The NFB improves blind people's lives through advocacy,
education, research, technology, and programs encouraging independence and
self-confidence.

PRESS RELEASE Public Transit Users to Ride Free From March 15 Through 31 on New Non-Stop FlyAway Bus Service From Union Station to Los Angeles International Ai

The new FlyAway service is offered through a three-year agreement with
Metro. The park-and-ride facility has over 2,000 covered parking spaces in
a
five-level structure and another 500 spaces in a surface lot .

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Los Angeles World Airports has partnered with Metro to provide the new
FlyAway service that will enable tens of thousands of public transit
riders, including those using the Metro Red and Gold Lines, Metrolink and
Amtrak trains, DASH, Metro and other municipal bus lines, to travel
directly to LAX airport terminals in 45 minutes or less.

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"Just look at me. Cash and checks are
accepted for parking.

wheelabout accessible

Thanks to good vocational rehabilitation when
I was young, I have been employed and paying taxes for forty years. Villaraigosa will be among the first
passengers on the 11 a. Metro will allow LAWA to use Union Station's Patsaouras Transit
Plaza, provide parking for 500 vehicles at the Gateway Parking Garage, and
allow the operation of an information and ticket sale kiosk on the plaza.

accelerator rainforest

"The proposed elimination of the Division for the Blind and Visually
Impaired is particularly troubling for the National Federation of the Blind,"
continued Marc Maurer.

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The 20-mile ride will cost $3 one-way for adults, $2 for children between 2
and 12 years, and free for children under 2 years. Porter service will be available to riders.

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com/cgi-bin/prnh/20050120 /PHTH039LOGO )
"These proposals significantly weaken our nation's commitment to help the
blind become productive taxpayers rather than recipients of public benefits,"
said Marc Maurer, president of the NFB.

The first buses on March 15 will depart from Union Station East
Portal/Patsaouras Transit Plaza and the LAX Central Terminal Area at 11:00
a.

wheelchair rainforest

"The blind and disabled face a
disheartening unemployment rate of over 70 percent, yet the Department of
Education wants to dismantle the single most effective program for preparing
the blind to enter the workforce. In addition, the Department wants
to downgrade the position of commissioner of the RSA, currently a presidential
appointment . It is the leading force in the blindness field today and the
voice of the nation's blind.m. Tickets will be
available from a kiosk staffed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and located a
few feet from the FlyAway stop at Patsaouras Transit Plaza.

carrollyns thatched

BALTIMORE, Over a thousand blind and disabled
people from all over the United States will gather in Washington next week to
protest cutbacks and other changes at the Rehabilitation Services
Administration (RSA). Wilson, who is blind, was appointed by President
Bush to be the commissioner of the RSA in 2001, but recently resigned her
position to protest the proposed changes at the agency. and 1
a.

Cash only is accepted for the bus ride.

Unlike public buses, FlyAway buses are designed with luggage bays and
feature cushioned seats. LAWA
also plans to add FlyAway service to its other commercial passenger
facilities at Ontario International and Palmdale Regional Airports as
demand warrants.

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(Logo: http://www .m. The buses will depart
Patsaouras Transit Plaza and LAX on the hour and half-hour everyday,
including weekends and holidays. An automated teller machine (ATM)
is located inside Union Station (Alameda Street side). And for the same combined fare starting on the Metro Rail from Old
Towne Pasadena , a traveler could reach LAX during peak traffic periods in
less than one hour 15 minutes.

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to 5 a . Passengers departing LAX will be picked up on
the Lower/Arrivals Level in front of each terminal under green signs marked
"FlyAway, Buses and Long-Distance Vans.

The FlyAway from Union Station builds upon LAWA's experience operating the
popular FlyAway service from Van Nuys in the San Fernando Valley.

Further information on the two LAX FlyAway bus service at Union
Station/Patsaouras Transit Plaza and at Van Nuys Airport is available by
calling 1-866-I FLY LAX (1-866-435-9529), or visiting www.

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m.m.

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The protestors will gather in front of the
Department of Education on Thursday , May 26, 2005, at 10:00 a. Parking slots for
vehicles displaying disabled placards or license plates are available in
the Gateway Center Garage.

accesible travels

Isn't
this the outcome we want for all our blind and disabled citizens?"
Joining the NFB in protesting the planned changes are over thirty
professional and disability organizations including the National Council of
State Agencies for the Blind (NCSAB ), the American Association of People with
Disabilities (AAPD), the National Rehabilitation Association , the National
Association of the Deaf (NAD), and the Council of State Administrators of
Vocational Rehabilitation (CSAVR). The Van
Nuys FlyAway has served over 18 million riders and saved 396 million
vehicle miles traveled in the region since it began in 1975.

