Rethinking Paratransit – Can We Do Better?
Avenue Update #7
The title of this article is taken from a workshop that took place during the recently concluded Transform Conference of the American Public Transportation Association (the premier membership organization representing more than 1,500 public transit agencies, providers, consultants and suppliers.) It was a thought-provoking workshop, and I believe the conversations that began in that mid-sized meeting room in the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida, will resonate for years to come—in a good way. Rethinking paratransit is a really big topic, so let’s dive in.
We’re Thinking About Equity, but Paratransit is All About the ADA.
For the past several years, our society has been thinking about, discussing, and beginning work to address historic inequity that has persisted among people for quite literally centuries, and probably longer. We have made initial and meaningful efforts to explore inequities based on gender, gender identity, race, economic means, sexual orientation, and disability, and although there is a great deal of work to be done on all these fronts, we are beginning to make progress.
The public transit industry has also been working hard to recognize and address the ways it has perpetuated and contributed to societal inequities based on race, income, and other factors that have marginalized millions of Americans. And now, it appears that the industry is also beginning to take on some of the transportation inequities that exist for people with disabilities, many of whom are also parts of other marginalized communities. And nowhere is this shifting focus toward equity more clear than in the arena of Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) paratransit.
Since its inclusion as a requirement within the ADA back in 1990, ADA paratransit has quite literally transformed the lives of millions of disabled Americans by giving them the means to leave their homes in order to pursue their education, obtain jobs, attend worship services, go shopping, access services ranging from healthcare to banking, connect with friends and family, and participate in society in ways that they never could before.
When the ADA was signed into law, the world was a very different place. We did not have the GPS-based technologies we have today. Most people did not carry mobile phones. Ride-hailing services did not exist, and autonomous vehicles were still the stuff of science fiction. As a result, the paratransit regulations baked into the ADA were based on a service model that could be supported by the technology and business practices of the time. Service was required to be made available on a next-day basis. And in order to promote the sharing of trips, transit agencies were permitted (actually encouraged) to negotiate pick-up times by up to one hour on either side of the rider’s requested time. The ADA also permitted fares to be twice the non[-discounted fare for a comparable trip taken on conventional transit. And here's the kicker: Agencies were permitted to exceed ADA minimum requirements, but if they did, they could not claim a financial hardship or take longer than the five-year timeline included within the regs for coming into compliance. Put simply, there was a clear message: “Do what the law requires before you do anything else.” And in most communities, that’s exactly what happened. The ADA floor became the industry’s target; nothing else mattered.
Times Have Changed, and We Can Do Better.
Thirty years ago, ADA paratransit (as described above) represented the best we could do, and a giant step forward, for people with disabilities. However, when assessing paratransit in light of present-day business practices, technologies, and feelings about equity, it’s clear that paratransit (as provided in most communities) is in serious need of a makeover. Within the balance of this article, I will share just a few specific ideas that, if implemented, could make ADA paratransit significantly easier and more equitable for millions of Americans who depend on it every day.
1. Make ADA Paratransit Eligibility National
Because the ADA requires each transit agency to establish its own local operating policies and procedures, there are approximately a thousand ways to become eligible for paratransit, and the results vary. Given that the ADA defines who should be eligible for paratransit, sets a timeline for determining eligibility that all agencies must follow, and mandates a process and required timelines for agencies to decide on appeals from individuals who disagree with their initial eligibility determinations, it would seem logical that a more nationally consistent approach might better promote efficiency for agencies and both effectiveness and equity for customers. Here are a few steps that could be taken to make eligibility more national.
Create a National Paratransit Eligibility Database that includes basic paratransit eligibility information for all customers who opt to share their information. Such a database would support information-sharing for customers moving from one city to another, and it would allow customers to establish visitor eligibility in multiple cities without the need to submit information each and every time.
Transit agencies should accept the eligibility determinations of other transit agencies, thereby allowing any customer to move or visit other cities without hindrance.
The industry should work with stakeholders to create a national eligibility intake form that would standardize basic information to be collected from applicants seeking paratransit eligibility. This application could serve as an agency’s entire eligibility information gathering process, or it could serve as the intake form to a more robust local process.
How a National Eligibility Database Would Improve Equity
Having a single database would shorten and simplify the process for customers who need paratransit when visiting other cities. – Customers of conventional fixed-route services can travel to any city in America, and as long as there are transit services available, travel on literally a moment’s notice. Currently, paratransit customers have to begin planning for paratransit trips days or weeks before travel, and many choose not to use paratransit, to which they would otherwise be eligible, simply because the process for establishing visitor eligibility, is too onerous. Having a national database would allow customers to establish visitor eligibility almost immediately, thereby enabling them to have more equitable access to public transit in any city they choose to visit.
