Judge rules inaccessible website violates ADA
In a recent article I wrote, Creating accessible transit websites, I mentioned that a federal district court judge recently issued a landmark decision in a nationwide class-action lawsuit against Target Corporation for failing to make its website accessible to the blind. More recently, however, I learned that accessible web-design for transit came up specifically in a 2002 case, when a federal judge ruled that the Atlanta mass transit agency violated the ADA by constructing a website that was inaccessible for people with visual disabilities. For more information, see the article Judge Rules That Inaccessible Website Violates ADA from the Southeast ADA Center. Not only is accessible website design an important measure for legal compliance, but it is simply the right thing to do and results in a better website for all users.
Google Transit offers fantastic opportunities for press attention
I tell all my current and prospective clients that Google Transit offers a fantastic opportunity to receive some glowing press that’s sure to attract new riders and funding support. After Sacramento added their information to Google Transit, the Sacramento Bee showed a great example of this. See Editorial notebook: Google maps, RT routes: A perfect marriage, 3 December 2007.
Here in Humboldt, the press attention has been abundant for Google Transit as well. See:
- Jack Pass: a license to travel, 5 September 2007, the Lumberjack
- The Town Dandy, 27 September 2007, North Coast Journal
- Solutions in Transit, 6 October 2007, Eureka Reporter
- Humboldt County now enjoys the big city benefits of Google Transit, 23 October 2007, Times-Standard
- New transit Web sites online, 6 September 2007, Eureka Reporter
As you can see, this has been a great opportunity to attract press for Humboldt transit services. This year’s Google Transit launch is certainly related to an over 30% gain in ridership on Redwood Transit System, Humboldt’s largest transit operator!
