What's bugs me the most about this is that it's completely devoid of fact. Alissa claims better sidewalks, bus rapid transit, etc. is a "conspiracy" of able bodied men yet she's ignoring how people with disabilities actually travel (thread) https://twitter.com/awalkerinLA/status/1281273136353120256

The answers are not a mystery. DOT tracks all of this and the information is readily available with a simple Google search.

https://www.bts.gov/topics/passenger-travel/travel-patterns-american-adults-disabilities

So let's look into the data. First, vehicle ownership. Are people with disabilities more likely to own a car? The opposite - people with disabilities are LESS likely to own a car. By a pretty significant margin

Ok, so they own fewer cars. Maybe they rely on them more though? Again, the opposite. Among workers, 73.6% of people without disabilities drive themselves vs only 54.5% of people with disabilities.

Among non-workers, the numbers are similar. 42.6% of those with a disability drive themselves vs 58.3% of those without.

Many people with disabilities also rely on someone else to drive them. More so than the rest of the population. Among workers, 23.5% of those with disabilities are a passenger (vs 11.5% of those without disabilities) and among non-workers its 31% (vs 21.2% of those without).

This likely contributes to the more limited mobility of people with disabilities. The DOT's Bureau of Transportation Statistics writes:

"Over one-third (34.1%) of people age 18 to 64 with disabilities made zero trips on the survey day versus 13.4 percent of people without ..."

And it's more pronounced in rural areas (e.g. areas without other options).

"The percentage [of those that didn't make a trip on the survey day] increases to 37.3 percent for rural residents with disabilities versus 16.0 percent for rural residents without disabilities."

Ok, so cars aren't a great answer. But let's dig into the crux of the argument. Are wider sidewalks, bus rapid transit, etc. better options? Or are @fmanjoo and @VishaanNYCA ignoring the perspective of people with disabilities?

Well, revealed preferences gives us the answer. People with disabilities prefer alternatives to cars. They are MORE likely to walk than those without disabilities and MORE likely to take public transit.

Anecdotally, I see this in my neighborhood all the time. When I ride the bus, there is often someone in a wheelchair on board. When I go to the store, there is almost always at least 1-2 elderly people with a wagon to walk their groceries home.

None of this should be all that surprising. Driving requires 3-4 limbs + your eyes and ears. That's not the case for walking or public transit. You'd hope transportation writers would acknowledge this ESPECIALLY those with as broad of a platform as Alissa's.

In sum - if you want to help those with disabilities, at least try to understand their needs. They are less likely to rely on cars and more likely to walk or take public transit. Our cities would be a lot more just if we prioritized these modes of transportation.

CC: @daguilarcanabal @james94_SF @JakeAnbinder @MarketUrbanism @akronisticlotor