Transport is daily dilemma for those with disabilities

The recent Greater Dayton Transit Authority (GDRTA) strike halted many activities for Miami Valley residents who access public transportation, including myself. I ride Project Mobility, a para-transit service for people with disabilities, and I’m in good company; according to RTA, the service makes 700 trips a day.

I count on Project Mobility primarily to transport me to and from work and I’m happy to say it’s a pretty good service. At least we have public transportation in the Gem City. I’m also happy to say Project Mobility has the best operators in the land and the Miami Valley is blessed to have them.

This strike shed a little light on a constant issue people with disabilities have been dealing with since transportation was invented almost a century ago. During the strike, I was in limbo for a while. I have an accessible van, but it spends most of the time not running because it’s old and the upkeep is nearly impossible to afford. Accessible vans are very expensive, and most people with disabilities do not have that kind of money.

The strike put everyone who relies on public transportation in a bad situation. GDRTA authorities decided to only transport clients on dialysis and cancer treatment clients on Project Mobility. This is understandable; the medically fragile should come first.  But I was left wondering what would happen to rest of us. Some of my friends with disabilities struggle hard to obtain jobs, and want to be reliable in showing up for those positions.

For some people with disabilities, carpooling is not that easy. I received many calls asking if I knew of any other public or private accessible transportation companies that can accommodate wheelchairs, much less are affordable. The strike – and lack of additional resources – made it clear there is a great need in this community for accessible transportation.

What about those with nonvisible disabilities, who may have had a hard time understanding this strike? Some might have been stuck in the house looking forward to the week’s activities, such as going to go a day center, shopping or an appointment? Why can’t other public transportation services be available when the main one isn’t?

All I know is life as a person with a disability. I’m truly okay with it, but when you take a function away that messes with my quality of life, I must speak up.

This strike stressed the city out, but now that it’s over, transportation for most will resume as normal. However, people with disabilities will always have the transportation barrier to deal with on one level or another.

3 comments on “Transport is daily dilemma for those with disabilities

  1. Sheri Horsley RN - DD Dept. on

    Shari,

    I agree with you that there needs to be other companies to step up and offer transportation services to people that have disabilities. Everyone deserves the right to have transportation to work, and other places of interest. Maybe you could contact the different transportation companies, and let them know that there is a need for transportation for individuals with disabilities. Also you could have other family and friends assist you with this idea. That would be wonderful to have many options for transportation.

    Reply
  2. Greg Kramer on

    Shari,

    You are absolutely correct. There needs to be other options. However there is a push to change legislation to allow accessible transportation to transport people with disabilities without them being called Ambulate Services.

    Greg K

    Reply
  3. Alexandria Martinez on

    It is unfortunate that so many people with disabilities run into problems with finding accessible transportation. It is important to be reliable as mentioned in this post by showing up on time. This is why I am happy that my cousin has been able to look into some quality transportation companies that can help her.

    Reply

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