Wheelchair accessibility in the United States

Hotels are required to offer a portion of rooms with roll-in showers and grab bars. Newer build-outs are step-free at the front door, with at least one accessible parking space close to the entrance. Chain hotels publish the exact mobility features per room type at booking time.

Public buses are step-free with deployable ramps and kneeling suspension as a national baseline. Subway and light-rail accessibility varies city by city: New York is mid-30 percent, while newer systems in Washington DC and the West Coast run closer to 100 percent.

Federal sites, Smithsonian museums, the National Mall, national parks and monuments, are designed to a strict federal accessibility standard. Most national parks loan an off-road wheelchair on request and waive entrance fees for the Access Pass holder and one vehicle.

The America the Beautiful Access Pass gives free lifetime entry to the holder at every federal site that charges an entry fee, plus one vehicle. It is issued free in person at any participating park or by mail with proof of permanent disability. The pass also discounts campground and amenity fees by half.

City-level discount cards exist in the major metros. New York has IDNYC, which gives city residents (not visitors) free one-year memberships at most major museums. There is no single national disability card; venues read each US state's disability ID, or accept a doctor's letter, or simply self-identification.

New York is the first US city covered here in depth: the city hub, the disability-discounts surface, and ten of the city's most-visited attractions each with their own wheelchair-access page. More US cities follow in the same shape.