Transportation, Accessibility, and Accommodation in Rural Communities

McDaniels, Bradley W.; Harley, Debra A.; Beach, David T.

doi:10.1007/978-3-319-64786-9_3

Bradley W. McDaniels⁵,
Debra A. Harley⁵ &
David T. Beach⁵

52k Accesses
9 Citations

Abstract

Lack of transportation is an intransigent problem in rural, frontier, and territory communities. As a result, individuals have limited access to services adversely affecting health and quality of life while limiting opportunities for community engagement, participation, and employment. Moreover, adults with disabilities are more likely than those without disabilities to have inadequate access to transportation. This chapter presents general and specific transportation barriers to underscore the necessity for developing innovative ways to respond to an ineffective transportation infrastructure and disparities in access in rural communities. A review of federal transportation policy is presented, and we describe effective strategies for collaboration between local, state, and federal transportation agencies and private companies to remove unnecessary transportation impediments for persons with disabilities in rural, frontier, and territory communities.

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Authors and Affiliations

Department of Early Childhood, Special Education, and Rehabilitation Counseling, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, USA
Bradley W. McDaniels, Debra A. Harley & David T. Beach

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Bradley W. McDaniels
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Debra A. Harley
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David T. Beach
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Correspondence to Bradley W. McDaniels .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Department of Early Childhood, Special, Education, and Rehabilitation Counseling, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky, USA
Debra A. Harley
College of Health and Human Services, Rehabilitation Services and Rehabilitation Counseling, Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, Illinois, USA
Noel A. Ysasi
Department of Early Childhood, Special, Education, and Rehabilitation Counseling, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky, USA
Malachy L. Bishop
Pennsylvania State University, Rehabilitation and Human Services, University Park, Pennsylvania, USA
Allison R. Fleming

Learning Exercises

1.
List and describe the three types of rural communities?
2.
Discuss the differences between availability and accessibility.
3.
Describe five (5) barriers to accessible transportation related to infrastructure.
4.
Discuss some of the major challenges to the availability of rural transportation in rural communities.
5.
Discuss the positive and negative issues relating to paratransit.

Field-Based Experiential Assignments

Multiple Choice Questions

1.
What percentage of federal funding is allocated to rural communities?
1. (a)
  10%
2. (b)
  6%
3. (c)
  2%
4. (d)
  15%
2.
Compared to those without disabilities, adults with disabilities are ______ times more likely to have inadequate transportation.
1. (a)
  Five
2. (b)
  Ten
3. (c)
  Two
4. (d)
  Eight
3.
In the USA, what percentage of rural residents has no public transportation options?
1. (a)
  40%
2. (b)
  32%
3. (c)
  28%
4. (d)
  50%
4.
Which of the following is NOT considered a benefit of public transportation?
1. (a)
  Lower household expenses due to the freeing up of income for other uses
2. (b)
  Allows communities to keep taxes low for all residents
3. (c)
  Improved economic efficiency by providing access to employment
4. (d)
  Improved mobility of residents
5.
What was the first piece of legislation mandating federal assistance for transportation for people with disabilities?
1. (a)
  Urban Mass Transportation Assistance Act
2. (b)
  Social Security Act
3. (c)
  Rehabilitation Act
4. (d)
  Americans with Disabilities Act
6.
Which title of the ADA mandates that private transportation systems must comply with accessibility requirements?
1. (a)
  Title I
2. (b)
  Title II
3. (c)
  Title III
4. (d)
  Title IV
7.
Which piece of legislation resulted in increased funding of transportation in nonmetropolitan areas, increased local decision-making, and improved collaboration with the private sector?
1. (a)
  SAFETEA-LU
2. (b)
  MAP-21
3. (c)
  FAST
4. (d)
  ISTEA
8.
Which of the following programs is a formula grant for rural areas to provide capital, planning, and operating assistance to support rural transportation with a population less than 50,000?
1. (a)
  5310
2. (b)
  5311
3. (c)
  5316
4. (d)
  5317
9.
Which program was designed to address the unique transportation needs of rural communities relating to employment?
1. (a)
  MAP-21
2. (b)
  JARC
3. (c)
  New Freedom Initiative Transportation Program
4. (d)
  ACTION
10.
A typical bus is an example of which one of the following models of transportation?
1. (a)
  Fixed-route
2. (b)
  Demand-responsive
3. (c)
  Point-of-Service
4. (d)
  Deviated Fixed-route

Key

1 – B
2 – C
3 – A
4 – B
5 – B
6 – B
7 – D
8 – B
9 – B
10 – A

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McDaniels, B.W., Harley, D.A., Beach, D.T. (2018). Transportation, Accessibility, and Accommodation in Rural Communities. In: Harley, D., Ysasi, N., Bishop, M., Fleming, A. (eds) Disability and Vocational Rehabilitation in Rural Settings. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-64786-9_3

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-64786-9_3
Published: 04 November 2017
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-64785-2
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-64786-9
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