It’s High Season for Conferences and High Time for a More Disabled Workforce
A Caucasian woman in a wheelchair, working at a computer. Photo Credit: Disability Rights California
AVENUE UPDATE #3
1It’s high season for professional conferences within the passenger transportation industry. So far in April, professional associations representing transit agencies, providers, suppliers, consultants, and regulators in Arizona, California, North Carolina, and Texas. This week, the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) is holding its Mobility Conference in Minneapolis. And while the details vary from region to region, the main messages are the same everywhere.
The public transit industry is in the midst of a post-COVID reincarnation which will focus heavily on a more resilient, more responsive, more sustainable, and more autonomous future.
Public transportation networks are expanding to include more flexible services like micro transit and mobility on demand that better meet the needs of communities, neighborhoods, and individual riders.
With strong support from the U.S. Department of Transportation and many state and local governments, the public transit industry is adopting vehicles and technologies designed to reduce its dependence on carbon-based fuels, thereby safeguarding the environment and reducing transit’s carbon footprint.
Another theme that is being repeated across the industry is the need to ensure that all levels of the transit industry’s workforce (from the front lines to the C-suite) reflect the diversity of the people we’re here to serve. Like responsiveness, resiliency, flexibility and sustainability, the growing focus on ensuring a diverse workforce and especially a more diverse group of leaders is incredibly positive and important because leaders with diverse backgrounds can bring a much broader set of perspectives and skills to the table, and that will lead to products and services that better meet the needs of everyone.
But what about people with disabilities?
This is a much tougher question.
We are not aware of any mechanisms in place by which the transit industry can track participation by people with disabilities. We do not know how many people with disabilities apply for jobs, how many are hired, how many are promoted, how many serve in what capacities, or how many serve in leadership roles.
Although the industry is beginning to recognize the value of having a diverse workforce, we are unaware of concerted efforts to target disabled candidates for open positions at any level—from the front lines to the C-suites. There are occasional efforts (primarily at the local level) to partner with agencies to recruit disabled workers to assist with specific tasks such as bus and facilitycleaningn. Still, inn the cases we are aware, these programs are designed to supply unskilled labor—with no potential for career advancement or even permanent employment.
This all sounds grim, but there is room for optimism. First, disabled professionals are working in the industry. The numbers seem to be low, but the mere fact of the existence of disabled people (some of whom are serving in executive levels), demonstrates that people with disabilities can do the work. It proves that at least some agencies, providers and other transit industry firms are willing to give those people the opportunity to do so. In addition, the increasing focus on diversity, equity and inclusion is creating many opportunities to highlight the myriad ways people with disabilities can contribute to and benefit from careers in the transit industry.
This is just one of the areas where we at Accessible Avenue are focusing our efforts. We are taking every opportunity we can to discuss the importance of transit agencies and other industry participants to include people with disabilities within their diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts—both as customers and as employees. We are talking about the opportunities to collaborate with disability community-based advocacy organizations, rehabilitation agencies, assistive technology providers, and others to create employment opportunities, and we are providing information on steps industry participants can take to improve all of the prerequisites for employment success—everything from a better understanding of access laws and service animal rights to digital accessibility to transit accessibility and paratransit service design.
To learn more about how Accessible Avenue can strengthen your organization’s ability to attract and retain employees with disabilities who can help your organization support that old adage “nothing about us without us,” please send us an email Connect@AccessibleAvenue.net. or fill out our online contact form.
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