The US Department of Justice has said payments totalling US$2.96m (€3.54m) have been paid to over 2,100 people who experienced disability discrimination while travelling or attempting to travel on buses.

The issue relates to the Greyhound Bus company.

Greyhound serves 2,400 destinations and carries some 16 million passengers each year in the United States and Canada.

The payments were part of a broader settlement from 2016, resolving a complaint that Greyhound "engaged in a nationwide pattern or practice of violating the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) by failing to provide full and equal transportation services to passengers with disabilities."

US Assistant Attorney-General Eric Dreiband said: "The Department of Justice is committed to eliminating disability-based discrimination in transportation services.

"This settlement ensures equal travel opportunities for those with disabilities through holistic reform."

The  amount is in addition to US$300,000 (€268,338) paid by Greyhound in 2016 to specific individuals identified by the Department of Justice.

This brings the total distributed to individuals to over US$3m (€2.68m).

This sum stands in addition to a US$75,000 (€67,084) civil penalty paid by Greyhound to the United States.

The settlement also mandated a series of systemic reforms - including that Greyhound hire an ADA compliance manager, provide annual in-person ADA training to employees and contractors who interact with the public and provide technical training to all employees and contractors on the proper operation of the accessibility features of Greyhound's fleet.

They also have to report every three months to the US Department of Justice on compliance efforts.

Greyhound is owned by UK-based FirstGroup plc, which also owns the Aircoach service in Ireland.