Boston Center for Independent Living

12/13/2025

The MBTA has spent roughly two decades fulfilling some 200 requirements for accessibility upgrades and reforms established in a settlement agreement to a class-action lawsuit brought by disabled riders.

After 20 years of upgrades following the Daniels-Finegold settlement, the T has added 105 elevators and drastically reduced service denials for disabled riders.

12/10/2025

Though the MBTA reached the end of the agreement this week, officials say it’s not the end of their commitment to making the T more accessible.

Plaintiffs took the Boston-area transit authority to court decades ago. Now, the MBTA has met nearly all of the settlement’s 200 requirements.

12/07/2025

Semi-Annual Settlement Update Meeting on Accessibility

This meeting is a discussion and feedback session on the status of the Daniels-Finegold v. MBTA Settlement Agreement.

Since its signing in 2006, the agreement has led to significant improvements in accessibility, benefiting all riders.

While more work remains, Independent Monitor Judge Patrick King will discuss the MBTA's substantial compliance with the agreement and the plaintiffs, as well as the MBTA's plans to shift towards a community-based monitoring model led by RTAG.

This public meeting will be an opportunity for riders to share their feedback regarding the MBTA’s compliance with the settlement directly with Judge King, Greater Boston Legal Services, Boston Center for Independent Living, RTAG, Interim MassDOT Secretary and General Manager Eng, and the Department of System-Wide Accessibility.

Due to this important meeting, there will be no December RTAG general meeting.

Note: This meeting is focused on bus, subway, and Commuter Rail accessibility. It will not include The RIDE.

Date: Wednesday, December 10, 2025

Time: 1:00 PM–3:00 PM EDT

Location: Hybrid
MBTA Boardroom (10 Park Plaza, Boston) and Zoom

Register here: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/YWg5xj67QsyichHVOYAN_g #/registration


Spanish and ASL interpreters and live captioning will be provided. If you need additional accommodations, please email publicengagement@mbta.com or call 857-327-3282.

12/01/2025

BCIL notes the passing of John Kelly

John Kelly, a longtime prominent disability rights activist in Boston, passed on November 14.

John was a fierce leader in his advocacy in the early 2000s for equal access in Boston, being at the forefront of efforts to bring the city into compliance with state and federal access rules when these were, unfortunately, ignored in numerous respects. He was also a consistent voice for the PCA program and became a national leader in efforts to stop the advance of assisted su***de, which also is called aid-in-dying, seeing this as a grave threat to people with disabilities. Many of John’s social commentaries, whether in the Boston Globe or disability publications, included piercing, powerful observations on the dignity of people with disabilities and the obvious and often subtle discriminatory barriers that disabled persons daily confront. John’s voice was vital and necessarily loud in its messages.

The obituary for John in the Globe can be found here:

View JOHN BRYAN KELLY's obituary, send flowers and sign the guestbook.

11/27/2025

BCIL will be closed for Thanksgiving on Thursday, November 27 and Friday, November 28, and will reopen on Monday, December 1.

Happy Thanksgiving!

11/26/2025

The legislation passed! What a victory for the disability community!

Opening State Records on Abuses of Disabled Children & Adults

"The biggest government transparency bill to pass in Massachusetts in a generation. And it comes from the active work of disabled people across Massachusetts fighting for our rights."

New State Law:
* Opens records from the state asylums and "schools" for disabled children and adults.
* Halts the destruction and cover-up of those records.
* Repeals medical schools' rights to claim and experiment on the disabled dead.

25 Institutions
14,000 anonymous graves
Tens of thousands of lives
Ten years of advocacy

Massachusetts Advocates Standing Strong
Arc of Massachusetts
Boston Center for Independent Living
Kiva Centers
Northeast Independent Living Program
MetroWest Center for Independent Living
Disability Law Center
Center for Public Representation
Mental Health Legal Advisors Committee
THOUSANDS of survivors and disabled activists

11/25/2025

Disability advocates — including BCIL staff — testified on Thursday before the Joint Committee on Labor and Workforce Development in support of Bill H.2066 “An Act to impose fines on transportation network drivers who discriminate against riders with disabilities who use service animals”, sponsored by Somerville Representative .christine.barber.

