[Blindtlk] Paratransit vs. Fixed Route.
David Evans
drevans at bellsouth.net
Fri May 6 13:59:13 UTC 2011
Dear Dianne,
Yes, a 30 minute window is the norm in the business for Para-transit.
The driver is only required to wait 5 minutes upon arrival with in the
window. They passenger must board the bus with in 5 minutes of the arrival
or the driver can "no show" the passenger.
It also makes a difference if they are performing door-to-door or
curb-to-curb service.
IF it is door-to-door, the driver is required to get out of the vehicle and
come to the ground floor door of any residence or lobby of any public
building.
They must escort the passenger to and from the vehicle to the door of the
building or the vehicle.
In curb-to-curb service the rules are different. The vehicle and driver
only has to pull up to the curb outside the building and the passenger must
come out to the bus themselves.
You see curb-to-curb service mostly in very urban areas as there is usually
no place for the bus to park and for the driver to get out.
The walks an distance to the curb an buildings is usually not too far, but
there is much more possibility that the driver and passenger can miss each
other and for the passenger or driver to be waiting in wrong place. This is
a real problem in a setting where the buildings are set well back from the
street corners and it forces the passenger to be exposed to crime and the
elements. It is easy to is the pick up.
This is not the best service model as it has allot of draw backs to it,
especially in very bad weather situations. also it does not work well in
suburban locations, where distances from the street to buildings can be very
far and blind people may have lots of trouble finding the buildings and
their doors. It is also very hard on the passengers in very bad weather
such as heavy rain, snow and cold wind.
Door-to-door service is a higher level of service, but also has the
requirement that the driver get out of the bus and come to the door and
escort the passenger to and from the bus. This is the kind of service we do
here in Palm Beach County.
Our consumers recently demanded that we keep the service as door-to-door
instead of cur-to-curb, even with budget cuts, as we are mostly suburban in
structure and with the high number of seniors we serve we could show the
benefits and the cost savings as there were fewer accidents and mishaps with
passengers getting hurt and a lower "no show" and cancellation rate.
If you understand how the system works and what it can and can not do, you
can learn to use it with very little trouble.
You must always be prepared for trouble and know what to do if your ride
does not show up on time. I always tell the consumers I speak to that they
should get a cell phone and use it as their primary contact for where ever
they go. This way the service is calling your cell phone and not some nurse
or receptionist that does not know you and may not even be in the same
building. You know where you are and if the driver is looking for you, they
should call you directly.
Most of the people and drivers get to know each other over time. Many of
the drivers, that go to certain places, do so on a regular basis and the
people who go there get to know them too.
My company operates some 170 vehicles daily and we do between 3,500 and
4,200 trips a day.
Most trips are for medical and about 17% of all trips are for work.
Palm Beach County is the largest county east of the Mississippi River and is
bigger than some states at almost 2,500 square miles.
Most of the population, about 93%, lives with in 10 miles of the beach, but
we also have 3 cities that are over an hours drive west.
We serve the county wall-to-wall and even have exchange points for
passengers wishing to travel into our sister county, Broward County, to the
south.
We also have a commuter rail service called Tri-Rail, which serves
Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach Counties, all 3 airports and sea ports.
It was not always this way. It only got this way with time and an engaged
group of consumers pushing on the envelop.
David Evans, NFBF and GD Jack.
MV Consumer Advocate
----- Original Message -----
From: "Graves, Diane" <dgraves at icrc.IN.gov>
To: "'Blind Talk Mailing List'" <blindtlk at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Friday, May 06, 2011 8:03 AM
Subject: Re: [Blindtlk] Paratransit vs. Fixed Route.
> Wow! This is interesting. In our area paratransit has a 30 minute window
> to pick you up. They can arrive up to five minutes early, in which case,
> you'd better be ready to go, or they can arrive up to 25 minutes late.
> That is there policy. To be sure you will get to a destination on time you
> are required to schedule a ride 1-1/2 hours in advance.
>
>
>
>
> Diane Graves
> Civil Rights Specialist
> Indiana Civil Rights Commission
> Alternative Dispute Resolutions Unit
> 317-232-2647
>
> "It is service that measures success."