If transit agencies could verify and then honor the eligibility determinations of other transit agencies, the day could come when visitor eligibility is really no longer needed. This would benefit paratransit customers who are frequent travelers by allowing them to maintain eligibility without needing to establish visitor eligibility in each new city. Again, this benefits the amount of time and level of effort required to access public transportation services that non-disabled people can use on-demand.
Although the development of a national process for determining eligibility will take time, it will help to ensure that all people with disabilities are subject to the same rules and procedures, and it will ensure that eligibility determinations are made with a greater level of consistency.
2. ADA paratransit and Fixed-Route Transit Fares Should be the Same.
When the ADA was signed into law in 1990, there was a great deal of fear about the potential cost of ADA paratransit. Put simply, many transit industry leaders were afraid that demand for ADA paratransit would rise, and the cost of providing it would prove unsustainable. It is true that the cost of providing ADA paratransit has exploded since the 1990s; it’s about eight billion dollars per year. Nevertheless, fair is fair, and paratransit fares are not fair, and especially given the levels of unemployment and under-employment within the disability community. I believe that if a transit agency is going to charge customers to use its services, that agency should charge all customers the same amount. This may be a difficult goal to achieve, but the time has come to stop charging people with disabilities extra simply because they are disabled.
3. Implement Same Day Paratransit
Fixed-route transit service has always been an on-demand service. Customers can simply walk up to a transit stop or station, pay the fare and ride. Additionally, a growing number of transit agencies are implementing rideshare pilots, microtransit, and other on-demand transportation services. And yet, most agencies are still requiring paratransit riders to book at least a day in advance.
On-Demand Paratransit Wasn’t Feasible, but Now it Is.
When paratransit was written into the ADA more than 30 years ago, , only a handful of transit agencies could have provided on-demand service, and few, if any, could have provided any on-demand service for customers who needed to use a wheelchair-accessible vehicle. Agencies simply did not have the vehicles, the personnel or the technology to do so. As a result, next-day service was about the best level of service that the industry could be expected to provide. However, much has changed.
GPS and mobile technologies are now widely available and inexpensive, making it possible for just about any agency to track and communicate with vehicles in real-time.
The vast majority of paratransit riders have smartphones, and most of these have smartphones, which give them the ability (at least in theory) to plan, pay for, monitor and manage service from anywhere and at any time.
The dispatch technologies used by taxicabs, rideshare providers, and even non-emergency medical transportation providers, can be configured to communicate with each other and with paratransit software management systems operated by transit agencies. And since all of these companies are also able to track and communicate with their vehicles in real-time, they can be incorporated into a paratransit system through relatively straight-forward technology integrations that are now commonplace across the transportation industry.
How On-Demand Paratransit Promotes Equity
This is the easy part. On-demand paratransit promotes equity by making the amount of time customers need to plan ahead more comparable for all customers.
Have a kid with a last-minute art project and an immediate need for glue and pipe cleaners? No problem. Whether you take a bus or need paratransit, on-demand paratransit means that both a non-disabled parent and a disabled one can get those art supplies just in time.
Feeling a little under the weather at work? – No problem. With on-demand paratransit, you can go right home, get your rest, and reduce the risk of spread—just like other transit riders have been doing all along.
Other Equity Concerns
There are other areas where ADA paratransit may fall short when assessed through an equity lens. One example is access to areas where a transit agency provides commuter-focused services but no regularly scheduled fixed-route transit. The ADA does not require agencies to provide paratransit in these areas, which means that people with disabilities who cannot use those services may be left out. And as long as there are “free fare days” and other fare promotions offered to some or all fixed-route transit riders and not paratransit riders, there will be clear questions of equity. However, if we can begin to work on the obvious equity shortcomings by simplifying and standardizing paratransit eligibility, and if we can equalize fares, and make paratransit more available on-demand, we will cover a great deal of ground in the battle for a more equitable transportation landscape for many of the customers who need our services most. Better still, we will gain practice at looking at all of our services, including paratransit, through the lens of equity instead of merely checking a box to confirm our slavish adherence to a 33 year-old law that was as much a product of its time as bell bottoms and big hair were to the 1970s. More importantly, we will be knocking a giant hole in one of the biggest barriers cited by people with disabilities when discussing their inability to catch up in terms of health, education, employment, and other societal outcomes that matter to us all.
#Accessibility
#ADAParatransit
#Equity
#PeopleWithDisabilities
#RethinkingParatransit
