Center For Disability Rights Logo. Black triangle surrounded by CIVIL RIGHTS, INTEGRATION, INDEPENDENCE. Superimposed and extending over the top, the forearm and hand of Lady Liberty holding her torch. Medium gold color with a heavy black shadow along the right side,the forearm, torch and flame are made to appear as if they are basking in the glow of the rising sun, shining down and from the left.

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       ...Working for the full integration, independence, and civil rights of people with disabilities.

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Access To Public Transportation
 
When our Center held its Don't get Mad, Get Your Ride Luncheon, we didn't expect to have a surprise guest: Don Riley, then the new Executive Director of the Rochester-Genesee Regional Transportation Authority. Many people from the Center spoke up, voicing their various frustrations with Lift Line, Rochester's para-transit service! Don quickly learned, from his own staff, that Lift Line was not in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Don and the staff at the transit authority began meeting with representatives from CDR to discuss bringing the para-transit system into compliance with the law. Some of the issues we raised include: difficulty getting through on the phone lines, being kept on hold too long, inavailability of rides, the turn down list, and the requirement that riders call two weeks in advance.
Don and Steve Hendershott (Lift Line's Manager) were receptive to working with us and acting on our suggestions to:

  • Increase the number of schedulers especially during peak hours to help address phone issues.

  • Increase the number of buses on the road to help with turn down rides. Older buses were even being temporally used until an order of new buses came in.

Don acknowledges that calling two weeks in advance is not a requirement. ADA regulations say we can schedule a ride from 24 hours up to two weeks in advance and Don encourages us to use the system as it was intended.

 		Access to public transportation.
Despite these efforts there are still problems. Many people simply can not get rides that they are entitled to. Many more people won't even try to use the system because they have had so many problems in the past.

CDR has requested that Lift Line prepare a timetable with benchmarks for complying with the ADA. Our meetings have stalled and we are awaiting to a set of compliance goals. We have been very clear that developing such a plan will help the transit authority avoid costly litigation.

If you have questions about our para-transit advocacy or want more information, call
Debbie Bonomo at (585) 546-7510 (V/TDD) or   her.
 
 
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