A group from his office is headed to Bloomington next Wednesday for a work retreat.

There are 10 of them, and five — including Ballard — use wheelchairs. Their train has three cars. Each car has one space for a wheelchair. That makes three spaces for five people in wheelchairs. In the past, when Access Living gave advance notice that it was sending a large group, Amtrak took out more seats to fit more wheelchairs. Once, it took out seats in the dining car and charged a few hundred dollars extra.

…”The cost is correct,” the agent wrote, citing a new policy for taking out those seats. The agent explained that it’s expensive to take out extra seats and that it means taking a car out of service.

…The ADA, which became law 30 years ago this year, is a civil rights law that prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities in jobs, schools, public places and transportation — including trains. It requires companies like Amtrak to make “reasonable accommodations” so that people with disabilities have comparable access to transportation as do people without disabilities.

…”The Americans with Disabilities Act has been the law of the land for 30 years,” she said. “Yet in 2020, @Amtrak believes it would be an unreasonable burden to remove architectural barriers that would enable a group with five wheelchair users to travel together.”

Amtrak Wanted 2 Wheelchair Users To Pay $25,000 For A Train Ride : NPR

Criminal.