Texas travel, upgraded — with the support you need.

Premium accessible travel — for every Texan

Our goal is to make your travel on Smile Bus USA a safe, pleasant and convenient experience. Our drivers, customer service personnel and contractors are available to meet the needs of customers with disabilities. We provide assistance with:

• Boarding and de-boarding our buses
• Luggage handling
• Transfer to and from your seat
• Stowage and retrieval of mobility devices
• Assistance during transfers, meal and rest stops, and other times as reasonably requested

We can help whether you are traveling alone or with a personal care attendant, using various mobility devices, or accompanied by a service animal.

Three steps to set up your trip

To help us prepare for your journey, please follow these steps:

What to know before you ride

Advance notice

A 48-hour advance notice — in accordance with federal guidelines — lets us make the necessary arrangements to provide requested assistance. In all cases, assistance will be provided as long as it does not compromise the safety of all involved.

Lift-equipped buses

Under federal regulations, a wheelchair lift-equipped bus is required to accommodate a combined customer + mobility-aid weight of 600 lbs, with a mobility aid measuring no more than 30 in wide and 48 in long. Customers and mobility aids exceeding these limits will be accommodated whenever it is reasonable and safe.

Assistance at rest stops

Please notify Smile Bus USA staff of your need for assistance at each location. Even if you contacted the Information Center, please make staff aware of your need for assistance throughout your entire trip. When the bus is at a scheduled stop, you may request that our personnel assist you with any reasonable request.

Storing and handling your mobility aid

Your mobility aid(s) may travel inside the bus if they can be safely stowed in the vehicle. Mobility aids that cannot be safely stored inside the bus will be placed in the baggage compartment when possible.

Proof of disability

In accordance with federal regulations, we do not require proof of disability.

Priority seating and wheelchair securement

Smile Bus USA buses have seats designated as priority seating for passengers with disabilities who are not using a wheelchair or other seated mobility device. If these seats are occupied, our driver may ask the seated customer to move. If they refuse, they cannot be forced to move; you may take the next available seat and move to a designated seat as it becomes available.

Smile Bus USA offers wheelchair securement spaces on a first-come, first-served basis. Other passengers with disabilities using mobility aids will be offered boarding assistance and the opportunity to sit in seats that are not assigned a securement location.

Traveling with your service animal

Customers with disabilities accompanied by a service animal are welcome on Smile Bus USA at no extra cost. A few things to keep in mind:

• The service animal is the responsibility of its owner and must be under the owner’s control at all times (leash, harness, or carrier).
• The service animal must ride within the customer’s space. Service animals may not travel in the aisle or occupy a seat.
• Smile Bus USA reserves the right to refuse passage to any animal that poses a direct threat to the health or safety of other customers and/or staff.

Traveling internationally with a service animal

Customers traveling to Mexico should check with the embassy or consulate for entry requirements. Many countries have strict health, quarantine, agriculture, wildlife and customs requirements that may apply to service animals.

To return to the U.S., you will minimally need a current rabies certificate listing the rabies vaccine used, lot number and date of injection. Additional requirements may apply.

Medications, medical devices, portable oxygen & respirators

Customers with medical needs are allowed to travel with their medications and medical devices, including portable oxygen and respirators.

Your rights as a customer

In accordance with federal regulations, we do not require proof of disability. Upon request to Smile Bus USA personnel, assistance will be provided for reasonable requests. Smile Bus USA is committed to protecting your rights.

If you would like to speak to someone about your needs or rights as a customer, please call us at 1-800-923-1799.

If you feel that your rights as a person with a disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) were violated and would like to file a formal complaint, please send a written statement to the address in the Complaints section below. Please include:

• Your ticket showing your travel itinerary.
• A detailed description of the incident, including bus schedule number, date, time and location.
• Name(s) and/or description(s) of any Smile Bus USA personnel involved.

How we use your information

Our customer service staff will only use the information about your travel needs and schedule to arrange assistance by company personnel or contractors at your point of departure, meal and rest stops, and your final destination.

Reach our ADA Customer Service team

If you’d like to file a formal complaint or need to speak with a representative about a recent trip, you can contact our ADA Customer Service team in any of the following ways.