42 U.S.C. § 12181 — Definitions

This section has no top-level lettered subsections -- instead it defines eleven numbered terms used throughout this part of the ADA. (1) Commerce means travel, trade, traffic, transportation, or communication that crosses state lines, that happens between a state and a foreign country or U.S. territory, or that passes through another state or country on the way. (2) Commercial facilities are places meant for nonresidential use whose operation affects commerce. This does not include railroad locomotives, freight cars, cabooses, rail cars covered under section 12162, railroad rights-of-way, or anything already exempt under the Fair Housing Act of 1968. (3) A demand responsive system is any transportation system that isn't a fixed route system -- meaning vehicles don't run a set path on a set schedule. (4) A fixed route system is transportation, other than by aircraft, where a vehicle runs along a set route on a fixed schedule. (5) An over-the-road bus is a bus with a raised passenger deck sitting above a baggage compartment. (6) A private entity is anything that isn't a "public entity" as defined elsewhere in section 12131(1). (7) Public accommodation covers many kinds of private businesses, as long as their operations affect commerce: places to stay overnight, except small owner-occupied lodgings with five rooms or fewer for rent; restaurants and bars; movie theaters, concert halls, and stadiums; auditoriums and convention centers; stores of all kinds, from bakeries to shopping centers; service businesses like laundromats, banks, barber shops, travel agencies, doctors' and lawyers' offices, and hospitals; transportation terminals; museums and libraries; parks and zoos; private schools at every level; social service centers like day care, shelters, food banks, and adoption agencies; and gyms, bowling alleys, and other places to exercise. (8) Rail and railroad mean the same thing as "railroad" in section 20102(1) of title 49. (9) Readily achievable means easy to do without much difficulty or expense. Whether something is readily achievable depends on the cost and nature of the action needed; the financial resources, size, and number of employees at the specific facility; the financial resources and overall size of the whole covered entity, including its number of facilities and employees; and the type of operation, including its workforce and how separate or connected its facilities are. (10) Specified public transportation means bus, rail, or other transportation (not aircraft) offered to the general public on a regular basis, including charter service. (11) Vehicle does not include a rail passenger car, railroad locomotive, freight car, caboose, or any rail car covered under section 12162.