
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, March 23, 1990                   TAG: 9003232900
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A/4   EDITION: EVENING 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: WASHINGTON                                 LENGTH: Medium

TRANSPORTATION ORDER PRAISED

Disability-rights groups are praising a Bush administration decision to require federally aided bus lines to buy only buses accessible to wheelchairs and provide door-to-door service for the handicapped.

The Transportation Department announced a tentative rule Thursday that matches key provisions of legislation that the advocacy groups have been trying to urge through Congress with protest action.

More than 150 people were arrested in Washington during demonstrations for the bill last week.

Dennis Kouba, a spokesman for the American Public Transit Association, said most bus operators already are purchasing only vehicles equipped with lifts or other devices. But he said officials were assessing other provisions of the proposed rule.

Operators currently have a choice of either accessible buses or special door-to-door service to serve hundreds of thousands of people who have difficulty taking ordinary buses. Nearly all public transit systems receive some federal funding.

Timothy Cook, spokesman for the National Disability Action Center, said the rule would give handicapped Americans "everything they have been fighting for."

"My clients are very, very pleased. They will finally get access to services they need to get going," said Cook, whose organization has been involved in litigation on behalf of the handicapped.

Wade Blank, head of Americans Disabled for Accessible Public Transportation, said he was "delighted that the administration finally has followed through on its commitment to persons with disabilities."

The rule is expected to become law in September after a period for public comment that could lead to some changes in its provisions.

Requiring both access and special services for all systems is expected to "increase significantly the amount and quality of service available to persons with disabilities," the Transportation Department announcement said.

"The Bush administration is committed to policies that will ensure that people with disabilities have the opportunities available to other persons to use our mass transit system," said Transportation Secretary Samuel Skinner.

Announcement of the proposed rule met the requirements of a Philadelphia federal court order that required the department to examine and change existing regulations but did not mandate what the changes should be. The order came in a suit by more than a dozen disability-rights groups.

by CNB