Last week, I wrote about the pros and cons of some forms of transportation. This week, the focus is on paratransit services. Paratransit services are a type of public transit that supplements the fixed route systems for people with disabilities (and most of the time includes seniors). These services are provided to a person with a disability when you live a certain distance away from a bus stop.
In my town, it’s one mile. I live .9 miles away from a bus stop and had to get a doctor’s note while in school that says I should not have to go to the bus stop a mile away in my wheelchair at 4 am to get to my 8 AM class and I am a candidate for paratransit.
Paratransit Woes
The city I live in is a poor example of public transportation because the routes go down their route, and then they come back. Most, if not all, transfers are in the center of the city, and it takes hours just to get somewhere that’s maybe 25 minutes by car in traffic.
Paratransit is great – in theory, when it works. During Covid, there were some days they ran hours behind schedule and I missed classes due to them being behind. The reliability of paratransit services is a major problem. I’ve missed classes and doctors’ appointments because of paratransit that was late or was never going to arrive in the first place.
Besides the unknown of when/if the paratransit driver will arrive, there the lack of reliability in scheduling. At least in my area, if I don’t schedule two weeks out, I’m not getting the ride I want. I can’t just call the day of and go to the grocery store. I have to plan everything out weeks in advance if I want to use paratransit. It’s often not feasible. There’s a window of at least 48 hours to book, but they can’t guarantee you will get your time if they’re all booked. I’ve sat waiting for an hour for paratransit to show up because they didn’t have an earlier time, and that is usually just wasted time watching out a window.
Uber Vs. Lyft Debate
I usually just use an uber because my chair is small enough to fit into cars and is lightweight. That isn’t an option for many people. Uber and Lyft don’t normally have wheelchair accessible vehicles (WAV) available. In bigger cities, they might, but they’re not guaranteed, and I’ve never personally used or even seen one available while in a major US city.
I have had way more issues with Lyft as a company than I have with Uber. With Lyft, I have been STRANDED in the middle of nowhere Tennessee, cancelled and driven past. Numerous times. Only once have I had an issue with Uber, and the law protects the people with disabilities more than it protects the drivers. I try to be respectful and give a heads up that they’re picking me up and I’m in a wheelchair so they have a chance to cancel, and some do. I’d rather that than be stood up when they’re right in front of me.
The Major Problem
Uber and Lyft are really the only options for people with disabilities who don’t or can’t drive if they need a ride right now and don’t have a family member or a friend. Unless it’s a medical emergency and they can call an ambulance – I have done that and I hate that I have had to do it. These aren’t cheap options, either. It’s unequal to using regular transit routes.
My Fieldwork to get my degree was in a town half hour away from me. I used Uber to get back and forth. I think I paid the guy $300 (maybe $400) a week to take me back and forth every day. But if I wanted my degree, I didn’t have another option. Luckily, I had financial aid that I had saved. But with disability, sometimes you just have to do what you have to do to be a functioning, independent adult.
With technology and new programs, it is getting easier to find transportation to medically necessary appointments, but paratransit as a whole lacks in every other way. Public transit is beneficial to everyone, but I just wish more people would use it so it receives more funding.
Samm Transferring to Vehicle from Wheelchair