Will New DOT Rules Make Travel More Accessible

Since I’m a traveler with disabilities, my eyes become wide open reading about the latest developments on travel accessibility.  So, when I learned about the new regulations that the Department of Transportation (DOT) issued on accessible websites and kiosks, my imagination went wild.  Maybe now I actually could book airline reservations without rushing to avoid a 15-minute timeout when I’d be compelled to re-enter all my data.  Not yet, I’m afraid.

The DOT’s website-and-kiosk regulations, which are amendments to the Air Carriers’  Act of 1986,  allows airlines  two years to make their websites accessible to persons with disabilities.  At that, they won’t even be required to make their websites completely accessible for another year, only the core features such as pages with information on how to store special equipment on planes and how to request assistance.   DOT bases the requirements on the World Wide Consortium Web Accessibility Guidelines 2.0 (WCAG 2.0).

Apparently, the DOT thinks making something accessible takes years.  It seems to be oblivious of the thousands of companies that have made their websites accessible since the conception of WCAG 2.0 in 2008.  To make a 200-page website accessible (i.e. placing text alternatives on images, labeling form fields, structuring headings and data tables, etc.), for example, the estimate would be three months, not three years.  

As for kiosks, the requirement period extends to ten years for airlines to purchase new accessible ones, which could have been purchased from IBM years ago.  The new DOT regulations do not even require existing kiosks to be remediated for accessibility.  If existing kiosks were required to be retrofitted, all they’d need are headphones so persons who are blind could hear the synthesized voice in private; a keyboard with tactile keys, and software that already would be accessible.  Delivery and implementation of these components could take weeks, not ten years. 

So why is DOT being so time lenient towards airlines fulfilling the accessibility requirements?  One possible reason is that those at DOT who wrote these regulations didn’t research how quickly technology can become accessible.  However, this reason may be hard to swallow since the DOT has been receiving complaints from consumers on the topic for years.  Surely, some of these complaints have outlined how easy making websites accessible can be.

Additionally, the DOT has been involved in lawsuits against JetBlue Airlines on the inaccessibility of its website and kiosks.  In the case, the DOT determined that web fares could be provided through the telephone.  At least now the government entity is acknowledging that airline websites and kiosks should be accessible, though the declaration may not be stern enough.

What about cruise ships, trains, and buses?  Complaints about their sites and kiosks have not inundated the DOT yet.  Maybe in twenty years, all travel-based information technology will become accessible.