49 CFR Parts 37 and 38 -- Transportation for Individuals With Disabilities at Intercity, Commuter, and High Speed Passenger Railroad Station Platforms; Miscellaneous Amendments, Preamble

Accessible Web Sites

NPRM and Comments

The Department asked about whether the Department should require that Web sites operated by transportation providers be made accessible to individuals who are blind or visually impaired or otherwise have difficulty using Web sites because of a disability. The Department received several comments from disability community persons or organizations, recommending that the final rule impose such a requirement.

DOT Response

The Department believes strongly that Web sites used by consumers of transportation providers should be accessible. Currently, the Department is considering this issue in the context of the Air Carrier Access Act, and the Department of Justice is reviewing it in the context of ongoing work on its ADA regulations. We believe that it is best to defer action on this issue until the DOT and DOJ work is further advanced, at which point we believe it appropriate to propose changes to our ADA rules consistent with the ACAA and DOJ approaches to the subject.

In any case, under existing rules a transportation entity has an obligation to provide effective communication to persons with disabilities. This obligation exists even if a provider's Web site is not yet fully accessible. If a transportation provider makes certain information available to the public through its Web site, it must make this information available to people who cannot use the Web site. If opportunities (e.g., for discount programs) are made available through the Web site, then these same opportunities must be afforded to people with disabilities who are unable to use the Web site. These are basic nondiscrimination obligations under the ADA and section 504.