§ 12184. Prohibition of discrimination in specified public transportation services provided by private entities

(a) General rule

No individual shall be discriminated against on the basis of disability in the full and equal enjoyment of specified public transportation services provided by a private entity that is primarily engaged in the business of transporting people and whose operations affect commerce.

(b) Construction For purposes of subsection (a) of this section, discrimination includes—

(1) the imposition or application by a

(5) the purchase or lease by such entity of a new van with a seating capacity of less than 8 passengers, including the driver, which is to be used to provide specified public transportation and for which a solicitation is made after the 30th day following the effective date of this section that is not readily accessible to or usable by individuals with disabilities, including individuals who use wheelchairs; except that the new van need not be readily accessible to and usable by such individuals if the entity can demonstrate that the system for which the van is being purchased or leased, when viewed in its entirety, provides a level of service to such individuals equivalent to the level of service provided to the general public;

(6) the purchase or lease by such entity of a new rail passenger car that is to be used to provide specified public transportation, and for which a solicitation is made later than 30 days after the effective date of this paragraph, that is not readily accessible to and usable by individuals with disabilities, including individuals who use wheelchairs; and

(7) the remanufacture by such entity of a rail passenger car that is to be used to provide specified public transportation so as to extend its usable life for 10 years or more, or the purchase or lease by such entity of such a rail car, unless the rail car, to the maximum extent feasible, is made readily accessible to and usable by individuals with disabilities, including individuals who use wheelchairs.

(c) Historical or antiquated cars

(1) Exception

To the extent that compliance with subsection (b)(2)(C) or (b)(7) of this section would significantly alter the historic or antiquated character of a historical or antiquated rail passenger car, or a rail station served exclusively by such cars, or would result in violation of any rule, regulation, standard, or order issued by the Secretary of Transportation under the Federal Railroad Safety Act of 1970, such compliance shall not be required.

(2) Definition As used in this subsection, the term “historical or antiquated rail passenger car” means a rail passenger car—

(A) which is not less than 30 years old at the time of its use for transporting individuals;

(B) the manufacturer of which is no longer in the business of manufacturing rail passenger cars; and

(C) which—

(i) has a consequential association with events or persons significant to the past; or

(ii) embodies, or is being restored to embody, the distinctive characteristics of a type of rail passenger car used in the past, or to represent a time period which has passed.

(Pub. L. 101–336, title III, § 304, July 26, 1990, 104 Stat. 359.)

References In Text

References in Text

For the effective date of this section, referred to in subsec. (b)(3), (5), see section 310 of Pub. L. 101–336, set out as an Effective Date note under section 12181 of this title.

The effective date of this paragraph, referred to in subsec. (b)(6), is 18 months after July 26, 1990, see section 310(a) of Pub. L. 101–336, set out as an Effective Date note under section 12181 of this title.

The Federal Railroad Safety Act of 1970, referred to in subsec. (c)(1), is title II of Pub. L. 91–458, Oct. 16, 1970, 84 Stat. 971, as amended, which was classified generally to subchapter II (§ 431 et seq.) of chapter 13 of Title 45, Railroads, and was repealed and reenacted in section 5109(c) of Title 5, Government Organization and Employees, section 54a of Title 45, Railroads, chapter 201 and sections 21301, 21302, 21304, 21311, 24902, and 24905 of Title 49, Transportation, and provisions set out as a note under section 20103 of Title 49 by Pub. L. 103–272, §§ 1(e), 4(b)(1), (i), (t), 7(b), July 5, 1994, 108 Stat. 862, 891, 893, 930, 935, 1361, 1365, 1372, 1379, the first section of which enacted subtitles II, III, and V to X of Title 49.

Effective Date

Effective Date

Section effective 18 months after July 26, 1990, but with subsec. (a) of this section (for purposes of subsec. (b)(3) only) and subsec. (b)(3) of this section effective July 26, 1990, see section 310(a), (c) of Pub. L. 101–336, set out as a note under section 12181 of this title.