[NFBA-Phoenix] Valley Metro's RideChoice Service is Expanding to Phoenix and Glendale

Wed May 1 23:12:14 UTC 2024

Good news!

Looks like ride choice will be coming to PHX and Glendale in July! Please see the email thread below for info. Obviously more info on this to come.

Jordan Moon

National Federation of the Blind

Phoenix Chapter President

(951) 316-5363

nfbphoenixchapter at gmail.com

The National Federation of the Blind knows that blindness is not the characteristic that defines you or your future. Every day we raise the expectations of blind people, because low expectations create obstacles between blind people and our dreams. You can live the life you want; blindness is not what holds you back!

From: Lindsey Powers <lpowers at azdes.gov>
Date: April 22, 2024 at 7:55:11 AM PDT
To: Bob Kresmer <krezguy at cox.net>, Amy Porterfield <APorterfield at saavi.us>, Donald Porterfield <donaldpfield at gmail.com>, John McCann <john at jamsite.net>, Jonathan Pringle <jpringle at helenkeller.org>, Allan Curry <allan_curry at aol.com>, Annette Reichman <annette.reichman at asdb.az.gov>, beatrizshapiro at gmail.com, David Steinmetz <dsteinmetz at azifb.com>, Erin Pawlus <epawlus at azlibrary.gov>, Mike Gordon <MGordon at saavi.us>, Nathan eldon Pullen <nathan.pullen at nau.edu>, Steve Tepper <stepper at acbvi.org>, Brian Dulude <bdulude at azdes.gov>
Cc: Ted Chittenden <tchittenden at cox.net>
Subject: Fwd: FW: [AZ-Central] Update - Valley Metro's RideChoice Service is Expanding to Phoenix and Glendale

Hi Lindsey:

Please forward the below articles and information about Ride Choice in the Phoenix and Glendale areas to both the GCBVI and SRC councils. The original sender of this email, Ron Brooks, besides being the president of the Central Arizona Council of the Blind (CAZCB—an affiliate of the AZCB), was also formally employed by Phoenix Dial-a-ride and is very knowledgeable about transportation options for the blind and other disabilities at the local, state (because sometimes the state legislature wants to have their say in Federal transportation issues), and Federal levels.

--

Ted Chittenden

Every story has at least two sides, if not more.

From: AZ-Central at acblists.org <mailto:AZ-Central at acblists.org>  <AZ-Central at acblists.org <mailto:AZ-Central at acblists.org> > On Behalf Of Ron Brooks
Sent: Sunday, April 21, 2024 10:23 AM
To: AZ-Central at acblists.org <mailto:AZ-Central at acblists.org> 
Subject: [AZ-Central] Update - Valley Metro's RideChoice Service is Expanding to Phoenix and Glendale

Hi folks.

I came across this article this morning and thought it worthy of sharing.

The article appeared in the local Glendale paper. It announces that the City of Glendale is planning to launch RideChoice for ADA paratransit eligible Glendale residents, effective July or August of this year. This is a big deal for Glendale, much of which is outside of the federally mandated service area for Valley Metro Paratransit. For anyone living in those areas, there are presently no options for going anywhere outside of Glendale without paying retail for an Uber, a Lyft, or a cab, and of course, all of those options come with their challenges—not to mention the price.

The article itself has some inaccuracies, including about the RideChoice fare structure. The correct structure is $3 for up to an eight-mile trip, and $2 per mile for each additional mile. But aside from the confusion of either Glendale staff or the reporter, this is all good news.

https://www.glendalestar.com/news/article_c9e3f45c-fc4b-11ee-b650-abeb9e8cae94.html

This article is in addition to an earlier announcement from Phoenix, that Phoenix will be joining RideChoice, effective July 1. I think some of us got notices about that, but I did not, and they were certainly not accessible. But assuming the budgets are all approved by all the various cities and Valley Metro (which is probably a formality at this point), RideChoice will be available everywhere in the Valley—with the exception of Peoria. (So if you live in Peoria, it’s time to start pushing on your City Councilmembers. That’s probably the only way this will change there.)

One final note. Glendale’s Transit Administrator, Kevin Link, characterizes this as a one-year pilot, saying that it remains to be seen if Glendale residents will want to use this service. In other words, if demand is low, it’s possible that Glendale could pull out at the end of June of 2025. My suggestion is for those of you in Glendale who qualify for this service should use the heck out of it, and let your City Councilmembers know how you feel about the service. For more about RideChoice, visit https://www.valleymetro.org/accessibility/ridechoice.

Ron Brooks, President

Central Chapter – Arizona Council of the Blind

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