Disabled transit riders have their say Disabled transit riders have their say (January 28, 2005)

VTA set to simplify process for them

By Jon Wiener

Blind since birth, with mounting problems with his hearing and sense of balance, Roger Petersen had to sit through an interview with a nurse last week to prove that he should remain eligible to use paratransit.

Petersen, 63, faced a series of questions about everything from how he does his finances to who does his shopping -- everything except why he sometimes has difficulty riding transit.

"We didn't have the impression that the person who interviewed knew anything about our disability or anybody else's," he said.

Petersen's story, and his dissatisfaction, has become more common ever since the Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) attempted to start cutting down on alleged fraud among the users of its door-to-door service for disabled customers.

In July 2003, the agency instituted an eight-step certification process, hoping to save money on its more than $25 million contract with Outreach Paratransit. Now required are an eight-page application, a physician's letter and an in-person interview.

Last year, approximately 11,500 people countywide used paratransit services, according to VTA spokesperson Lupe Solis. Each one-way trip via paratransit cost the VTA more than $25, of which customers are charged a $3.50 co-payment.

Under the new rules, VTA spends more than half a million dollars a year screening applicants. Meanwhile, enrollment has gone down and use of paratransit has declined about 14 percent.

Petersen and others said that might have more to do with the difficulty of navigating the process than fear of getting caught cheating.

VTA staff members are pushing to simplify the process -- the 12-member board will vote on their recommendations in March -- but some paratransit users and disabled advocates say the changes do not go far enough. Thursday, these groups assembled in Mountain View City Hall for the third of five public meetings on proposed changes to the process.

"We're trying to make it easier. We know they have enough challenges as it is," said Solis.

The Americans with Disabilities Act requires transit agencies like VTA to make buses and trains accessible to disabled riders. Some improvements include wheelchair lifts on buses and automated announcements of upcoming stops on the light rail trains.

But the law also mandates door-to-door services for those who have difficulty getting to or from the stop, can not wait by themselves, or do not know where they are going.

Edna Pampy, acting accessibility services manager for VTA, said that input at the meetings has convinced her that the changes are "heading in the right direction."

At last Thursday's meeting, several disabled customers cited obstacles that they said made it too hard to prove their eligibility. Susan Soheili, who spends Sunday mornings hawking coupon books at the Mountain View farmers market, suffers from nerve damage in her left hip, but does not qualify for the service because she doesn't have health insurance and can't get a doctor's note.

Stricken with multiple sclerosis and wheelchair-bound for five years, Los Altos resident Mandy Aston said she is worried her interview could fall on a "good" day and obscure the seriousness of her disability.

Many objected to the idea that paratransit users would fake a disability to become eligible, lamenting the adversarial relationship that has arisen between VTA and the disabled community.

"Frankly, paratransit isn't so good that people would want to flock to get on it if they could use the bus comfortably," said Petersen.

E-mail Jon Wiener at jwiener@mv-voice.com

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