[BlindTlk] [BlTlk] Advocating For Accessibility and Public Transportation

Wed Apr 27 14:27:45 UTC 2022

Our community of approximately 50,000 people has very good public transportation services. You can Google Janesville Transit system, Janesville Wisconsin to see how they’re set up. They offer large print bus Mabs as well as the Director giving blind people her direct line in case there are problems. She’s been really good about working to make things as accessible as possible from getting the announcement systems on buses, getting the system fixed when a bus doesn’t an hour to stop, making the signs for bus stops as easy to see as possible, easy to read as possible and even allowing people with all kinds of disabilities including the blind to request a  deviation from the road if needed. For example they will drive into the parking lot of the Greyhound/Wisconsin Coach lines bus depot and drop people off if requested. After 6 PM they will drop you off as close to your home as they possibly can. We live within two blocks of a bus stop and they drop us off right across the street from our house . You have to request it and sometimes you get a new driver who refuses to do it. Then he just call and write them out. We were forgotten one time to be picked up in a deviated spot. They got into trouble. 

Dave asked a really good question. What do you mean by accessible transit? Most of the bus drivers are willing to help in anyway I’ve asked. If you don’t have skills a Blindness then it doesn’t matter how “accessible“ things are. Madison and Milwaukee, Kenosha, lacrosse, Green Bay, Eau Claire all have some kind of public transit here in Wisconsin. Public transit as described as buses. We do not have any regional area transit systems which stinks. I think there’s a few places in Wisconsin I forgot it to list that have buses. Racine and Fond du Lac and possibly Appleton all have a systems. Wausau used to but I’m not quite sure anymore.  Technically the rest of the counties are supposed to have at least some thing for people like medical transport services but I’m not really sure what they have. There aren’t that many to my knowledge out there that will take cash like a taxi. And not all of the communities offer you an Uber or Lyft for that matter. Wisconsin is quite rural  and most of the state. 

Ericka Nelson

> On Apr 27, 2022, at 6:38 AM, David Andrews via BlindTlk <blindtlk at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> 
> What do you mean by "accessible public transport?" And ... are you talking about public transportation like buses, or paratransit or what?  I would venture that most medium and large cities in this country have public transportation, and cities like New York, Washington, Chicago etc. have generally good systems.
> 
> Dave
> 
> At 11:53 PM 4/26/2022, you wrote:
>> Hello\
>> Which cities have accessibil public transport? Do you have a source for this topic?
>> 
>> Thanks for your sharing.
>> Gokhan Gungor.
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: BlindTlk <blindtlk-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of Judy Jones via BlindTlk
>> Sent: Tuesday, April 26, 2022 9:43 PM
>> To: 'Blind Talk Mailing List' <blindtlk at nfbnet.org>
>> Cc: Judy Jones <sonshines59 at gmail.com>
>> Subject: Re: [BlindTlk] [BlTlk] Advocating For Accessibility and Public Transportation
>> 
>> Another thing I would do is to find out if your surrounding areas have transit and advisory councils you can glean from, as to how transit is promoted in their areas.
>> 
>> As blind people, my husband and I have made it our business to only locate in areas with mass transit.  Without it, we could not be independent or live any kind of quality life.  We have bought and sold four houses, now retired, but transit has been so important to us, no matter where we have lived and worked.
>> 
>> Judy
>> 
>> 
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: BlindTlk <blindtlk-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of Ericka via BlindTlk
>> Sent: Tuesday, April 26, 2022 11:35 AM
>> To: Blind Talk Mailing List <blindtlk at nfbnet.org>
>> Cc: Ericka <dotwriter1 at gmail.com>
>> Subject: Re: [BlindTlk] [BlTlk] Advocating For Accessibility and Public Transportation
>> 
>> I do know that there are a lot of places that are rule and have nothing. Absolutely nothing. Here in Wisconsin in the northern counties there is only medical transportation that will take you to a doctors appointment and back nothing else. And they come from maybe two counties away to pick you up. There’s absolutely nothing not even greyhound that links communities together.  It certainly makes for a blind person a challenge to get employed let alone getting to the grocery store. Thank goodness for instant card. Some grocery stores have started doing that type of thing on their own. I grew up in a community like that. Thankfully I was a kid and we were riding with family, neighbors or went walking as a group because I was a kid. Would never live there now.
>> 
>> Ericka Nelson
>> 
>> > On Apr 26, 2022, at 1:08 PM, Judy Jones via BlindTlk <blindtlk at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>> >
>> > Our transportation is a county authority and takes accessibility seriously.
>> >
>> > Are you saying you have no city or county mass transit? No cabs either?
>> >
>> > Some places actually have all three. Have you investigated any private transit companies, they do exist.
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> > ----- Original Message -----
>> > From: Armando Vias via BlTlk <blindtlk at nfbnet.org>
>> > Date: Tuesday, April 26, 2022 10:40 AM
>> > To: BlueSkies via BlTlk <BlindTlk at nfbnet.org>
>> > CC: Armando Vias <armando at armandovias.com>
>> > Subject: [BlTlk] Advocating For Accessibility and Public Transportation
>> >
>> > Hello everyone,
>> > Is anyone currently advocating for city accessibility and access to public transportation? In the city where I live in, there is a lack of public transportation, except Uber and Lyft.
>> > I actually started a petition to the Mayor of the city to make it accessible to the blind.
>> > https://change.org/WarnerRobinsAccessibility <https://change.org/WarnerRobinsAccessibility>
>> > If you have any questions, please let me know.
>> > Thank you.
>> > Sincerely,
>> > Armando Vias
> 
> 
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