> George Washington Carver
>
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> -----Original Message-----
> From: blindtlk-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:blindtlk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
> Behalf Of David Evans
> Sent: Thursday, May 05, 2011 9:49 PM
> To: Blind Talk Mailing List
> Subject: Re: [Blindtlk] Paratransit vs. Fixed Route.
>
>
> Dear Sir,
>
> If that is true, they need to be sued and have the DOJ and DOT brought
> down
> on their heads. I did this here in Palm Beach County some years ago and I
> even got two executive directors of Palm Tran fired and replaced.
> They lied to us in the first few years after the ADA was passed.
> They were able to get away with this because , WE did not know the ADA and
> neither did the county Commissioners. They relied upon the directors to
> know and just hid behind their shield of professionalism.
> I, and some others, educated ourselves about the ADA and what was
> required.
> We then began calling their bluff and even filed charges with the DOT. We
> were right and changes began to happen.
> If your local fixed route bus system can serve the Public every day, then
> the Para-transit service should be able to provide next day services too.
> You should not have to make all of your trips 3 or 4 days in advance.
> That
> is outrages.
> There are rules for Para-transit also as to service delivery too.
> I know how it works and what I can expect from my service. They
> have "on time" requirement just the same as one would expect from the
> fixed
> route system. The fixed route has time transfers because people must meet
> other bus and forms of transport on a timely basis. So must the
> Para-transit service.
>
> You make your trip arrangements based on when you must be some where.
> They
> are in a sense making a verbal contract with you to pick you up and get
> you
> to a place at or before a certain time. If they are not doing this
> consistently, they are in violation and must correct this a very timely
> manner or face loss of federal funds.
> That is why the county gets a little nervous when I an other transit
> advocates begin showing up at county commission meetings. They have
> learned
> to respect us and listen to us.
> We do not always get everything we want, but we get heard and they know
> what
> we want.We know that there are limits on funding, but we work with them to
> get the most bang for the buck we can and we have their respect.
> My NFB chapter took on transportation as a cause back in the 1990's and we
> have made a difference in our service.
>
> David Evans, NFBF and GD Jack.----- Original Message -----
> From: "Roberthansen1970 at gmail.com" <roberthansen1970 at gmail.com>
> To: <blindtlk at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Monday, May 02, 2011 3:05 PM
> Subject: Re: [Blindtlk] Paratransit vs. Fixed Route.
>
>
>> In the chicago area paratransit will most likely get you fired.
>> -----Original Message-----
>> Date: Monday, May 02, 2011 1:39:37 pm
>> To: "Blind Talk Mailing List" <blindtlk at nfbnet.org>
>> From: "Mary Mc Gee" <mmcatitude at gmail.com>
>> Subject: Re: [Blindtlk] Paratransit vs. Fixed Route.
>>
>> Hi, All;
>>
>> I wouldn't take Paratransit for anything! I've heard too many
>> bad stories about it, e.g. you don't get where you're going on time.
>> That's
>> not the reason I won't use it, however. I don't believe blind people
>> need
>> it, pure and simple. We are physically capable of riding the fixed route
>> transit, even if we have to walk a ways to a bus stop. We're capable of
>> using cabs or paying private drivers if we don't want to take the bus.
>>
>> I use the fixed route bus a lot. If I have to carry things or
>> have to do something at a certain time, I hire a private driver. All of
>> the
>> DART busses are now wheelchair accessible, so I, in ways, don't see the
>> point of Paratransit anymore, unless it's for people who can't get to a
>> fixed route stop.
>>
>> I live in downtown Des Moines and, believe me, I've seen some
>> characters on and off the bus! Now one has ever caused me a problem or
>> put
>> me in fear. I assume the "characters" exist in all cities, so I can kind
>> of
>> understand the fear factor. However, I'm willing to take the risk and
>> deal
>> with anything that might arise and be able to demonstrate that I'm a
>> competent blind person.
>>
>> I spent over a year in Chicago and rode the fixed route
>> transit
>> all the time. I just wish Des Moines had the system Chicago had then! I
>> could go wherever I wanted whenever on the CTA and never hired a driver.
>>
>> Sincerely,
>>
>> Mary
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
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>>
>>
>>
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