Golden is a Policy Analyst at the Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund (DREDF), a leading national law and policy center on disability civil rights based in California. She has been closely involved with the Americans with Disabilities Act throughout all the stages of its proposal and passage and now during its implementation. Since the ADA's passage, Golden has continued to play a key role in ADA transportation policy development on the national level. She has authored or coordinated many ADA-related transportation papers and projects, including the recently-published Topic Guides on ADA Transportation, funded by the Federal Transit Administration to provide technical assistance to transit agencies, riders, and advocates, and available at http://www.dredf.org/ADAtg/.
Golden was a two-term presidential appointee to the U.S. Access Board and has represented DREDF for fifteen years on the ANSI A117 Committee, which develops standards that form the basis for model building codes adopted by most U.S. states. A highly lauded ADA trainer, she has directed and led numerous in-depth programs on the ADA which have given thousands of people comprehensive knowledge on how to make this law a reality.
Russell Thatcher, Senior Transportation Planner, TranSystems Corporation
Russell Thatcher is a Senior Transportation Planner with TranSystems, a transportation planning and consulting firm based in Boston, Massachusetts. He has 32 years of experience in transit and paratransit planning, policy, and operations. He has particular expertise in ADA transportation requirements, fixed route and ADA paratransit service planning and evaluation, ADA paratransit eligibility determination, and innovative services for individuals with disabilities. Since 1991, Mr. Thatcher has worked extensively on issues related to the implementation and operation of ADA paratransit services. He was a co-author of FTA's ADA Paratransit Handbook, and author of FTA's ADA Paratransit Eligibility Manual. He also worked with FTA's Office of Civil Rights to develop an ADA Compliance Review Manual. Since 1996, Mr. Thatcher has conducted reviews of paratransit and fixed route services in over 50 cities. Mr. Thatcher also has led several national research projects related to paratransit services, service for persons with disabilities, innovative transit operations, and paratransit eligibility determination. He was the Principal Investigator for a Project ACTION study of Transportation Service Alternatives for Persons with Disabilities in Rural and Small Urban Communities. He also has been the Principal Investigator for three TCRP projects: Transit Operations for Individuals with Disabilities, GIS for Welfare to Work Transportation Planning and Service Delivery, and Vehicle Operator Recruitment, Retention and Performance in ADA Paratransit Services. Prior to joining TranSystems, Mr. Thatcher served for 11 years as the Section 504/ADA Coordinator and the Section 5310 Program Administrator for the Massachusetts Office of Transportation. In this position, he managed programs and funding to promote accessibility and mobility and worked with the state's 15 regional transit agencies. He also has managed local paratransit services on Cape Cod and Cape Ann, Massachusetts.