(ALT caption available for each photo)

11/19/2025

PCA Day at the State House on Thursday!

PCA consumers, PCAs, and advocates will rally at the State House in Nurses Hall on Thursday, November 20 at 11:00 am. We know that the state again is looking at cuts to PCA services, so educating legislators on the importance of One Care is vital.

11/18/2025

DAAHR Forum on One Care follow-up

On November 6, over 170 people, including MassHealth Undersecretary Mike Levine, attended a forum on One Care hosted by Disability Advocates Advancing our Healthcare Rights (DAAHR), which is co-coordinated by BCIL and the Disability Policy Consortium (DPC).

One huge concern that came up was that members of Commonwealth Care Alliance were being inappropriately billed. This matter was jumped on right after the forum by DAAHR, MassHealth, and CCA, and the latter is making changes to their billing system to stop this from occurring. No one has to pay bills for services covered by CCA! If you have had this problem, you can contact CCA Member Services at 866-610-2273 (TTY 7101), 8 am – 8 pm, 7 days a week.

Another concern that was raised included inconsistent communications with CCA care coordinators. Below is the slide deck shared during the meeting, which, among other things, speaks to changes coming to One Care and who to contact for more information, including MyOmbudsman. You also can link to the slides athttps://bostoncil.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/DAAHR-Slides-2025-11-06.pdf

DAAHR may hold another forum during the winter to assess how things are going with all the changes to One Care.

11/18/2025

Are you a wheelchair user living in:
• North End
• Chinatown
• Beacon Hill
• Downtown Boston
• Financial District
• Back Bay
• South End
• Bay Village

Have you faced challenges getting your wheelchair repaired?

We want to hear from you!

Contact Kay at kays@bostoncil.org or 617-338-6665.

Your experience can help push for wheelchair repair reform!

11/13/2025

Calling on service animal users who have experienced Uber and Lyft refusals to testify at the upcoming public hearing for bill H.2066, "An Act to impose fines on transportation network drivers who discriminate against riders with disabilities who use service animals." Please share this within your networks!

Date & Time:
Thursday, November 20
10:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.

Hearing Details: https://malegislature.gov/Events/Hearings/Detail/5470

What is the Problem?
Service animal users face denial of service by Lyft and Uber drivers, including incidents involving RIDE Flex, which highlights ongoing refusals of service to individuals accompanied by service dogs.

What Does this Bill do?
This bill (H.2403/S.1560) would change statute language to allow penalizing transportation network drivers who discriminate against passengers with disabilities using service animals. This legislation would amend state law to impose fines of up to $500 for a first offense, $750 for a second offense, and $1,000 for a third offense. This law aims to decrease the number of ongoing refusals of service to individuals accompanied by service dogs.

How to Attend & Testify?
The hearing is hybrid – you can attend either:
• In person: State House, Hearing Room B-1
• Virtually: Via Microsoft Teams

Registration:
To register to testify in person or virtually, fill out this form: https://forms.office.com/pages/responsepage.aspx?id=a36UCyb_E0uuHFc8Z1DIiAKqn8DEYFxJoe9Ad0JlIbdUMDhFOUNINFVSM0ZQWTMwVlREN0k5OVJWVi4u&route=shorturl. The deadline is tomorrow, Friday, November 14, at 3:00 p.m.

Written Testimony:
Written or pre-recorded testimony may be submitted until Friday, November 21, at 5:00 p.m. via email to labor.workforce.development@gmail.com.

Need Help?
If you have any questions or you'd like assistance with:
• Registering to testify (virtually or in person)
• Submitting oral or written testimony
• Navigating time conflicts or other accommodations
Please reach out to Kat at ktorresradisic@bostoncil.org or 978-893-8100. You can find a testimony guide with more information and testimony templates athttps://bostoncil.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/H2066-Testimony-Guide.pdf

The Boston Center for Independent Living and Partners for Youth with Disabilities invite you to an online workshop for youth with disabilities and their parents and other family members. We will discuss how to support youths in their transition to adulthood, the services available to them, how to bu...