NCD letter to FHWA on ground transportation recommendations

The Honorable Sean McMaster
U.S. Department of Transportation
Federal Highway Administration
1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
Washington, DC 20590

March 12, 2026

Dear Administrator McMaster:

I write as Acting Chairman of the National Council on Disability (NCD), an independent federal agency charged with advising the President, Congress, and other federal agencies on disability policy to advance the goals of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA): equal opportunity, full participation, independent living, and economic self-sufficiency for people with disabilities.

In July 2025, NCD submitted a report to the President and Congress entitled, Ground Transportation for People with Mobility Disabilities 2025: Challenges and Progress. [^1](https://www.ncd.gov/assets/uploads/reports/2025/ncd-ground-transportation-mobility-disabilities-2025.pdf.) This report is the product of an examination of the current state of ground transportation in the United States for people with mobility disabilities who rely on and require accessible transportation—particularly wheelchair users. The report offers extensive research findings and policy recommendations, while detailing continued barriers, challenges, and some promising innovations.

Overall, NCD found that while some progress has been made, transportation barriers remain a major concern for people with mobility disabilities across the nation. These barriers contribute to a host of negative outcomes like unemployment, poverty, inability to access health care, isolation, and diminished social participation. Wheelchair users remain a population that is often left behind, even as technology advances, and as the nation is growing increasingly older. ¹

NCD’s report relied on data from the National Household Travel Survey (NHTS) administered by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), “the authoritative source on the travel behavior of the American public,” and the “only source of national data that allows one to analyze trends in personal and household travel.” ² The NHTS estimates the number of people in the United States with travel-limiting disabilities (TLDs) and gathers details about their travel behavior. This data provides important insights about the transportation needs of people with disabilities.

NTHS data from 2017 and 2022 supported NCD’s finding that people with disabilities continue to be a significantly transportation-disadvantaged population compared to people without disabilities. Millions of people with TLDs stay home. For example, in 2017, almost three times as many people aged 18 to 64 with TLDs reported making zero trips (34.1%) on the survey day compared to people without disabilities in that age group (13.4%). ³ In 2022, about twice as many people aged 18 to 64 with TLDs made zero trips (40.2%) on the survey day compared to people without disabilities in that age group (21.2%). ⁴

NTHS data also helps describe how people with TLDs are accessing transportation. The data show increasing use of rideshare services. In 2017, 4.6 percent of people aged 18 to 64 years with TLDs compensated for transportation barriers by using ride-hailing services (4.6%). ⁵ By 2022, 8.1 percent of people in that age group with TLDs compensated by using rideshare services. ⁶ Rideshare services like Uber and Lyft only contract a limited amount of wheelchair-accessible vehicles (WAVs) in about eleven densely populated U.S. cities. For people with disabilities who use power wheelchairs, motorized scooters, or need a WAV to travel for other reasons, access to rideshare services remains extremely limited. Based on this knowledge, scholarly research, and anecdotal evidence we describe in our report, the NHTS data on rideshare use by people with TLDs seems to reflect the rideshare use of people with TLDs who do not require a WAV to travel. The NHTS data from 2022 show that people aged 18 to 64 years who have TLDs used rideshare services at nearly the same frequency as people without disabilities. [^8](Id.) Our concern is that without more context, this data may be misinterpreted by those who plan transportation to appear that wheelchair users are part of this uptick in use.

If that important nuance is not explored by FHWA, the resulting data may lead federal, state, and local policymakers who rely on NHTS data to believe that rideshare companies are meeting the needs of all people with TLDs. That is not accurate. This misimpression could lead to a misunderstanding that Americans who need a WAV are being served in U.S. communities. This could result in fewer WAV options being implemented across the nation. NCD encourages FHWA to slightly revise the NHTS to gather more data on the needs of people with disabilities who need a WAV to travel.

Specifically, based on the complete set of findings in our report, NCD recommends that FHWA:

• Improve the quality of disability data obtained by the NHTS by adding questions to help determine the number of people who need wheelchair-accessible transportation. Much-needed data could be obtained by adding the following questions:

  • “Does this person require a wheelchair-accessible vehicle to travel?” (placed after the existing question, “Does this person have a condition or disability that makes it difficult to travel outside of the home?”)
  • For those who respond that they stay home because they have a disability or are homebound, adding the follow-up question, “Does the lack of wheelchair-accessible transportation prevent or contribute to staying home?” This is needed because having a disability does not necessarily result in a person needing to stay home or being homebound. Rather, being homebound can be a result of a lack of wheelchair-accessible transportation.
  • Ask those who indicate using rideshare or taxis whether they require wheelchair-accessible rideshare or taxi services. This will obtain important data on wheelchair users’ use of rideshare and taxi services.
  • Add paratransit to the options people with disabilities use as a compensation strategy. Currently, the survey only has Dial-a-Ride as an example, which is a service traditionally geared toward seniors. Paratransit is far more directly related to wheelchair users.
• Address potential language barriers by ensuring that households with limited English proficiency (LEP) are informed of the availability of DOT LEP resources to complete the survey.
• Maintain a larger sample size for the NHTS. This will reach more households, reduce sampling errors, and obtain more precise and reliable data on people with mobility disabilities. As described on the DOT website, the sample sizes for the NHTS have grown far smaller over the years. ⁷
• Work with the Bureau of Transportation Statistics to administer the National Transportation Availability and Use Survey again soon. This report had more questions on wheelchair users and others who use motorized mobility devices.

I would welcome a meeting with you soon to discuss this letter and NCD’s report. Your staff can reach Joan Durocher at (202) 272-2004 or at jdurocher@ncd.gov. On March 25th, Joy Welan, Senior Attorney Advisor, will contact your office to coordinate a potential meeting. If you have any questions, Ms. Welan at can be reached at jwelan@ncd.gov.

Respectfully,

Neil Romano
Acting Chairman