Transportation Services for the Disabled: A Complex Public Policy Issue

This article, which appeared in the GAO Review, Vol. 21, Issue 2, Spring 1986, discusses efforts to provide national transportation services to handicapped individuals, specifically: (1) federal transit assistance; (2) the type of services needed; (3) the need for more information on the disabled population; (4) approaches to providing service; (5) the cost and limited use of services; and (6) future implications of transportation services for the handicapped. Federal transit assistance grew from $50.7 million in 1965 to $4 billion in 1984. However, the availability of transportation services and facilities for the handicapped has not increased.