Also on March 15, fares for the popular Van Nuys FlyAway bus service will
be adjusted to match fares on the Union Station service .

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During the first
two weeks of service, riders presenting tickets or passes from these public
transit services, or taxi receipts, can receive a free FlyAway roundtrip
ticket at the ticket kiosk.

As an inter-modal transit center, Union Station is unique and provides a
needed link to LAX for a large population of transit ridership that would
not otherwise be available.

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Los Angeles Mayor Antonio R., and every hour from 1 a.

FlyAway buses will drop-off passengers at LAX on the Upper /Departures Level
in front of each terminal. This security
operation will also include the Van Nuys FlyAway bus service.

Expansion of the FlyAway bus service also is a requirement of the LAX
Master Plan Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program and one of the
conditions of the recent settlement of lawsuits filed against the LAX
Master Plan.

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The new non-stop FlyAway will operate from Berth 9 at Patsaouras Transit
Plaza, which is located on the east side of Union Station at Gateway Center
(Metro headquarters) and is accessed by car via Vignes Street. Five hundred covered
parking spaces are available for FlyAway customers.

The new service is part of Los Angeles World Airports ' (LAWA's) ground
transportation initiatives to expand its FlyAway bus system to improve
passenger convenience, and to reduce traffic congestion and vehicle
emissions by encouraging high-occupancy vehicle ridership.lawa.

accelerator wheelies

The buses are equipped with wheelchair lifts. There are approximately 50,000 transit riders
connecting through Union Station on a daily basis from the Metro Gold Line,
Metro Red Line Metrolink commuter trains, and Amtrak. LAWA ground
transportation experts estimate 2,000 -plus cars are removed from local
streets and freeways everyday due to VNY FlyAway operations.

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m.

The ride from Union Station, which takes advantage of
high-occupancy-vehicle lanes, takes less than 45 minutes during peak
traffic periods. Bomb detection canine teams will conduct
periodic sweeps of the buses, Berth 9 area and luggage.

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Spearheaded by the National Federation of the Blind
(NFB) and supported by numerous other disability organizations, the protest
will challenge Department of Education plans to close ten regional RSA
offices, eliminate about half the agency's personnel , downgrade the position
of commissioner of the RSA, and block grant vocational rehabilitation funds . Buses will
run in both directions every 30 minutes between the hours of 5 a. A new
state-of -the-art FlyAway terminal opened at Van Nuys Airport in December
2004.

minibuses phillip

The Bush administration has laid out a plan that would close all of the
RSA regional offices responsible for assisting states with the implementation
of rehabilitation programs; reduce the RSA staff by approximately 50 percent ,
with a disproportionate effect falling on people with disabilities employed by
RSA; offer states the option of receiving federal vocational rehabilitation
funds as part of a consolidated block grant under the Workforce Investment
Act; and eliminate the Division for the Blind and Visually Impaired as part of
a reorganization of the RSA central office.

m. bus from Union Station following a news
conference and inaugural ceremonies. The
new service complies with requirements of the Americans With Disabilities
Act. Based on Metro Rail schedules, it is estimated that
using a combination of Metro Rail and the LAX FlyAway, a traveler could
leave from the heart of the Hollywood business-tourism district or from the
Mid-Wilshire area and reach LAX in little over one hour for just $4. The parking rate
at the Van Nuys FlyAway will remain $4 per day with a 30-day maximum stay .org.

traveler carrollyns

NFB and Other Disability Groups Protest Cutbacks at Federal Rehab Agency

We need experienced and
knowledgeable people administering federal programs for the blind.
To celebrate the March 15 inauguration of
non-stop FlyAway bus service from Union Station to Los Angeles
International Airport (LAX), travelers taking public transportation to
Union Station can ride the FlyAway roundtrip for free from March 15 through
March 31.m.

In collaboration with other law enforcement agencies , Los Angeles Airport
Police officers will ride the FlyAway buses on a random basis and patrol
the FlyAway Berth 9 area on foot.

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"I cannot stand by while the Bush Administration tries to tear down a
system that has helped so many blind and disabled people find employment,"
said Wilson . "History has shown that the blind have unique needs
that are best met by separate agencies and services."

Parking for up to 30 days is available at Gateway Center Garage (enter on
Vignes Street) for $6 a day for a 24-hour period.

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25
total. The new Union
Station location is part of a plan that will eventually add seven more
locations around Southern California to the FlyAway system by 2015.

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newscom."
Joanne Wilson, a former commissioner of the RSA and one of the highest-
ranking disabled persons in the Bush administration, will be among the
protestors as will Fredric Schroeder , who was commissioner of the RSA during
the Clinton administration."
With more than 50,000 members, the National Federation of the Blind is the
largest and most influential membership organization of blind people in the
United States.

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