Paratransit program faces change

Friday, Feb. 15, 2002 | 10:09 a.m.

Cuts to the local federally mandated mass transit program for people with disabilities could come in May.

The Regional Transportation Commission board told RTC staff to seek broad community input on proposals that would either reduce the service area for the agency's Paratransit service or charge more for people living outside the agency's core service area.

The board set a 60-day public comment period on the service changes. The board could set the new policies, designed to reduce costs for the heavily subsidized agency, May 9.

The Americans with Disabilities Act requires the RTC, which runs local public buses, to also provide service to disabled people anywhere within a quarter-mile of regular bus service.

But the RTC's Paratransit service covers 511 square miles, much more than the 278 square miles mandated by the federal law. Staffers have proposed either eliminating service or charging more for customers outside the mandated area -- much of it in the Las Vegas Valley's fast-growing southeast.

Some changes to the Paratransit service already are in place or will soon take effect. On Thursday the RTC board changed its "no-show" policy to potentially deny service to people who consistently fail to appear for scheduled Paratransit van stops, which stop at customers' doors.

The policy allows appeals for mitigating circumstances beyond a customer's control and provides free trips to those who consistently meet their scheduled vans.

The service changes come on top of a doubling of Paratransit fares that began this week. The charges went from $1 to $2 during peak hours in the morning and afternoon.

People relying on the service are critical of the fare increases, the proposed coverage reductions and ongoing evaluations that riders face, which are designed to weed out ineligible riders.

Don Dehar, who recently was taken off the list of eligible riders after a required medical review, said service denials and cuts are hurting, not helping, the Paratransit service. Making it more accessible to more customers would help fill the vans and make it more economical, he said.

RTC staff say the cost per trip, however, is a money loser for the agency, but they are still providing service well above the federally mandated level.

To be eligible for Paratransit service, a person must have a disability that prevents them from being able to use the regular buses.

RTC board member and Boulder City Councilman Bryan Nix said he wants to minimize the impact of service changes to Paratransit's customers, many of whom use the vans for important visits to their doctors, government agencies or other purposes.

"We want to make sure ... no one is penalized by circumstances beyond their control," Nix said.

Nix said he wants to keep service throughout the present coverage area, but there are "some real issues to discuss when it comes to paying for that service."

About 5 percent of Paratransit's 8,800 customers live in the area targeted for potential service cuts, RTC staffers said.

"The cost of providing service to the outside area is approximately $1.9 million annually," RTC Assistant General Manager Lee Gibson told the board.