he wheelchair symbol that is drawn at the bus stop is so common that almost no one notices it any more. Only when the back door opens and the driver goes to the backside of the bus to operate the hydraulic lift and unfold the backseats do passengers realize how a wheelchair user fits into the aisle without much fuss.

Some New Yorkers still raise their eyebrows when they see the system work. According to the NYC Transit Department, 96 percent of the bus services in New York City are accessible to disabled people. City officials claim "full accessibility of their bus routes" since 1990, when their regular buses and the "Access-a-ride" programs provided transit services for disabled New Yorkers following the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Since 1990, the act requires that operators respect two principles: (1) "Newly purchased buses, vehicles, etc., must be 'readily accessible,' " and (2) "Vehicles remanufactured so as to extend their usable lives by 5 years or more must be accessible, 'to the maximum extent feasible."

These two principles have been translated into important expenses for the bus companies. According to the MTA, each accessible bus costs $193,500, including $15,500 for a hydraulic wheelchair lift.

dvocacy groups support NYC Transit's policy, but complain about the service that seven private operators working in New York provide. According to Disabled in Action, the private operators do not provide the full service required by the law. Weekly inspections of the lifts and door systems are not respected, they claim, with doors not operating properly too often.

Research studies also reflect some dissatisfaction. Journalist John Hockenberry complains that "New York City buses that are newly put into service invariably have nonfunctioning lifts; other buses have lifts that leave the passenger stuck in mid flight or for which the driver has no key." These problems have deeper effects in the long run. In a 1994 Harris poll, 24% of people with disabilities who were not working (or only working part time) cited a lack of affordable, convenient, accessible public transit as an important reason why they could not take a job.

Improving History

• In 1973, federal law required bus companies receiving federal subsidies to ensure that disabled people could use their services.
  
  
• In 1986, the rules issued by the Transportation Department allowed operators either to incorporate mechanism in their buses that allowed disabled people to ride them or to provide an alternative door-to-door van service. Most operators chose the second option and established a phone service for the disabled. Advocacy groups for the disabled complained about the operational system because they alleged it allowed up to 24-hour waiting periods between the time the service was requested.
  
  
• On July 26, 1990, the 101st Congress enacted Public Law 336, known as the Americans
  with Disabilities Act. The new
  act ordered that "wheelchair lifts or other devices be fitted onto all new and refurbished buses. The act established a "paratransit as a complement to fixed route service" and extended the requirements to "new constructions" or "alternation of existing facilities."