Mobility for all

Getting organized

by Tom Rickert

Entire guide as a PDF file (1.43 MB)

Mobility for all means advantages for all. Most of the improvements which help disabled persons also help everyone else. If disabled persons can get to a bus stop and easily get on a bus, that usually means that other passengers also have an easier time using public transportation.

For example, everyone benefits from pedestrian paths and streets without potholes, from bus stop waiting areas which are safely removed from traffic, from easy-to-read destination signs on buses, from proper hand grips on bus doors, and from drivers who call out key stops. But while non-disabled passengers may find it harder to ride a bus without these improvements, disabled passengers may be prevented from using a bus. And without mobility, disabled persons cannot get to work or school or to any other activity.

So persons with disabilities and their friends need to organize themselves to advocate for access to public transportation. And, since their goals help the rest of society, they need to work with other people and organizations that will also benefit from greater access to public transportation. Advocates can include parents and friends of disabled persons, transportation officials, social service workers, medical agencies, public works officials, city planners, bus drivers, and newspapers as well as TV and radio stations. Persons with mobility difficulties should work with those who are blind or partially sighted and those with other types of disabilities in order for their advocacy to be most effective.

Advocacy need not mean being an "adversary." Some of the best advocacy is done in friendly meetings with public officials and through helpful letters and phone calls which point out the advantages of access by all to public transportation. Successful advocacy should ideally result in "first steps" toward access, including curb ramps at street corners, ramps to public buildings, low cost improvements such as larger letters on bus destination signs, or the initiation of door-to-door service to a major destination such as a school or rehabilitation center. These "first steps" can result in good publicity for everyone, including transportation officials. "First steps" can then form the basis for additional improvements as part of the process of creating accessible transit systems. In turn, transit agencies need public support as they seek more funds for their services. As part of their advocacy, disability agencies need to support better public transportation for everyone.