A San Francisco resident who uses a wheelchair has filed a complaint with the Department of Justice alleging that Leap—the "Virgin America of buses" that recently debuted as a Muni alternative for spendy Marina residents—violates the Americans with Disabilities Act. Chris Pangilinan, who filed the complaint, is himself a former Muni transportation engineer, and he alleges that the used buses Leap acquired for its fleet were originally wheelchair accessible, the Chronicle reports. According to the complaint, Leap removed the ramps and fold-up seats and replaced them with bar-style seating and leather armchairs. Leap did not comment to the Chronicle on whether it removed the buses' accessibility features, and said in a statement that it believes that "used vehicles do not have the same accessibility requirements as new vehicles." The ADA requires private transport companies to have operable accessibility equipment; however, Leap's terms of service say that the company (whose URL is, uh, leaptransit.com) "does not provide transportation services" and that it is "not a transportation carrier."
· Complaint: Commuter Buses Yanked Disabled Access [SFGate]
· Tech Bus for the Rest of Us [Curbed SF]
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