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ADAPT (350)
San Francisco Bay Guardian 9/23/87 Disabled to march for transit access By: Cheryl Davis When members of the American Public Transit Association gather in San Francisco during the last week of September, they will be met by disabled people from across the country who plan to demonstrate against a national transit policy they say is unfair because it separates them from other transit users. Specifically, disabled activists intend to protest the widespread use of special vans to transport disabled riders door-to-door, a system commonly referred to as “paratransit.” That system, they say, is a form of segregation. In its place, they argue, all buses and trains should be equipped to accommodate people in wheelchairs as part of as overall policy fully integrating the disabled into society. “Full accessibility,” they argue, is a right that should not be denied because of cost. Paratransit is impractical as well as offensive, disabled transit riders say. Burr Overstreet, a Santa Rosa man who uses a wheelchair, called paratransit “a paternalistic system that screws people over, costs a fortune and it’s the first thing cut during economic downturns.” Paratransit users “are made to feel like helpless hospital patients,” Les Treece-Sinclair, a wheelchair user and staff person at the September Alliance for Accessible Transportation, a Northern California coalition, told the Bay Guardian. Most Bay Area transit districts, including the San Francisco Municipal Railway, use a combination of buses with lifts and paratransit vans for disabled and elderly patrons, and California law requires that all new buses be equipped with lifts. Local transit agencies have a good reputation nationally for working closely with disabled and elderly patrons. But, even so, there are problems. “Supposedly we [in Marin] have one of the better systems,” Overstreet said. “The combination of fixed-route and paratransit should in theory be fairly effective, but it’s not. The paratransit only runs Monday through Friday, 9 am to 3 pm. Disabled riders have to reserve in advance and disabled people who work cannot use such a paratransit system either to work or to socialize.” “Paratransit doesn’t come close to meeting the transport need of elderly and handicapped people,” said Treece-Sinclair. “At the moment, on many bus lines only every third or fourth bus will be accessible.” Jose Rodriguez, a public information officer for the Metropolitan Transit Commission, told the Bay Guardian Bay Area transit districts “are working hard to meet a basic level of service but we are aware of the need for improvement. As always, this is contingent on securing needed funds.” The debate between disabled people and much of the public transit industry centers around interpretations of Section 504 of the 1973 Rehabilitation Act, which states that persons with handicaps cannot be discriminated against under any program receiving federal funds. Since mass transit relies heavily on federal funds, Section 504 serves as a rallying point for disabled activists who argue for making all public transit wheelchair-accessible. The U.S. Department of Transportation in 1979 issued regulations that required full wheelchair access on newly ordered buses and called for retrofitting existing buses and modifying portions of existing rail systems to accommodate disabled users. Disable activists applauded the regulations, but APTA lobbied Congress vigorously, claiming the regulations were costly, unworkable and designed to reach only a small percentage of the disabled population. A 1979 Congressional Budget Office report supported APTA’s claims and called instead for paratransit systems. APTA sued to overturn DOT’s regulations and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled in 1981 that the regulations exceeded the scope of the Rehabilitation Act. DOT interim regulations gave local communities the option of determining levels of accessibility and many transit districts opted for paratransit. Paratransit advocates argue that outfitting buses with lifts and other special equipment is too expensive, given the number of disabled riders. Santa Clara County Supervisor Tom Legan, for example, said at a January board meeting, “We’re spending $3.5 million per year [maintaining] lifts for what amounts to 57 boardings per year.” But disabled activists say the official estimates of disabled ridership are too low. Palo Alto resident Brian Bolitho, who uses a wheelchair, told the Bay Guardian his commute to work alone account for more than 200 boardings per year on Santa Clara buses. Dennis Cannon, a transportation, specialist the federal Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board, told the Bay Guardian, “The actual use of accessible buses could be five times higher, or more, than transit agency estimates. The driver often simply guesses the number of obviously disabled passengers.” Much of the expense of repairing lifts, Cannon added, could be avoided by improved maintenance and better training of bus operators. Some APTA members, Canon said, are reappraising the adequacy of paratransit. James Lee, accessibility coordinator for Alameda County Transit, agreed. “Since 1976, study after study has documented the inadequacy of paratransit. It is not cost-effective, nor is it demand responsive,” he told the Bay Guardian.
ADAPT (184)
San Antonio Express News, 4/22/85 Photo by Express News: A woman stands (Doris Rae?) behind an older man in who is seated (Frank McColm). Both are yelling, their faces full of passion. caption reads: wheelchair protesters [Headline] Disabled blast transportation, Protest inaccessibility by Gary Martin, Express-News Staff Writer About 50 disabled rights activists from across the nation rolled through downtown San Antonio streets in wheelchairs Sunday, protesting inaccessible public transportation for the handicapped. The group of protesters, American Disabled for Accessible Public Transportation (ADAPT), headed the march into the lobby of the Hyatt Regency Hotel where the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) is holding a five-day conference. Chanting “We will ride" and “Access now," the group presented a resolution to APTA officials, asking for support of federal regulations that would force local communities to install wheelchair lifts in all public transportation vehicles. Jean Stewart, spokeswoman for ADAPT, said the group wants 100 percent accessibility to all public transportation nationwide and accused APTA of segregating disabled riders by not supporting federal regulation of the industry. “To us there is no difference between riding a different bus and riding in the back of a bus if you’re black,” said Stewart, a resident of Poughkeepsie, N.Y. A San Antonio marcher, Rachel Rodriguez of 7180 Oaklawn Drive, said she was forced to ride VIAtrans vans in San Antonio because buses were not accessible for handicapped patrons. “You feel like your rights are violated,” she said. “lt‘s not a matter of riding in the back of the bus, it's a matter of not riding at all.” The group met wit APTA officials only after refusing to leave the Hyatt registration desk. Defending current policies of APTA, Vice President Jack Gilstrap said each community should have the opportunity to design its own system for its own particular needs. "There is no place for federal regulations,” he said. Gilstrap also accused the ADAPT group of trying to take away “this wonderful system" that has increased its service to disabled riders by l0 times over the past few years. Hecklers attacked Gilstrap and the VIA Metropolitan Transit System saying the convention site, San Antonio, had the worst accessible public transportation system in Texas. Although no VIA officials attended the rally, General Manager Wayne Cook said the local system contains 20 vans that carry 9,000 disabled riders each month. Cook said VIA purchased the vans instead of placing lifts in its buses after a committee representing the disabled requested the special access vans. At a cost of $1.2 million, Cook said the local system will spend four times more for disabled riders than the federal government requires. “We are very dedicated to serving the handicapped in San Antonio," he said.