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Last Updated: May 15, 2008

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You are here:Home Web Accessibility

Web Accessibility


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The features available throughout the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) website have been designed to be in compliance with Federal regulations for Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act. If you have any difficulty using assistive technology on this site or if you have any accessibility concerns, please contact us.

Text Size

This site is best viewed in Microsoft Internet Explorer 6+ and Netscape 7+. To assist low/impaired vision users of this site, the following steps will walk you through changing the text size on your computer using these browsers. These steps will allow you to permanently change the default text size settings in your browser window so that you will not have to enlarge the text each time you visit a site.

Please Note: Changing the text size may adversely affect the screen layout.

Firefox 1.0
To temporarily increase your font size:
From the Firefox menu bar select View, then Text Size, and choose Increase.  This will cause the text to display on the web page one size larger. However this is a temporary change.

To make a permanent font size change:
From the Firefox menu bar, select Tools, then Options. Click on General and then on Fonts & Colors. Set the font sizes here.

Firefox (Version 1.7 and greater on PC)
From the menu bar, select Tools, then Options, then click the Content panel. Under the Fonts & Colors section, adjust the settings to your preference.  There is also an Advanced button for additional choices and customization.

Microsoft Internet Explorer (Version 5x and greater)
From the menu bar select View, then Text Size, and choose a suitable text size.
You can choose from five sizes: largest, larger, medium, smaller, smallest. The default setting is medium. More information on accessibility options for this browser can be found on Microsoft's Internet Explorer 6 Step by Step Tutorials.

Netscape (Version 5x and greater)
From the menu bar select View, then Text Zoom and choose a suitable text size. You can choose a percentage of the original size. The default setting is 100%.

Third Party Viewers

Some of the files linked on this site are in Adobe Acrobat PDF, Microsoft Word, and Microsoft Excel formats. You can download the viewers for these file types at these locations:

Alternative Version Requests

Every attempt has been made to provide these files in accessible formats. If you need to request an alternative version of a file posted on this site, please contact us.

Popup Blockers

Many users have pop-up blockers running on there computers which block new windows from opening.  Several links on the FTA website open documents and other websites in new windows which can cause issues if a popup blocker is installed on your computer.  Read more.

Breadcrumb Trail

This FTA website utilizes breadcrumb trails, a navigation tool that allows a user to see where the current page is in relation to the website's hierarchy. For example, at the top of this page under the image banner, the words "You are here:" are followed by the words, "Home" and "Web Accessibility".  The content on this Web Accesibility page is only one click away from the Home page.  If you click around the site, you may find that you have gotten lost and cannot recall where the information you are reviewing was located.  This is where the breadcrumb trail assists the visitor, showing them exactly where the content they are reading is located.   

Image of the breadcrumb trail on the FTA public website.

The term breadcrumb trail comes from the story of Hansel and Gretel, who left a trail of breadcrumbs as they walked through the forest so they could trace their way back home.

Project Reporting Requirements

i. Electronic Published Documents (Internet). All published documents (including graphics) must comply and be accessible in accordance with current requirements/interpretation of Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as Amended. All documentation must be approved by FTA before distribution to the public and prepared in a format specified by FTA. The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) is required by law to develop its website and documentation therein to meet the requirements of Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act, as Amended (29 U.S.C. 794d).  Recipients of federal funds are responsible for consulting sources such as the Access Board [http://www.access-board.gov/508.htm], and Section 508 Website http://www.section508.gov/

See also Adobe Systems “Creating Accessible Adobe PDF Files: A Guide for Document Authors,”  Online http://www.adobe.com/enterprise/accessibility/pdfs/acro6_pg_ue.pdf. This step-by-step guide covers the basics for creating Adobe portable Document Format (PDF) files so that they can be more accessible to users with disabilities, including the blind.  This guide provides information on using Adobe Acrobat 6.0 software and Adobe Acrobat Capture 3.0 software to optimize documents for distribution as PDF documents that can be easily read with Micorsoft Windows based assistive technology, such as screen magnification or screen reading software. 

Adobe Reader 7.0 http://www.adobe.com/enterprise/accessibility/reader/

Adobe Reader® 7.0 contains a variety of features to assist people with disabilities such as blindness or low vision. If you want to use accessibility tools to customize how you read PDF documents, if you want to test your PDF files for accessibility, or if you work with people who use assistive technology, follow the links below to learn more the specific accessibility options, technologies and preferences in Adobe Reader.

Additional References


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