July-August 2022 - 11

recognizing that this often coincides with
the disability community.
When it comes to disability, the notion
of equity is oversimplified. After all,
we have the Americans with Disabilities
Act (ADA) - so we have eliminated discrimination
and architectural barriers
for the disability community, right? If it
were only so that curb cuts, sidewalks and
accessible pathways were golden roads to
employment, but they are not. They lead
right up to the front door of agencies and
businesses but, unfortunately, the path
ends as soon as a person with a disability
tries to enter. There are many reasons why
the unemployment rate within the disability
community remains so high and
it starts with the collective perception of
the community itself. Access for people
with disabilities is often portrayed as furnishing
paratransit service to a medical
appointment or aiding people who are
frail. This image suggests that people
with disabilities cannot be independent,
much less obtain gainful employment and
" With the significant increase
in remote work options and assistive
technology, people with disabilities
can play valuable roles in the
workforce now more than ever. "
thrive. When people with disabilities are
seen in a work environment, they stand
out because they are a super-minority
and, unfortunately, this reinforces the
misconception that the number of people
with disabilities who can work is very
small. But therein lies an opportunity.
With the significant increase in remote
work options and assistive technology,
people with disabilities can play valuable
roles in the workforce now more than
ever. Within the public transit industry,
not only can they perform work, but they
can also bring a much-needed perspective
to organizations on how to serve customers
with disabilities. In this way, we make
our transportation systems more disability
friendly, and we can draw from a largely
untapped resource of future transit riders
at a time when we really need them.
Equity for the disability community
requires more focus on what people can
do as opposed to what their disabilities
might prevent them from doing, and when
we make assumptions about people's abilities
before giving them an opportunity to
demonstrate them, we are not only treating
them inequitably, but we are also overlooking
potential assets. It is the same concept
as " having the right people at the table " -
or in this parlance - " on the bus. " Speaking
of which - when was the last time you saw
a transit executive or board member with
a (visible) disability? Some of the work that
people with disabilities can do falls in the
category of leadership and agencies and
communities would be better served to
have the disability perspective in leadership
when policy and investment decisions
are being made. This kind of talent is out
there, but it must be a priority to find it.
So how do we do this?
The Path to Seamless Mobility
Ecolane is committed to digital
accessibility for ALL
Ecolane's passenger-facing mobile booking applications
are compliant with WCAG 2.1 AA, which fulfills federal ADA
requirements for accessibility.
www.ecolane.com · info@ecolane.com
For more information, visit www.MassTransitmag.com/10065903
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July-August 2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of July-August 2022
