Law School website invites input on DOT regulations from disabled air travelers

The Cornell e-Rulemaking Initiative (CeRI) and the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) are working together to make it easier for the public to comment on proposed new federal regulations requiring air travel websites and airport check-in kiosks to be fully accessible to travelers with disabilities.

The U.S. Census Bureau estimates that more than 15 million adults in the United States have vision, auditory or mobility disabilities. About 30 percent of adults with disabilities travel by air, and the DOT expects this number to rise if it were easier to buy tickets and other services online and to check in using kiosks. Airlines and online travel agencies have argued that the costs of achieving full accessibility are too great.

Travelers with disabilities, Web designers, usability experts and others with an interest in this proposal can use CeRI's online participation site, Regulation Room, to get easy-to-read explanations of the proposal, look at the cost and benefit estimates and discuss how the proposal could be improved. CeRI will summarize the discussion on Regulation Room and submit it as a public comment that DOT will consider as it finalizes the accessibility regulations.

"The department's partnership with the Cornell eRulemaking Initiative makes it easier than ever for the public to comment on our proposed rules," said U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. "I encourage everyone interested in our proposed website and kiosk accessibility to share their thoughts on the user-friendly Regulation Room site."

Cynthia Farina, professor of law and CeRI principal researcher, said "CeRI and DOT are both committed to getting more of the public involved meaningfully in the rulemaking process, and we believe that Regulation Room efforts so far have been quite successful. We are especially excited about doing the air travel accessibility rule. DOT needs help from travelers with disabilities and from others with practical experience in accessible design to answer many questions the department has about creating reliable, cost-effective standards for websites and kiosks."

Regulation Room is supported by grants from the National Science Foundation, Google and the IBM Center for the Business of Government.

This is the fourth rulemaking in which DOT and CeRI are using Regulation Room to make it easier for ordinary people to participate effectively in important government policy decisions. "We look forward to again providing an open, transparent and collaborative forum for people to have their voices heard on an important federal policy initiative," said Farina.

Media Contact

Joe Schwartz