U.S. Federal Transit Admin Rolls Out All Stations Accessibility Program
While our country has made enormous progress in the three decades since passing the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), too many people with disabilities still don’t have access to reliable public transportation. Using funds from President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, we are modernizing some of our oldest public rail stations and ensuring that more Americans count on our transit systems to get where they need to go.
– U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg
The Struggle is Real – But it Could be Getting Easier
If you work for a U.S. transit station, chances are you’re aware of the work that still needs to be done to make our transportation system more accessible to folks with disabilities. Despite the progress made since the passage of ADA, about a fifth of transit stations still aren’t accessible, according to the Federal Transit Administration (FTA). Is your station one of them?
People with disabilities are about twice as likely as those without them to use public transit according to the U.S. Department of Transportation. And yet, ~25 million Americans say they have a disability that interferes with their ability to get around. Inaccessible transit service and experiences can directly impact their employability and job prospects, social interactions, and can keep them from living their lives to the fullest – something we all should be able to enjoy.
Accessibility investments can help chip away at the work to be done to make transit service more welcoming for all – and the U.S. Government’s new All Stations Accessibility Program (ASAP) is a great start.
Get With the Program
Let’s take a closer look at the funding available for transit stations with ASAP – both now and what we expect will be available in the years to come.
- ASAP leverages funds from President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, and will provide $1.75 billion for accessibility projects at U.S. transit stations.
- The program includes $343 million in a notice of funding availability for fiscal year 2022 (closes October 7, 2022).
- An additional four years of $350M is expected to be made available through FY2026, totaling $1.75B.
Watch the informational webinars:
Let’s take a closer look at the funding available for transit stations with ASAP – both now and what we expect will be available in the years to come.
GoodMaps is Part of the Solution
Our lidar-based technology along with image recognition provides leading indoor wayfinding and navigation with turn-by-turn directions and unprecedented accuracy for those who are blind or have low vision, those with hearing loss, travelers with neurodiversity, or those who are simply a bit “navigation challenged.” We’ve even partnered with Intel to make our technology even more robust and scalable for the future, connecting passengers with the resources they need to explore on their own terms.
And the benefits of GoodMaps are already being realized by travelers at GoodMaps-enabled Transpennine Express stations in the UK, providing users with safer, autonomous, and more confident journeys – regardless of their abilities.
It couldn’t be more clear: now is the time to make investments that address the needs of travelers with disabilities. By investing in GoodMaps you’ll also be laying a modern technology foundation for the future that can benefit everyone who uses your station – now and for years to come.
