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    Amtrak Asks 2 People Who Use Wheelchairs To Pay $25,000 For A Ride

    It usually costs $16 to take Amtrak from Chicago to Bloomington, Ill. The company defended the $25,000 cost for the extra wheelchair users, saying it reflects a new policy.
    by Joseph Shapiro Jan 17, 2020 4 minutes
    A member of the station staff pushes a portable wheelchair lift along the platform at an Amtrak station in DeLand, Fla. The company says its policies for having to adjust or remove seats has changed.

    Updated at 11:32 p.m. ET

    It costs just $16 to buy a one-way ticket on the Amtrak train from Chicago to Bloomington, Ill., unless you're the two people who use wheelchairs and tried to buy tickets recently. They were told their tickets will cost not $16 — but $25,000.

    When Adam Ballard saw what Amtrak wanted to charge, he couldn't believe it.

    "I thought it was a mistake. That's the price of a car," Ballard says. "How can that be possible? I was sure it was a mistake. But I've seen it in writing. So I know it's not."

    Ballard works for a disability service

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