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ADAPT (235)
The Cincinnati Enquirer (This article continues on ADAPT 232 but the story is included here in its entirety for easier reading.) Title: Disabled protesters spark Metro debate BY PAUL FURIGA The handicapped protesters who halted Queen City Metro buses have left jail and Hamilton County, but the controversy they created remains. Leaders in the disabled community shied away from the demonstrations and arrests, but quietly applauded members of American Disabled for Accessible Public Transportation's (ADAPT) actions. Almost two weeks ago Cincinnati police arrested 17 ADAPT members when they attempted to block the Vine Street entrance to the Westin Hotel and the Fourth Street entrance to Queen City Metro's offices. The demonstrators came from all over the United States to protest at the convention of the American Public Transit Association at the Westin. Their protests raised hopes in Cincinnati. A fire has started; and it's important to keep the flames fanned," said Basil Vlahopoulos, co-chairman of Metro‘s Specialized Transportation Advisory Committee (STAC). “if it dies, it will take another 10 years to get it started.” Metro officials who run Access, the local transit service for the disabled, also find themselves in the public eye for the first time in several years. “I think we" understand the need is there for more service,” said Judith Van Ginkel, spokeswoman for Metro. “The question is one of funding and do we have the funds available.” “Every dollar is precious, and the issue is to put each dollar to best possible use,” said Murray C. Bond, Metro's assistant general manager. Both camps agree that the ADAPT visit raised the public awareness of public transportation for the handicapped. Both also agree that a big debate on Access is in the future, the result of the ADAPT visit and recent changes in federal regulations. Metro officials and handicapped leaders do not agree on the extent of problems with the current situation, or on the solutions that might improve transportation for the handicapped. At Metro, Access manager Carl Palmer and Bond point out that each one-way Access trip costs taxpayers more than $10. The annual cost for Access, Palmer said, is more than $1 million. For that money, he said Metro makes an estimated 105,000 one-way trips for passengers each year, charging them 60 cents each. Palmer said Metro turns away only 4% to 5% of those who call to schedule Access service. But he acknowledges that Access meets only 6% of the estimated potential demand in Hamilton County. A new federal interpretation of regulation 504, which mandates handicapped service, will require Metro to add about $200,000 to its Access service in 1987. That may allow service with two to three new vans, Palmer said. But even that, he said, will not make much of a dent. Bond says he sees few alternatives. As expensive as the Access service is, he argues that it would cost $6 million to equip Metro's 379-bus fleet with lifts that would accommodate handicapped passengers in lieu of Access.
ADAPT (231)
The Cincinnati Post Saturday, June 21, 1986 125 East Court ST, Cincinnati, OH 45202 513-352-2000 Editor Paul F. Knue Managing Editor J. Stephen Fagan Editorial Page Editor Claudia Winkler Associate Editor James L Adams Editorials Title: Transit for the disabled The recent tactics of the handicapped militants who attempted to block traffic, obstruct entry to the Westin Hotel and stop buses by grabbing onto the wheel wells to protest the lack of wheelchair lifts on public buses detracted from the legitimate claims of the disabled for better transit service in Cincinnati. The fact is bus service for the handicapped here is inadequate. On that score, Queen City Metro management and the handicapped agree. Both sides also agree that dwindling public transit funds compound the problem. It is a problem, however, that Queen City Metro needs to resolve. Service for the disabled should be improved and expanded. Metro officials sat down four years ago with the Specialized Transportation Advisory Committee, representing the handicapped, and worked out a five-year plan to develop service for the disabled. The plan called for providing curb-to-curb service with a fleet of vans called Access. But a shortfall in public funds prevented that plan from being fully implemented. As a result, the committee is charging Metro with failing to keep its promise. On the surface, the Access service is impressive. The 15 vans operate six days a week and make as many as 400 trips a day, carrying 105,000 passengers annually for 60 cents a ride. But the demand is so great that handicapped persons often have to wait as much as a week or longer to get a van to carry them to the dentist or grocery store. Understandably, frustration is mounting. Now the disabled are lobbying for dual service—Access vans and expensive lift-equipped buses on the regular routes. The handicapped contend they have as much right to ride the bus as able-bodied citizens. But Tony Kouneski, Metro president, still believes he can get more for the money—serve more disabled people—by expanding Access. Kouneski’s argument is hard to refute. Experience in some other cities bears him out. In Los Angeles, 1800 buses equipped with lifts are transporting all of 40 wheelchair users a day. But the issue has now become philosophical as well as financial, and Queen City Metro officials must take care to remain responsive. The leaders of the handicapped in Cincinnati are to be commended for their refusal to participate in the demonstrations staged by the Denver-based group. Metro management, by demonstrating its good faith, should make sure that the handicapped never regret their choice.