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Washington Post Staff Writer Ann Scott Tyson has written an article concerning Metro and its plans to scale back  MetroAccess service for persons with disabilities and seniors due to increased ridership, which has caused an apparently unsustainable financial burden on Metro. It seems to me I have heard this story from other cities as well. The current recession finds a number of cities across America facing similar financial decisions.

The issues involved, not only from the perspectives of the persons with disabilities involved, but from that of transit authorities, are highly-relevant. Both sides have very reasonable positions to present, and the solutions are seemingly neither simple to achieve nor pleasant from the vantage point of either side. The need for paratransit services will not simply disappear, so what is to be done?

Disability Perspectives

There are some different situations people with disabilities face where paratransit services are concerned. For some people who use paratransit services, riding the bus or the train are simply not an option from an ability perspective. Physical disabilities and/or age prohibit the use of either of these sources of transportation. While the willingness and desire to use these means of transportation may certainly be present, it is just is not possible.

Despite the misconceptions of some in society, there are people who make use of paratransit services in order to go to work. The people with disabilities using paratransit services to go to work are contributing members of society. They are people who are living active lifestyles and without paratransit services which accommodate them they would find themselves scrambling to adjust their already tight budgets, perhaps sacrificing even money designated for food or prescription medications in order to pay for taxi fares. The population of people with disabilities who may lose paratransit services could potentially even lose their jobs.

Another group of citizens with disabilities who use paratransit services includes those who need them in order to reach vital medical services. While America has witnessed the passing of a Health Care Reform aimed at ensuring that all citizens in America have some form of insurance, this same Health Care Reform does not ensure the provision of health care services through in-home care. Unfortunately, the Community Choice Act was not a part of the Health Care Reform that was passed by this administration. In short – cuts to paratransit services through various transit authorities across America has incredible potential to adversely affect the health of people with disabilities and seniors who rely on these services to reach needed medical care.

Transit Authority Perspectives

For the transit authorities, one of the biggest issues is purely financial. The costs associated with running paratransit services are rising at exponential rates. The article by Ann Scott Tyson cites top Metro officials of MetroAccess who state that Metro is facing a $189 million gap in its $1.4 billion operating budget this fiscal year alone, as well as $11 billion in projected capital needs in the coming decade. One of the reasons for this is because paratransit ridership through MetroAccess has risen from 20,000 trips in 1998 to a projected 2.4 million trips this fiscal year. Just this year, a paratransit ride through MetroAccess costs approximately $38, yet riders pay only $2.50 for that ride.

Transit authorities such as Metro are examining the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) very closely to ensure they meet ADA standards. They are whittling back their paratransit services to the bare essentials of ADA law, which state that paratransit services must match those similar to bus routes, if I am not mistaken. While the service is door-to-door, approximate services to bus routes is something I recall as being required by law. Transit authorities are reaching for the ADA as a tool for precise measurement of the required services they must provide, often to the dismay of paratransit riders, in an attempt to save money.

Potential Solutions

None of the solutions that occur to me as I write this are either inexpensive or easy to achieve. They do; however, ease the burdens on people with disabilities, seniors, and transit authorities. As I have mentioned, the need for paratransit services will not simply disappear. Isolation of people with disabilities and seniors is not acceptable. Expecting one form of service provider to bear such a financial burden is also unacceptable.

One of the regrets I have that I mentioned is that the Community Choice Act was not included in Health Care Reform. Having said this, I believe that in-home care services must be increased to a level where people who need services such as dialysis and other forms of care that have found them reaching for paratransit services in order to reach them, can receive those health care services at home, removing the need for paratransit services. Establishment of local, community clinics can also ease the need for lengthy paratransit rides. There are a number of in-home care agencies in nearly every city in America; these in-home care agencies must find themselves with increased funding through any means possible in order to serve people with disabilities and seniors that can be served in their homes. Health care workers such as Nurses and Certified Nursing Assistants can do a great deal of care in a person's home.

I also suggest the time for establishment of databases of people with disabilities and seniors who work and use paratransit services need to be established with the goals of defining who works where and at what hours. Perhaps there is more than one person in a particular area, in a particular time frame, who can group with one another and ride the same vehicle saving the transit authority money. If the transit authorities are already pursuing this, it needs to be further refined.

There are nonprofit organizations that have paratransit services who are struggling to make ends meet financially. America has witnessed major corporation after major corporation being bailed-out; isn't it time for the nonprofit organizations to receive some much needed financial attention? Transit authorities receive federal funding, why don't the nonprofit organizations aimed at people with disabilities and seniors who provide paratransit services?

The reduction in paratransit services to people with disabilities and seniors who rely on them comes dangerously close to being a violation of their rights, in my opinion. Do we not have the right to participate in society? Do we not have the right, having witness the President stating we do, to adequate health care? If we cannot access society and health care, are our rights not being violated? I wonder.

The Americans with Disabilities Act is rapidly approaching its twentieth anniversary. The Democrat Party and the President have promised this nation that they will pursue the original intention of the ADA. I wonder if they will follow through with this promise, as well as the effect it will have on people with disabilities, seniors, and the transit authorities of America. Will the citizens of America view paratransit services as an entitlement; will we view it as a right? Or will we view it as something else entirely?

Another thought that occurs to me is that it would be good to find more citizens in this nation reaching out to one another and caring for each other. Perhaps some of the transportation issue that exists could be solved through citizens in America assisting one another? One thing is certain; paratransit services will always be needed in America.

MetroAccess paratransit service to be scaled back because of rising demand, cost