Laura Saltzman
Senior Policy Analyst – Transportation
lsaltzman@accessliving.org
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Access Living fights for equitable access to transportation for people with disabilities
An Access Living advocate uses a wheelchair lift to get off of the train on her way to a rally in Springfield, Illinois.
Access to transportation has been a critical advocacy issue for activists since the beginning of the disability rights movement. Access to transit is essential for people with disabilities to live independently – to secure work, to access healthcare, to get groceries, to go about their daily lives and- and to live in and build community.
It is also a civil right.
[Have you encountered access issues on public transportation in Illinois? Tell our policy team about it.]
Despite over 30 years under the Americans with Disabilities Act, parity in transportation remains unrealized for many people with disabilities. Even cities with comparatively robust public transportation and paratransit options fail to fully meet the needs of the disability community, particularly when considering psychiatric, intellectual, developmental, chronic pain, or non-apparent disabilities in their accessibility planning.
Because of these persistent chasms in parity and its unchanging important to independence for people with disabilities, access to all past, present, and future [...]