Greyhound Settles ADA Lawsuit

Greyhound Lines will pay at least $375,000 and implement nationwide reforms as part of a settlement agreement with the United States Department of Justice. The DOJ sued Greyhound alleging a systematic failure to provide equal access to transportation for passengers with disabilities.

The full value of the settlement won't be known until all the potential passengers who suffered disability discrimination have been identified.

Repeated Violations

The DOJ's lawsuit charged Greyhound of repeatedly violating the Americans with Disabilities Act. The ADA mandates that transportation companies must provide full and equal transportation services to passengers with disabilities.

Instead, the DOJ accused Greyhound of "failing to maintain accessibility features on its bus fleet such as lifts and securement devices, failing to provide passengers with disabilities assistance boarding and exiting buses at rest stops; and failing to allow customers traveling in wheelchairs to complete their reservations online."

Retributive Measures

The settlement requires greyhound to pay a $75,000 civil penalty to the United States, and $300,000 to people who experienced ADA violations. But that's just the specific individuals identified by the DOJ so far -- considering Greyhound ferries some 18 million passengers across the country every year, the class of aggrieved persons could get much bigger.

According to the DOJ's press release, Greyhound will also:

• Hire an ADA Compliance Manager;
• Require all employees and contractors who may interact with the public to attend annual in-person training on the ADA;
• Provide technical training to all employees and contractors on the proper operation of accessibility features of Greyhound's fleet;
• Report every three months to the department on its compliance efforts; and
• Ensure that persons with disabilities can make reservations for travel, and lodge disability-related requests, through its online booking system.

While the settlement has yet to be finalized, the reforms will apply to all Greyhound locations and buses nationwide.

Related Resources:

• Greyhound Lines to Resolve Americans with Disabilities Violations (U.S. Department of Justice)
• Transportation and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA): Q&A (FindLaw)
• Greyhound Bus Crash in Ohio Injures 34 (FindLaw's Injured)
• What Is a 'Disability' Under the ADA? (FindLaw's Law and Daily Life)