Friday, Sept. 12, 2003 | 10:11 a.m.
The Regional Transportation Commission is making changes in response to long-standing criticism of its policies for bus service for people with disabilities.
The changes pertain to people with visual impairments and also to the screening process for mobility, RTC General Manager Jacob Snow said.
The current policy tests potential paratransit riders' ability to walk a quarter-mile. Those who cannot walk a quarter-mile qualify for the rides, but those able to walk a little farther are disqualified. Under the new policy, the test would measure a person's ability to walk a half-mile or more, he said. Inability to walk a half-mile could lead to inclusion in the program.
Under the federal Americans with Disabilities Act, the RTC or any provider of so-called "fixed route" bus service must provide special service within three-quarters of a mile of a traditional route for those unable to use regular bus service. The agency has about 9,000 riders eligible for paratransit in the Las Vegas area and provides about 3,300 rides a day.
Service during peak rush hours in the morning and afternoon costs paratransit riders $2 per trip. The RTC estimates the cost of a ride at more than $30.
Snow said about 80 percent of the people who apply for paratransit service because of their disabilities are approved. But those who are turned down are frequent speakers at the regular RTC board meetings, complaining of unfair treatment.
Much of their ire is directed at Nova Care, the company contracted to screen potential paratransit users. The company uses an interview and several physical tests to weed out those who can, in the opinion of the testers, ride the traditional Citizens Area Transit service.
"I'm aware of the community's concerns," said Michele Gelisse, Nova Care clinical operations manager. "But our goal is to provide a fair and objective evaluation, with concerns to the individual's past medical history.
"Unfortunately, people are frustrated when they do not qualify."
Gelisse said the changes to the screening process may help ease at least some of that frustration. The changes to the walking-distance test should come by the end of the month, she said.
"We think this change will result in more people being approved for paratransit," Snow said.
The changes affecting those with visual impairments are ongoing, she added.
"We're always trying to improve the test," Gelisse said.
Ingrid Reisman, RTC spokeswoman, said the changes to the test are "small tweakings," but they could mean that some people who could once have been judged capable of independent functioning would be instead qualified for paratransit.
Like all other disabilities, blindness alone does not qualify a person for the service, she said. The examiners try to eliminate any kind of aural cues that could help them pass the tests -- which would disqualify them from paratransit.
Reisman declined to discuss specifics of the current test -- and possible changes -- because people could use that information to cheat.
The changes, she said, will likely make it easier for visually impaired people to qualify for the service.
"We know we need to give more attention to the visually impaired situation," she said.
Bridget Branigan, a Las Vegas attorney and former senior deputy attorney general, welcomes changes in the testing. Branigan is representing her brother Robert Branigan in an appeal of his partial denial of paratransit services.
Robert, she said, is mentally impaired and has a partially amputated leg that is subject to recurring, potentially life-threatening infections. Branigan said her brother, a 36-year-old Henderson resident, was given "conditional eligibility." She has appealed the decision and is in the appeal process now.
"I'm happy that they are willing to take some corrective measures, but I am still concerned that those changes may not permit them to be in compliance with the ADA," Branigan said.
She said Nova Care and the RTC unfairly keep people out of the service.
"They are very much bullies," Branigan said. "They take advantage of people who aren't able to defend themselves."
RTC spokeswoman Ingrid Reisman said Robert Branigan can get a paratransit vehicle if he must wait more than 20 minutes for a regular fixed route bus. The fact that the Branigans are going through the appeal indicates that the system works, she said.
Branigan, however, said her brother has been trying to receive paratransit service for four years. She pointed out that few people in Robert's situation have former deputy attorneys general to represent them.
"That's the whole problem with the system," Branigan said. "These people -- you think they can afford a $3,000 retainer for a lawyer? It's outrageous."
Annie Gallegos, a paratransit user and an independent living specialist with the Southern Nevada Center for Independent Living, said she has seen some people admitted to the paratransit program and others rejected.
In her job, she helps people with disabilities receive housing, medical benefits, and transportation -- all the things they need to live independently.
Nova Care is "OK with their screening," Gallegos said. "They ask appropriate questions."
But not everyone who passes the interview and physical exam is appropriate for the regular CAT buses, she warned.
"I think Nova Care should be able to consider medical information people bring from doctors," she said. The screening is now independent of a doctor's advice.
Some people also can navigate physically enough to ride a bus, but it may be impossible for those same people to cross a busy street, Gallegos said.
"I feel they should be more lenient with people."
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