In his post, Joe stated that in his opinion PDF documents are not Section
508 compliant. Below is a letter I received last month from the Federal
Transit Administration of the U.S. Department of Transportation.
Clearly, the federal government does not believe that PDF documents
comply with the ADA, specifically Section 37.167(f), despite Adobe's
claims to the contrary. I have not yet received the follow up
correspondence. It looks likely though that the Chicago Transit
Authority will be required to provide text versions of its brochures and
other documents in addition to the PDF version.
Regarding the train identification on the platform, there is now
technology that could automatically call out this information which was
not available five years ago when the complaint was filed so I will
follow-up on this as suggested indeed.
Here's the letter:
U.S. Department of Transportation
Federal Transit Administration
Washington, D.C. 20590
NOV 13 2003
Mr. Kelly Pierce
3257 N. Clifton Avenue >
Chicago, Illinois 60657-3318 >
Re: FTA Complaint No. 98260
Dear Mr. Pierce:
This letter responds to your complaint against the Chicago Transit
Authority (CTA), alleging violations of Title II of the Americans with
Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) and/or the Department of Transportation's
(DOT) implementing regulations at 49 CFR Parts 27, 37, and 38.
The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) Office of Civil Rights is
responsible for civil rights
compliance and monitoring, which includes ensuring that providers of
public transportation
properly implement the ADA, the DOT ADA regulations, and Section 504 of
the Rehabilitation
Act of 1973.
In the FTA complaint investigation process, we analyze the complainant's
allegations for
possible ADA deficiencies by the transit provider. If FTA identifies what
may be a violation, we
first attempt to provide technical assistance to address it by assisting
the transit provider to
comply with the ADA. If FTA cannot resolve apparent violations of the ADA
or the DOT ADA
regulations by voluntary means, formal enforcement proceedings may be
initiated against the
public transportation provider which may result in the termination of
Federal funds. FTA also
may refer the matter to the U.S. Department of Justice for enforcement.
Each response is developed based on the specific facts and circumstances
at issue. A
determination resulting from a review of these facts is not intended to
express an opinion as to the
overall ADA compliance of that transit property.
Specifically, your complaint alleged that:
1. No external stops are called at the Dearborn Street Station, and no
auxiliary aids are provided
so that persons who are blind, visually or cognitively impaired are able
to tell which train on
what route is stopping at the station.
2. Conductors, customer service representatives, and operators do not
assist you or other people
with disabilities in identifying trains and are sometimes hostile towards
you.
3. CTA's website is not accessible, and does not allow persons using a
Lynx browser to purchase
fare cards online.
We investigated your allegations, and sent a data request to Frank
Kruesi, General Manager,
CTA. We received a response from CTA that addressed and provided relevant
information on
each of your allegations noted above.
1. No external stops are called at the Dearborn Street Station, and no
auxiliary aids are
provided so that persons who are blind, visually or cognitively impaired
are able to
tell which train on what route is stopping at the station.
"i
2. Conductors, customer service representatives, and operators do not
assist you or
other people with disabilities in identifying trains and are sometimes
hostile towards you.
The DOT ADA regulations at 49 CFR 37.167(c) state:
Where vehicles or other conveyances for more than one route serve the
same stop, the
entity shall provide a means by which an individual with a visual
impairment or other
disability can identify the proper vehicle to enter or be identified to
the vehicle operator as
a person seeking a ride on a particular route.
CTA's response of January 2000 indicated that there was not enough
information to identify
the trains cited, and that in interviews with the conductors, all claimed
to be making the
announcements. CTA also states that it had performance control specialist
make observations
of 32 trains between February 9-24, 1999. Of the 32 trains observed, the
conductors on 31
trains were found to have made the required announcements.
However, when our investigator contacted you in early 2003, you indicated
that you were still
having problems.
Due to the age of the initial response, and the discrepancy between the
current information,
we will place CTA in follow-up status. This will enable us to determine
to what extent CTA
is or is not in compliance with regards to both external stops
announcements and customer
assistance in identifying trains. Follow-up will include periodic contact
with you to ascertain
whether external stops are being made, and whether CTA staff and
conductors in identifying
trains are providing customer assistance.
3. Website is not accessible and does not allow persons using a Lynx
browser to
purchase fare cards online.
The DOT ADA regulations at 49 CFR 37.167(f) state:
The entity shall make available to individuals with disabilities adequate
information
concerning transportation services. This obligation includes making
adequate
communications capacity available, through accessible formats and
technology, to enable
users to obtain information and schedule service.
A recent review of CTA's website, October 24, 2003, revealed a number of
problems related
to accessibility to people with visual impairments:
• Bus schedules are in only Adobe Acrobat PDF format; train schedules are
graphics,
convertible only to PDF format,
• The paratransit brochure is only available in PDF,
• Only the Taxi Access brochure has a text-only version.
The Adobe Acrobat Reader has a history of problems with accessibility of
documents
rendered only in PDF format, which cannot be read by screen readers. No
alternate formats
are available on CTA's website, except for the Taxi Access brochure. By
cover of separate
letter, we will address the problem of the provision of Section 37.167(f)
and alternate formats
with CTA.
In addition, FT A will be looking into the whole area of website
accessibility as it relates to
transit properties. When we have developed policy in this area, we will
notify CTA and you
of any changes that need to be made, aside from the problems already
noted.
CTA will be placed in corrective action status with regards the issue of
website accessibility.
We will monitor their progress until such as time as we have determined
that CTA has
corrected any deficiencies. We will also follow-up on the current status
of the calling of
external stops and customer service in this area, to ensure compliance.
We are closing your complaint as of the date of this letter and will
address the corrective action
and follow-up required with CTA.
You have the right to file for a request for reconsideration to Michael
Winter, Director, Office of
Civil Rights, Federal Transit Administration, within thirty (30) days
from the date of this letter.
If you have any questions regarding this decision, please contact
Mary-Elizabeth Peters, Equal
Opportunity Specialist, at our toll free FTA ADA Assistance Line,
1-888-446-4511, or at her
electronic mail address: [log in to unmask]
Sincerely,
Cheryl LSHershey
ADA Group Leader
Office of Civil Rights
cc: Frank Kruesi
General Manager
Chicago Transit Authority
and
Christine Montgomery
ADA Compliance Officer
-------------------------------------------------------------
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