Imagine you needed to get somewhere — a doctor’s appointment, work, a job interview, class, the store — and, instead of hopping on a bus or train or calling a Lyft or Uber, you had to apply and prove your eligibility, then, after waiting a month or more for the paperwork to clear, arrange for a ride at least a day in advance. Now imagine you had to repeat that same process in more than one county and transfer vehicles at the county line rather than getting door-to-door service. That’s what many people with disabilities who rely on paratransit in the Bay Area must do.
We spoke with two transit advocates and a Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) planner about what changes we need in order to make public transit easier and more accessible for people of all abilities. Paratransit was just the beginning.
“Nothing about us without us”
Christine Fitzgerald, a community advocate with the Silicon Valley Independent Living Center, has had a disability all her life. She remembers trying to take a bus in the ‘70s when she was around 10 years old and finding that the lifts to get her wheelchair on didn’t always work. “For the last decade or two, they’ve moved on to the foldout ramps,” she said. “This is a marked improvement.” But it’s not enough, which is why she advocates for universal design (designing spaces so they are accessible to people of all ages and abilities) in transit, noting that all of us will benefit as we get older. “If it’s good for one, it’s good for all,” she says.
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), enacted in 1990, was groundbreaking at a time when people with disabilities were often barred from public amenities by lack of access. However, more than 30 years later, advocates and planners are thinking beyond the requirements of the ADA to truly make transit accessible to people of all abilities.
Warren Cushman, a community organizer with Community Resources for Independent Living (CRIL) and a 30-year advocate for the rights of people with disabilities, said, “One of the first things to understand is that the ADA is a floor, not a ceiling.” Drennen Shelton, a planner with the MTC, agreed. “Our baseline is the ADA,” she said, noting that although all transit agencies already comply with the law’s requirements, it’s not enough.
“My guiding principle is the phrase ‘nothing about us without us,’” Shelton said. “I know if I’m not checking in with my advisory groups, if I’m not picking up the phone to call a trusted community member and checking my idea with them, then I’m not doing my job.” She uses the disability community saying as a reminder that any planning exercise at MTC should involve the people it’s designed to benefit.
“Listening to the people with lived experience is key,” Cushman said.
The paratransit challenge
Bay Area transit agencies offer paratransit services to fill gaps in transit service for people who can’t walk or roll long distances to the nearest bus stop or train station. However, paratransit is often subcontracted to private operators, the fare is often higher than a fixed-route bus fare, and the service stops at the county line, requiring riders to get off and on if they need to travel between counties, a process that can be challenging and risky. And the need to schedule routes that vary from day to day means riders have to call ahead, so the service can’t accommodate last-minute needs. Most Uber and Lyft drivers can’t carry wheelchairs, and many disabled people live on fixed incomes, which could make those services hard to afford, even if they were available.