“Uh-oh,” the man next to me on the bus said as he looked out the window and saw elderly woman in a wheelchair, accompanied by a man, waiting to board. My neighbor looked at his watch and sighed. The bus was heading toward the ferry terminal, and the noon boat would be leaving for Manhattan in 20 minutes. Even though the terminal was only 5 minutes away, the process of boarding these passengers would eat away at those precious minutes.

After the driver lowered the ramp and secured the wheelchair in the designated space, she asked the man where they needed to disembark. He said, “Western Beef.” We all raised our eyebrows because that supermarket was only three blocks away.

The driver said nothing and dutifully inserted the key to pull up the ramp – but it jammed. The ramp just would not move. Ultimately we were forced to exit the bus to await another. The last two riders were left on board to await assistance in disembarking, and I couldn’t help but notice how embarrassed the couple looked.

Needless to say, everybody missed the noon ferry. Several passengers were on cell phones calling in late to work.

Section 222 of the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act states that in the future it will be considered discrimination if a public entity purchases or leases vehicles that are “not readily accessible to and usable by individuals with disabilities, including individuals who use wheelchairs.”

I have no problem with providing access to the disabled for public services, but the implementation of such legislation can be less than efficient. New York City offers Access-a Ride paratransit service, which is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. A ride in one of the specially equipped vans costs only $1.50 – and would surely have been more comfortable for that couple stuck on the bus for who knows how long.

Certainly, many disabled individuals travel to and from their jobs via conventional public transportation, but I question the cost of making accessible every single vehicle of a fleet of buses that carry millions of non-disabled passengers, rather than offering the individual paratransit service gratis.

A 1985 Harris poll reported that only 42% of disabled men were employed, as opposed to 88% of the general population, which helped influence the passage of the ADA in 1990. Disabled women had even lower statistics. While there had been several laws pertaining to the rights of the disabled, they were considered ineffective in protecting the civil rights of those disabled who wanted gainful employment.

The terms of the ADA of 1990, however, are so over-inclusive that it has provides a haven for professional plaintiffs who make their living off monetary damages from noncompliant businesses, which end up settling to cut legal costs.

An applicant for the job of subway conductor who weighed 410 pounds sued the Metropolitan Transportation Authority under the ADA, claiming the agency was legally required to alter the size of the cab to accommodate his “disability.” One man filed 50 lawsuits in California, another man filed 1,000 against noncompliant businesses. The wave of lawsuits under the ADA harms the disabled above all.

Fear of such lawsuits has actually resulted in less employment. Because of the ill-conceived legislation, an employer may view a disabled person as a lawsuit waiting to happen if the employee does not receive promotions or is criticized for poor performance.

Before passage of the ADA, approximately 3 million Americans were blind, deaf, or in wheelchairs. Congress grossly inflated that figure to 43 million “disabled,” to make for a broader appeal. Nowadays, the definition for disability ranges from physical impairment affecting mobility and sight to emotional and learning disorders. Under the terms of the ADA, employers can ask about an applicant’s ability to perform a job but cannot inquire if an applicant has a disability or subject applicants to tests that tend to screen out people with disabilities.

Does that make sense? How is an employer to know if a potential employee has a history of mental illness not readily apparent in an interview? Even small businesses will be liable for civil lawsuits if rejected candidates feel they are being discriminated against.

Waiting in the ferry terminal for the 12:30 boat, it occurred to me that maybe our laws are written so poorly for a reason. Among members of state legislatures and Congress, there are more lawyers than practitioners of any other profession. The American Bar Association and the Association of Trial Lawyers spend tens of millions of dollars to influence elections. The Americans with Disabilities Act has been more of a boon to lawyers than to the disabled.

Tort reform, anyone?