Advocate for the disabled calls for greater transportation options

[okarol]

Published: December 29. 2008 08:47AM

Advocate for the disabled calls for greater transportation options

By Matthew Taylor

Campaigner Willard Fox is calling for Government to provide better transport options for the disabled as he slammed plans for a dial-a-ride scheme.

His call follows news that Age Concern will be running an 18-month transport study to look at what exists and what's needed to fill gaps. Many of the Island's disabled are seniors, said Age Concern's Claudette Fleming in explaining the link.

The executive director highlighted the findings of a recently released survey, the Seniors' Test for Ageing Trends and Services (STATS), which showed that while seniors are able to use public transportation for free, very few use the bus.

The survey, which canvassed the opinions of a thousand seniors, found many would prefer a door-to-door service. As such, Ms Fleming said a project manager was being seconded to Age Concern from Government in February, to run a pilot transport project to assess need.

However Mr. Fox, chairman of the Physically Handicapped Association, said what he wants to see is transportation specifically for disabled people.

"They are thinking about some sort of dial-a-ride scheme. I am against it. It's available but it isn't convenient.

"We are 15 years behind everyone, I am not very pleased. I want to see a bus system running on the main roads which are accessible."

He said with a dial-a-ride scheme, the caller could not be guaranteed of getting where they wanted at the right time as the journey would have to be coordinated with other people who might be going in different directions. "I have to go all over the place to get to where I am going."

But buses ran to a schedule and allowed the disabled passenger some independence – if the buses had been adapted to allow the disabled on.

He said there was a minibus adapted for the disabled in St. David's but only one disabled person lived there and the route only took it to St. George's.

Mr. Fox questioned why it wasn't put on the John Smith's Bay Road where Summerhaven, the home for disabled people, is located.

And, he said, more should have been done to make taxis accessible. "But the trouble is Bermuda is the only place that buys taxis for their looks, in England you buy a taxi as a working machine."

So the disabled relied on gypsy cabs and guest workers and their families to help them get around said Mr. Fox who added that only two taxis out of a fleet of 600 helped with the disabled – and they weren't always available. "Thank God for the expatriates, they are the majority of volunteers."

But he said the recession might soon mean there were fewer of them around to help out.

He said: "The volunteer system is just about played out."

Illegal cabbies were much more reliable and helpful than the legal cab companies claimed Mr. Fox and he said Bermuda should copy a system used in England where gypsy cabs were licensed for certain months.

"It is difficult to go to dinner – I have to arrange it a week in advance. It costs me a lot of money to go to funerals and do shopping. But I am a person who likes to be independent. Dialysis patients have a hard time getting to dialysis. They struggle."

He said the National Office for Seniors and Disabled was not doing enough for the disabled.

"I am calling for them next year to be a lot more proactive."

He added that slow improvement was being seen on building access for the disabled, and he credited the City of Hamilton for taking up the issue.

But others were failing, said Mr. Fox. "They just renovated the Police station in St. George's – but guess what? They didn't make it wheelchair accessible. The trouble is out of sight, out of mind."

Asked about what transport options were available for the disabled, a Government spokesman said options included: minibuses, taxis, the Project Action charity vehicle and some community service vehicles.

The spokesman added: "Also Claudette Fleming at Age Concern is working on a master plan in this area along with help from Ministry and private stakeholders."

Mrs. Fleming said mass transport was about economies of scale. "When you get into individual services for special target groups it becomes more expensive to do."

She agreed that public transport was a right and not a privilege, for everyone including wheelchair users. "But the question is what type of transport?"

She said the new system would be much than just 'dial-a-ride' but would be a centralised and coordinated system.

http://www.royalgazette.com/siftology.royalgazette/Article/article.jsp?articleId=7d8ceb330030006&sectionId=60

[Rerun]

Paratransit or dial a ride for the disabled is a "shared ride" situation so you have to understand that you may be picked up late and get to your destination late.  With that said, you would just understand to plan ahead.

Everyone on disability should have to consider this option of "shared rides" no matter your income.

What ticks me off to no end.... is that people on MEDICAID get free Taxi service door to door.  FREE!  WTF!!   AS as tax payer this rubs me the wrong way.

If you are disabled money should not be a factor.  If you are rich and pay your own way I don't have a problem.  But, if you are middle class and have worked your whole life and actually OWN something and don't qualify for MEDICAID..... to see these people picked up two hours before me because the bus doesn't start running until 5:15 AM just makes me want to rip them out of the cab and jump in.

[Chris]

Paratransit or dial a ride for the disabled is a "shared ride" situation so you have to understand that you may be picked up late and get to your destination late.  With that said, you would just understand to plan ahead.

Everyone on disability should have to consider this option of "shared rides" no matter your income.

What ticks me off to no end.... is that people on MEDICAID get free Taxi service door to door.  FREE!  WTF!!   AS as tax payer this rubs me the wrong way.

The same is true here  and they tell you upfront about how they run. Luckily I never needed paratransit.

As far as Medicaid, the only way they paid for transportation was by a service that took you to dialysis on the days you were scheduled. You had to pay upfront, but it went towards meeting your monthly spend down. Other than that, they would not pay for day to day taxi service. It was a nice service when I started till I had the strength to drive again.