The Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority (GCRTA) supports the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The ADA is a civil rights law signed in 1990. It provides civil rights protections to individuals with disabilities by prohibiting discrimination in all areas of public life, including jobs, schools, transportation, and all public and private places that are open to the general public. Its purpose is to ensure people with disabilities have an equal opportunity to be included in society.
GCRTA is committed to ensuring that services, vehicles, and facilities are accessible to and usable by individuals with disabilities. GCRTA recognizes to have equally effective opportunities and benefits, individuals with disabilities may need reasonable modifications to policies and procedures. GCRTA will adhere to all applicable federal and state laws, regulations and guidelines with respect to providing reasonable modifications, as necessary, to afford equal access to programs and services for people with disabilities. GCRTA will take appropriate steps to ensure that people with disabilities, including people who have hearing, vision, or speech impairments, have an equal opportunity to participate.
Service Animals
In accordance with ADA law, GCRTA allows service animals to ride all vehicles and enter all transit facilities. A service animal is defined as any animal specifically trained to aid or assist an individual with a disability by performing tasks the individual cannot perform for themselves.
- Owner Responsibility: The care and supervision of a service animal is solely the responsibility of the owner.
- Safety Standards: Service animals must remain under the customer’s control and may not pose a direct threat to the safety or health of drivers or other riders.
Vehicle & Station Accessibility
All GCRTA buses, trains, trolleys, and Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) vehicles are ADA-compliant. Major rail stations and passenger facilities are either ADA-compliant or on a multi-year construction schedule for upgrades. Even if a rail station is ADA compliant, gaps may develop between the platform edge and the rail car edge. Operators have been trained to use a special ramp that covers those gaps. If you need assistance boarding, please ask the rail operator to put down the ramp.
The purpose of the reasonable modification policy is to offer equal and effective opportunities and access to public transportation services for people with disabilities.
Contact Us
If you would like to request a reasonable modification, please provide the following information to the Office of Equal Opportunity, 1240 West 6th St., Cleveland, Ohio 44113 or call (216) 356-3085 or email:
Name, Address, Telephone Number, Street Address, Email Address (optional), preferred method of contact (phone, email, or US Mail), and a brief description of your ADA complaint or your request for reasonable modification order to use the transit service.
We Care
We collaborate closely with persons with disabilities through GCRTA’s Community Advisory Committee and ADA Citizens Committee to ensure our services remain accessible and inclusive.
If you believe you have been discriminated against by GCRTA on the basis of disability, please file an ADA complaint by completing and submitting the Civil Rights Form.