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Customers with Disabilities

Our goal is to make your travel on Land to Air Express a pleasant and convenient experience, including providing accessible long distance buses for passengers with disabilities.

Keys to a Successful Trip

Assistance is available to passengers with disabilities when they travel within the Land to Air Express system; we are here to make bus travel for passengers with disabilities as comfortable as possible. There are three optional simple steps that will help us serve you better:

  • Contact Land to Air Express at 1-888-736-9190 at least 48 hours prior to your departure.
  • Provide the phone operator information about your specific travel needs and schedule.
  • Inform our employees and drivers of your needs during your trip.

Assistance in Boarding

We provide assistance with boarding and de-boarding buses, luggage, transfers, storage and retrieval of mobility devices. This service is provided during transfers, meal and rest stops and other times as reasonably requested. We can help whether you are traveling alone or with a personal care attendant, using various mobility devices, or being accompanied by a service animal.

When you provide a 48-hour advance notice, we can better assist you. If you do not provide this notice, we will make every reasonable effort to help you if such an accommodation will not delay departure of the schedule on which you wish to travel.

Land to Air Express Policy on Accessibility and Compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act

It is the policy of Land to Air Express to implement the legal requirements of the Federal and State governments in a manner so as to meet the following goals:

    1. To encourage individual and dignified use of the transit system with minimal assistance from transit system employees, drivers, and other users.
    2. To expedite the safe and efficient boarding, transporting, and alighting of all passengers, regardless of mobility status.
    3. To adapt to a wide range of mobility aids within the physical limitations of current vehicles and available commercial standard equipment.
    4. To minimize any potential damage to mobility aids from the onboard securement system. 
To accomplish this policy, the following specific actions have been adopted this 5th day of March, 2008.

APPLICATION OF POLICY

  • This policy applies to Land to Air Express services, facilities, and vehicles.
  • Facility and Vehicle Design Requirements
  • All Land to Air Express facilities and vehicles shall meet or exceed the minimum requirements for accessibility.

CONFORMING MOBILITY AIDS

All people using mobility devices meeting the ADA definition of a “common wheelchair” shall be accommodated on Land to Air Express services. This definition includes mobility aids meeting all seven of the following requirements:
  • Three- or four-wheeled device
  • Manually operated or powered
  • Usable indoors
  • Designed for and used by individuals with mobility impairments
  • Not exceeding 30 inches in width when measured 2 inches above the ground
  • Not exceeding 48 inches in length when measured 2 inches above the ground
  • Not exceeding 600 pounds combined weight of aid and occupant
Mobility devices meeting all these requirement shall be considered “Conforming Mobility Aids.” Land to Air Express will not allow non-conforming mobility aides. A personal care attendant is permitted to accompany the passenger on the vehicle lift if required, provided the combined weight of the passenger, mobility aid, and attendant does not exceed 600 pounds. The attendant is not permitted to operate the lift.

PRIORITY SEATING

A priority seating area shall be designated at the front of each vehicle for passengers with limited mobility not using a secured mobility device. Drivers are required to ask passengers occupying these seats to vacate them upon request of boarding passengers.

STORING AND HANDLING YOUR MOBILITY AID

Your mobility aid(s) may travel inside the bus if they can be securely stowed in the overhead compartment. Mobility aids that cannot be securely stowed inside the bus will be placed in the baggage compartment, if possible. The maximum dimension of the baggage compartment is 33 inches x 33 inches x 48 inches. The maximum weight limit for mobility aids is 200 pounds. Mobility aids that exceed these dimensions and/or weight limits will not be accepted. Please allow sufficient time for the stowing any mobility aid; this will assist in preventing delays in the departure of the bus.

ASSISTANCE AT REST STOPS

When the bus is at a scheduled stop, you may request that our personnel assist you with any reasonable request. Wheelchair Securement Training Program Staff shall implement a program for users of mobility aids to improve drivers’ ability to correctly secure mobility aids. This program may include but not be limited to marking of preferred attachment points for securement devices, attachment of tether straps where appropriate attachment points are not available, and passenger training on identifying preferred securement methods to drivers on vehicles with different securement systems.

ALIGHTING

Passengers who use mobility aid devices will ordinarily alight after other passengers at the same stop. Drivers are required to kneel the bus if requested and so equipped, or to deploy the lift if requested, even if the passenger is not using a mobility aid. Drivers are required to assist passengers upon request. At locations where there is no curb or sidewalk, drivers may suggest an alternate stop to allow for easier deployment of the lift; however, drivers are required to allow passengers to alight at their requested stop unless doing so is likely to damage the lift or prevent it from operating properly.

