[blindlaw] Transportation Issues

[Hyde, David W. (ESC)]

Hi Kristi, First I am not a lawyer, but as a blind employee, I face the same issues. If the service in Austin is a Para transit service, It will probably not work for you. You need to control your own transportation. Over the years I have used public transit, I have hired a driver, shared rides work co-workers, and at one time hitch hiked. I do not recommend that last one, since the seventies are long gone.

As far as small towns, and jobs go, there are a couple of approaches. One is to get the job, and then deal with hiring transportation. I would recommend researching the town first, so you have some options. Remember, if you discuss this during an interview (and you should, because the employer will wonder too) you can talk about the options you could use. Not the subjunctive. You do not have to use the ones you talk about. This has been my approach.

You can choose to interview for jobs where you have transportation easily available. If you use public transit as opposed to Para transit, you plan your schedule around the bus schedule. If you must get somewhere at once, you call a cab, assuming there is one. It helps to know a few drivers. If there is no cab, find a retired person who wants to do things, and has a car, and put them on retainer for certain hours.

Hope this helps.

-----Original Message-----
From: blindlaw-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:blindlaw-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Kristi Wilkins
Sent: Monday, October 24, 2011 10:57 AM
To: blindlaw at nfbnet.org
Subject: [blindlaw] Transportation Issues

Good morning,

I am a recent law graduate and am in the middle of a job search.  I am legally blind and can't drive.  I was wondering how some of you deal with transportation issues.  I have been hesitant to apply for some jobs (especially litigation positions) because I am concerned about being able to get to and from the office, courthouse, meetings, etc.  Right now, I live in Austin, TX and use the transportation services provided by Cap Metro.  It can sometimes be time-consuming and requires me to be able to plan my trips
- something that may not always be possible when things come up on short notice.  Also, they are experiencing budget cuts and may be cutting back on their services soon.  We have a bus service, but it is difficult for me to use for several reasons.  A lot of the jobs I have seen lately have been popping up in small towns, which likely don't have the extensive services Austin does.  Here are my questions:

1. If you have transportation services like the one in Austin, are you able to use them efficiently to get around?  Do employers understand the transportation difficulties that come with being legallly blind?

2. If the services don't work for you (or you simply don't have transportation services), what do you do to get around?

Thanks,
Kristi
_______________________________________________
blindlaw mailing list
blindlaw at nfbnet.org
http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindlaw_nfbnet.org
To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for blindlaw:
http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/blindlaw_nfbnet.org/david.hyde%40wcbvi.k12.wi.us