Contact Contact

RTA Staff Recognizes Importance of American Disabilities Act

July 22, 2016

Lindamillerphoto

LindaMillerPhoto

My name is Linda Miller and I’m an Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Certifier in the RTA’s Mobility Services Department.

The RTA manages the ADA paratransit certification program, which determines eligibility for the ADA paratransit service operated by Pace throughout our region’s ADA service area. ADA Paratransit service is an advanced reservation, shared ride, origin-to-destination service for persons who are unable to use the CTA or Pace systems for some or all of their trips because of a disability or health condition. The RTA operates two ADA paratransit certification interview and assessment sites in the RTA region and processes about 18,000 ADA paratransit applications and recertifications each year.



I’ve been working as a certifier at the RTA for the last four years, determining a customer’s eligibility for ADA services.

I am pleased to share in the celebration of the 26th anniversary of the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act. The Act, passed on July 26, 1990 by President George H. W. Bush, guarantees equal opportunity for people with disabilities, in public accommodations, commercial facilities, employment, transportation, state and local government service and communications.

This passage is critical to the disabled community because it means people like me can move about our lives with confidence and independence. I am in a wheelchair due to a childhood illness and because of my disability, there are many things that I would not be able to do had it not been for the passage of this Act.

For instance, I am gainfully employed, working in downtown Chicago because the office building where I work has an elevator; my workplace has accessible doors to accommodate my wheelchair and I use paratransit service to get to and from work safely.  As an ADA certifier, I process hundreds of applications a month, certifying as many as 200 people a month, to determine their eligibility for use of ADA paratransit services. I field applications, paying close attention to the customer’s physical and mental capacity. This helps me to determine if they are good candidate for paratransit, fixed-route services or a combination of both.

Because of this Act, the RTA is able to offer this service, among others, to ensure that riders with disabilities in our region have safe and convenient access to transit. I am proud to be part of an organization that provides so many services for riders with disabilities. It empowers us to be able to move around our region with convenience and ease.

You can learn more about the many programs we offer for people with disabilities by visiting www.RTAChicago.org.

Linda Miller
ADA Certifier
Regional Transportation Authority

Subscribe to our Newsletter

* indicates required
Type your email address here
What emails would you like to receive from the RTA
Tagged in:

Related Articles

RTA ADA AWARENESS 2020 1 RTA celebrates 30 years of the Americans with Disabilities Act

This month the RTA is celebrating the 30th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The ADA transformed society and provided opportunities f...

July 29, 2020
Pace Buses 3569195969 1588881889263 Take a survey to help improve mobility options for older adults and people with disabilities

Do you or someone you know face transportation challenges? The Regional Transportation Authority (RTA) wants to hear from you about transportation issues and...

May 7, 2020
Transportation Tuesday Event Brite Banner V3 004 Transportation Tuesday Webinar Series: Attend the 2020 RTA Annual Planning Workshop Virtually

The RTA is launching a four-part webinar series in place of the Annual Planning Workshop due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The free, virtual sessions wil...

April 17, 2020
Call Banner 3485388325 1590696008966 Announcing the 2020 Access to Transit Program Call for Projects for Small-Scale Capital Projects

We are excited to announce that the call for projects for the RTA  Access to Transit Program is now open. The RTA launched the Access to Transit program in 2...

March 13, 2020
22 RTA 0646 Happy International Women’s Day and Women’s History Month from the RTA

Each year the RTA celebrates Women’s History Month in March to recognize the women who work at, and ride, CTA, Metra, and Pace every day. The celebration coi...

March 8, 2020
Survey image How's Your Ride? Take This Survey

We’d like to hear your thoughts about public transit!  The RTA is sponsoring a system-wide customer satisfaction survey and would like your feedback about yo...

March 2, 2020
RTA
CTA
Metra
Pace
Copyright © 2022 Regional Transportation Authority. All Rights Reserved.