--- Begin Message ---
- From: "Ann K. Parsons" <akp@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <akp@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Wed, 10 Aug 2011 08:21:20 -0400
This is important.
Ann K. Parsons
Portal Tutoring
akp@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
http://www.portaltutoring.info
"All that is gold does not glitter,
Not all those who wander are lost."
-----Original Message-----
From: acb-l-bounces@xxxxxxx [mailto:acb-l-bounces@xxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Ray
Campbell
Sent: Tuesday, August 09, 2011 11:25 PM
To: acb-l@xxxxxxx; Illinois Discussion List
Subject: [acb-l] Fwd: Article: Rebels With a Cause: Gathering
storm:Legislation to facilitate travel for all is on the horizon
Begin forwarded message:
From: Robin Jones <guiness@xxxxxxx>
Date: August 9, 2011 8:17:28 AM CDT
To: GREATLAKES@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Article: Rebels With a Cause: Gathering storm: Legislation to
facilitate travel for all is on the horizon
Reply-To: DBTAC - Great Lakes ADA Information <GREATLAKES@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
The following article is forwarded to you by the DBTAC-Great Lakes ADA
Center (www.adagreatlakes.org) for your information:
National Geographic Traveler
September 2011 Issue
Rebels With a Cause
Gathering storm: Legislation to facilitate travel for all is on the horizon.
by Christopher Elliott
Scott Rains has kayaked in Alaska's Glacier Bay, trekked through South
Africa and India, and visited Guatemala and New Zealand. He also happens to
be a quadriplegic, a fact the 56-year-old campus minister from San Jose,
California, hasn't allowed to interfere with an ambitious travel schedule.
Rains has noticed something interesting lately. Other folks his age-the 76
million Americans born between 1946 and 1964 and referred to as the baby
boom generation-have begun to see things his way.
Wouldn't it be nice if there were ramps for easier access to train cars?
Bigger doors to hotel bathrooms that accommodated a wheelchair? Audiovisual
paging systems for the hard of hearing?
Boomers, many of whom came of age holding a protest sign, are joining forces
with disability and senior groups to add muscle to the cause of increased
accessibility in travel. "They don't intend to let hip replacements and
insulin shots stop them from traveling," says Rains. "Nor will they be
pandered to, stigmatized, or written off."
Rains and his generation are part of a growing movement. Retiring
60-somethings have more time to travel, which has increased demand for
accessible accommodations. The nonprofit Society for Accessible Travel and
Hospitality (SATH), made up mostly of travel agencies catering to those with
mobility issues, saw members' hotel bookings more than double last year, a
remarkable feat in a recession.
It's been two decades since the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) went
into effect. The landmark law opened travel to a new group of Americans,
forcing many travel operators to ensure that transportation and lodging
facilities are accessible to people with disabilities. It was a promising
start, but lax enforcement over the years and an uninterested public stalled
further efforts, say industry-watchers. And the travel industry hasn't
exactly embraced the idea of upgrading its facilities because of the
expense. Travel companies have provided only the "absolute minimum required"
for the disabled, according to Jani Nayar, SATH's executive coordinator.
But the flood of boomers reaching their golden years could be the impetus
needed to prod the government into enforcing its rules and to push the
travel industry beyond ADA requirements.
There is evidence that this is happening already. In recent years the Feds
have taken a more activist approach to accessibility. The Department of
Transportation (DOT), which oversees air and cruise lines and regulates cars
and mass transit, slapped a fine of two million dollars on Delta Air Lines
in February for failing to respond to complaints and provide customers with
required wheelchair assistance. In 2010 the agency issued seven
disability-related consent orders for airlines-the equivalent of a citation
for breaking the law-for violations of a federal regulation, compared with
just two in 2009.
Government regulators are also drafting new rules to address service animals
at airports, captioning for in-flight entertainment systems,
disability-accessible rail stations, and accommodation of wheelchairs on
public transit, among other things. For example, one proposed rule would
make self-service check-in kiosks more accessible to people with
disabilities, adding an audio prompt for those with limited vision.
The United States often sets disability standards for the world. When
American regulators required commercial aircraft to have movable armrests on
at least half the aisle seats, at least one accessible lavatory on
dual-aisle aircraft, and stowage space in the cabin for a folding wheelchair
in certain aircraft, the European Union adopted similar regulations. America
is hardly the only leader, though. In London, all Black Cabs are required to
be wheelchair accessible. No such requirement exists for any major American
city, although the New York State Assembly is considering a bill that would
require all new cabs to be accessible in 2014.
Cranky travelers can be powerful agents of change. For years, Yosemite
National Park's waterfalls weren't accessible to people in wheelchairs. But
a steady trickle of individual complaints finally persuaded the park to act.
It renovated the trail to Yosemite Falls to the tune of $13.5 million to
improve wheelchair access, making the park's most visited landmark open to
all. "It took a lot of persistence on the part of advocates, but the end
result was worth it," says Candy Harrington, a disability travel expert.
Lawsuits work wonders too. Consider what happened when a group of disabled
passengers sued Norwegian Cruise Line, complaining that they paid extra for
handicapped-accessible cabins and the assistance of crew, and that the
cruise line didn't configure restaurants, elevators, and other facilities in
accordance with federal law. (Cruise lines skirt numerous regulations by
flying so-called flags of convenience of other countries, even if they cater
primarily to American passengers.) The complaint went all the way to the
Supreme Court, which ruled in 2005 that Title III of the ADA applied to
cruise ships too, forcing the industry to stop imposing surcharges on
passengers with disabilities.
The beneficiaries of greater accessibility go beyond those on the disability
rolls. I'm thinking of my 93-year-old grandmother ("Cookie"), who, thanks to
ramps and restrooms equipped with handrails, happily traveled to Palm
Springs to attend a wedding. I'm thinking of my recently retired parents,
who just finished a month-long driving tour of California, New Mexico, and
Arizona and have no intention of slowing down during the best years of their
lives. And I'm thinking of my peripatetic family of five, in the middle of
the frenzied stroller years, when those ramps and large bathrooms came in
handy.
One thing is clear: The travel industry will not reform itself without a
push or two. Travelers-boomers or not-need to maintain the positive
pressure. Bringing the weight of market forces, government, and a little
old-school activism to bear on airlines, cruise lines, and hotels may be the
only way to ensure that Cookie, Mom, and Dad will be able to get from points
A to B under their own steam, with independence and dignity, for years to
come. I hope the boomers succeed so it doesn't have to fall to my
generation-the Gen Xers, also known as the slacker generation-to take up the
cause.
Source:
http://travel.nationalgeographic.com/travel/traveler-magazine/the-insider/ba
by-boomers/
Contributing editor Christopher Elliott also addresses readers' travel
problems. E-mail him your story at celliott@xxxxxxxx
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