[Headline] PROTEST: VIA demonstration

PROTEST/from B1

door-to-door service,” Cook said. “It’s an effective way to provide transportation. That’s why you don’t see a lot of San Antonians joining you.”

But some people speculated the lack of local participation meant the San Antonio handicapped community either is afraid to speak out or did not have transportation to get to the demonstration by ADAPT members from other parts of the country, including Denver and New York.

While yesterday’s demonstrators did not include San Antonians, a local handicapped man was summoned by Police Chief Charles Rodriguez to help mediate.

"There is a definitely a problem here in San Antonio,” said Tommy Leifester, who calls himself a local leading handicapped rights activist.

He said the city’s van system that transports the handicapped has several inadequacies, including a requirement that users must request service up to a week in advance.

“If I don’t have a medical certificate and prior approval by VIA Transit, then I don’t ride,” he said. “There’s a judge and a jury who says you can ride a bus. A normal person doesn’t need a medical qualification to ride a bus.”

ADAPT leaders said they have asked transit association leaders to introduce a resolution to the full APTA membership proposing the handicapped be provided equal accessibility to public transportation.

Ford told the demonstrators the APA board’s policy allows officials from various transit authorities to decide the best ways of serving handicapped people in their separate communities.

“APTA has no power to force its attitudes on its members,” he said. “The local option makes sense.”

Ford yesterday did grant ADAPT leaders their request to publish an article in APTA’s trade magazine by September.

“We got one tiny concession out of the president, ADAPT leader Jean Stewart said after the meeting. “They are utterly in contempt of the needs of the disabled.”

The protesters requested VIA officials endorse the resolution to provide public transportation to the disabled and to establish a forum in which the disabled community would be allowed to participate.

Cook promised to plan a forum.

Stewart said the local community has long supported ADAPT’s proposal of a multi-modal system with both lift equipped buses and door-to-door service.

Created on

Thursday 11 July 2013

Posted on

Thursday 10 December 2015

Tags

1 week advance reservation, 14th Ammendment, article in APTA magazine, Bernie Ford, forum, Jean Stewart, local option, multi-modal system, paratransit, resolution, San Antonio, Tommy Leifester, VIA, Wayne Cook

Albums

• San Diego & San Antonio, Spring 1985

Visits

1869

Rating score

no rate

Rate this photo