American Notes PROTESTS

The whir of wheelchair motors and chants of "We want access" filled the air last week, as some 200 disabled demonstrators from across the U.S. picketed the annual convention of the American Public Transit Association in San Francisco. The protesters blame association members for engineering the repeal of a 1979 federal mandate that required wheelchair lifts on all new buses and rail systems as well as the phased modification of existing systems.

On Powell Street some protesters chained their wheelchairs to the city's century-old cable cars. Others crawled or rolled onto the tracks, shutting down the system for two hours. Many of the 134 arrested protesters were carted off in lift-equipped buses and vans.