OXYGEN / RESPIRATORS

Portable oxygen and respirators may accompany you on Land to Air. A maximum of four (4) canisters may travel with the customer – two (2) aboard the bus and two (2) in the baggage compartment. The maximum dimension for each container may not exceed 4.5 inches in diameter and 26 inches in length. Customers are responsible for ensuring that they have enough oxygen to complete their travel and are responsible for making arrangements for refills while en route. Oxygen canisters to be stored in the baggage compartment must be in protective cases with safety caps on the valves.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why should I call Land to Air Express 48-hours in advance of my trip?

With the optional 48-hour advance notification, Land to Air Express can better meet the service needs of all passengers with disabilities, including people who use wheelchairs, by allowing us to make the necessary arrangements requested on-board.

What is done with the information I provide?
Our phone operators will use the information about your travel needs and schedule to arrange assistance by company personnel or drivers at your point of departure, meal and rest stops, and your final destination. Other transportation carriers involved in your trip will receive this information as well.

What if I cannot provide a 48-hour advance notification?
Land to Air Express will make every reasonable effort to accommodate you without significantly delaying the bus schedule on which you wish to travel.

What if I need assistance during my trip?
Please notify Land to Air Express or its drivers of your need for assistance at each location. Even if you contacted Land to Air Express at 1-888-736-9190, you must make Land to Air Express or its drivers aware of your need for assistance throughout your entire trip.

Do I have to provide proof of my disability?
In accordance with federal regulations and in keeping with the company’s desire to foster positive relations with our customers, we do not require proof of disability.

Can I request priority seating?
Priority seating is available for the elderly and passengers with disabilities. However, you may sit where your needs are best accommodated. The front bus seats located in the first row directly behind and across from the driver and the wheelchair securement areas are designated as priority seating. If these seats are occupied, the driver, other Land to Air Express personnel and/or contractor may ask the seated customer to move.

Your Rights as a Customer

Upon request to Land to Air Express personnel or its drivers, assistance will be provided to you for reasonable requests. Land to Air Express is committed to protecting your rights. If you would like to speak to someone about your needs or rights as a Land to Air Express customer, please call us promptly at 1-888-736-9190. If you feel that your rights as a person with a disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) were violated and would like to file a formal complaint, please send a written statement and or a copy of our ADA-Complaint-Form to:

Land to Air Express
Attn: Bonnie Buchanan
ADA Compliance Office
2100 E. 26th St.
Minneapolis, MN 55404

Please include your ticket showing your travel itinerary, a detailed description of the incident, including: the bus schedule number, date, time and location, as well as the names(s) and/or description(s) of any Land to Air Express personnel or drivers you believe did not provide you appropriate assistance.

For Montana residents, please complete the Title VI/ADA Complaint form provided in this link.

To arrange assistance for travel within the Land to Air Express system, please call us at 1-888-736-9190. Here are other helpful numbers:

Deaf/hard of hearing/TTY/TDD
1-800-627-3529 or 711

Spanish/Espanol
1-800-531-5332

People who are hearing impaired or have speech difficulties can use the TTY/TTD service with or without a transmitter through transmission relays services (TRS) by calling the state TRS service number or 711.

TTY/TTD – A text-telephone device (TTY) used by individuals who may have deafness, other hearing difficulties, or speech disabilities. The Telecommunication Relay Service (TRS) is a free service that enables persons who are deaf, hard-of-hearing or speech-impaired to use their TDD or TTY to place calls to and receive calls from hearing people. It also enables hearing people to call TDD/TTY users. To use TRS dial 711 (just like you would dial 911 for an emergency). Typed messages from a TDD/TTY are transmitted to a communication assistant who voices them to hearing persons. Hearing persons’ messages are voiced to the communication assistant who relays them to the TDD/TTY printout or display. Calls can be placed 24 hours a day, seven days a week. There are no limits to the length or number of calls. All calls are confidential. Long distance calls are placed at direct dial rates. If you are a registered TDD/TTY user, discount rates may apply for long distance calls. TTY/TTD users can communicate directly with other TTY/TTD users without using TRS.

People with visual impairments would use a screen reader to use our web site.

A screen reader is a software application that attempts to identify and interpret what is being displayed on the screen (or, more accurately, sent to standard output, whether a video monitor is present or not). This interpretation is then re-presented to the user with text-to-speech, sound icons, or a Braille output device. Screen readers are a form of assistive technology (AT) potentially useful to people who are blind, visually impaired, illiterate or learning disabled, often in combination with other AT, such as screen magnifiers.

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