Linda D. Kilb, Esq.                          William F. Alderman, Esq.
Beatrice Burgess                        Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP
Disability Rights Education                  (415) 773-5944
  and Defense Fund, Inc. (DREDF)                       
(510) 644-2555

TWO BUS COMPANIES SUED FOR DISABILITY DISCRIMINATION
SAFETY A MAJOR PROBLEM FOR PASSENGERS WHO USE WHEELCHAIRS

Class Action Lawsuit Filed Under ADA

     BERKELEY, CALIFORNIA---A class-action lawsuit will be filed on August 
6, 1998 in federal court in San Francisco against two companies that provide 
passenger bus services in California.  The bus companies involved are 
Serendipity Land Yachts of Santa Clara, California, which serves northern 
California; and Coach USA, a Houston, Texas-based company that operates 
Antelope Valley Buses serving southern California passengers.  The suit will 
be filed by the Berkeley-based Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund 
(DREDF), and the San Francisco law firm of Orrick, Herrington and Sutcliffe 
LLP, on behalf of named plaintiff Betty L. Ingram and all similarly situated 
class members, alleging a pattern and practice of disability discrimination 
against passengers who use wheelchairs.

     The Complaint alleges that Serendipity and Coach USA have violated both 
federal and California disability civil rights laws, including the Americans 
with Disabilities Act of 1990 (the ADA), by failing to ensure the safety of 
passengers who use wheelchair devices, and by failing to properly train 
their personnel to provide respectful and courteous service to passengers 
with disabilities.

     The experience of Mrs. Ingram, who is a resident of northern 
California, illustrates the systemic problems faced by bus passengers who 
use wheelchair devices.  Mrs. Ingram uses a three-wheeled scooter due to a 
mobility impairment.  In August 1997 she traveled from her home in the San 
Francisco Bay Area to visit her elderly mother in Glendale, California.  Her 
trip, which was ticketed through the Amtrak Thruway Bus reservations system, 
involved travel on both Serendipity and Antelope Valley buses.  Despite the 
fact that Mrs. Ingram had provided notice of her disability to Amtrak 
Thruway Bus reservations agents prior to her travel, she was poorly treated 
and experienced safety problems throughout her journey.
 -more-

     On August 8, 1997, after boarding a Serendipity bus in Fremont using an 
operative wheelchair lift, Mrs. Ingram found that the bus lacked wheelchair 
securement devices (tie downs and belts).  As a result, Mrs. Ingram was 
physically injured when her chair was thrown onto its side as the bus veered 
to the right on an off-ramp to Interstate-680 in Pleasanton.

     Mrs. Ingram also experienced access problems on both Serendipity and 
Antelope Valley buses during her trip home from southern California on 
August 11, 1997.  She was treated in a rude and impatient manner by drivers 
who had not been adequately trained regarding the safe and effective 
operation of the access features of the buses, such as wheelchair lifts. 
 These buses again lacked wheelchair securement devices.

     "I thought I was going to have a nice, relaxed trip down to see my 
mother," says Mrs. Ingram.  "Instead, the trip was a disaster.  Not only was 
I physically hurt, I was angry and humiliated at being treated like a 
sub-standard human being.  I should be able travel safely anywhere, just 
like anyone else does.  I used to love traveling, but now just the idea of 
it is frightening."

     "Our lawsuit is focused on ensuring that bus companies provide safe and 
courteous service to passengers who use wheelchairs," says DREDF attorney 
Linda D. Kilb.  "We want assurance that the operational practices of these 
bus companies, including their training of employees, are designed and 
implemented so as to protect the rights of people with disabilities."

     DREDF is a Berkeley-based, non-profit law and policy center nationally 
recognized for its expertise in the interpretation of disability rights 
laws.  Staffed and Board-run by persons with disabilities and parents of 
children with disabilities, DREDF is involved in education, policy, 
legislative and litigation efforts dedicated to protecting and advancing the 
civil rights of persons with disabilities.