[NFBMT] MTPR Article Great Falls Paratransit

[president at nfbofmt.org]

Hi All,

Our very own Sheila Leigland told the story of how the decision to shut down
paratransit bus services in Great Falls negatively affected many during the
pandemic.  Nice job, Sheila!  

Here is the link to the story followed by a cut and paste of the article in
the body of this e-mail.  If you follow the link, you can listen to the
broadcast itself.
:

https://www.mtpr.org/post/paratransit-running-again-great-falls

Montana Public Radio
June 19, 2020

Paratransit Running Again In Great Falls
By SOFIA STUART-RASI . 19 HOURS AGO
A man in a wheelchair is helped into an accessible vehicle.
Stock photo.
ISTOCK

Great Falls' Paratransit, a transportation service for people with
disabilities, recently shut down for two months. It was the only city of its
size in Montana to take that step after the arrival of the novel
coronavirus.

Now, Paratransit is now back up and running.

When the Great Falls service shut down, Sheila Leigland had to find other
ways of getting around. She explored her options, including asking for rides
through church or using paid services like Uber and Lyft. But sometimes
those weren't available or affordable, and Leigland says she wasn't alone.

"And we have friends that don't have computers or anything, so they were
really stuck," she said.

Leigland and her husband have relied on the city's public transposition to
get around for more than 30 years. Other cities like Helena and Missoula
continued running Paratransit while the service in Great Falls was shut
down.

Great Falls Mayor Bob Kelly said he didn't expect the transit board to shut
down Paratransit. The city offered to provide proper personal protective
equipment like masks for drivers, he said.

"Recognizing the tumultuous consequences of the people who were stranded, we
offered to go as any length we possibly could with city resources, county
resources," Kelly said.

Jim Helgeson, general manager of Great Falls Transit District, explained
that the difficult decision was made out of concern that a driver could
potentially pass COVID-19 on to immuno-compromised passengers.

"You know, everybody's trying to figure this out," he said. "Being
responsible for those people that use our system, we just felt it was safe
and prudent . And there again, you hope you make the best decision."

Paratransit in Great Falls has been back up and running for about a month,
averaging 150 rides a day while also requiring everyone to wear a mask and
buses to be cleaned daily.

And as for planning for future spikes of COVID-19 in Montana and how Great
Falls Paratransit will respond?

"We know there are different opinions on what's going on, and we're sticking
with the CDC and the governor's control over that," Helgeson said.

A Great Falls Transit Board meeting will be held Wednesday June 24 and will
include time for public comment.


Jim Marks
President
National Federation of the Blind of Montana
president at nfbofmt.org
(406) 438-1421
www.nfbofmt.org

You can live the life you want; blindness is not what holds you back.