Travel

I live in santa clara,ca my 4 year old son is in a wheelchair we use bart transit.this is the only way we get any where.the only problem i have, is with some of the driver's .some of them won't put the restrains on my son's chair untill i say something.i got a couple that won't even get out of the chair.of cource i say something but this is getting old fast.i called the transit they told me it's the driver's job to make sure everything's secure. i also have a 2 year old in a wheelchair both have c.p

I want to complain about the driver's but my  husband's afraid they won't let me on the bus since this is the only transporttaion we have.this is untill are buisness takes off but that won't be a while.

Help i need advise if i complain about the driver's can they really not let me on the bus 

 

If the bus system you are using is a public bus system that recieves federal money they are bound by law to comply to ADA standards. Unfortunately transit systems are not strictly watched for ADA compliance. If it's a public bus system that recieves funds from the FTA (Federal Transit Administration) they can not kick you off for complaining that they are not complying with the law. As consumer you have a right to complain I would suggest you start first with the Bus company, call them and request to place a formal complaint with a response from them in writing on the incident. You should do this everytime there is an incident this way you are establishing a history of offences. (If your schedule is to busy to call in a complaint after every offense keep a personal log with the date and time and short description of the incident & send every month to the director of services) Depending on how consumer driven the bus company is this may be the only thing you need to do to get results. If this doesn't work you have a bigger battle looming over your head and depending on how important it is to you, you may or may not want to take it on. If complaining directly to the bus company doesn't work you'll need to talk to other disabled riders who may be unhappy with services and gather their stories. Once you have a group of people with similar complaints who are willing to share their stories you can call the FTA and ask to speak to someone who deals with ADA compliance in your region. The FTA can audit the bus company and if found guilty of the accusation the bus company could have their federal funding pulled or be fined. Most importantly do some research on ADA and mass transit let them know that you are a consumer who knows their rights and are willing to go to the mat have those rights enforced. They may or may not call your bluff but be wiling to back up what you say with action. I have been in indianapolis for 5 months now and have been patiently logging the offences, gathering stories and researching the local bus system and the ADA as it applies to mass transit. I've gathered a colition of local organizations concened about the problem and we've recently requested a meeting with the mayor on the matter. (Purhaps you local CP organization and local advocacy organizations for the disabled would want to join you in the fight) It's been a lot of work and very frustrating but as a young adult living with a disability trying to be as independent as possible good mass transit is essential to that independence so the work and up coming battle is well worth it to me. Consider if your willing to go after the giant or not.. personally I love to make giants fall! Good luck! 

 I live in a smaller city (Springfield, Ohio), and use the public trans to get around during the week. Our buses only run from Monday through Friday, 5:40 A.M. to 5:40 P.M., no weekends, no national holidays.  The routes are run oinly once per hour.  If you're not on that last bus from downtown by 5:40 P.M., you're not getting home by bus, and it usually takes two buses to get to your destination because of the locations on the routes. On the plus side, every bus in the fleet has a wheelchair lift, and they are fully operational about 99% of the time. If the one on your route is not, they will arrange it at the bus center so that the next one coming out will be. (Of course, by then, you're usually late for any appointment, but still, they try) I'm still awaiting approval for paratransit, and I'm told that they keep the same operating hours as the regular city buses, which means I am still stuck at home on weekends unless friends are willing to drive me (I have a permanent volunteer that takes me to church every Sunday). Based on the above link on paratransit regs, the paratransit here charges more than they are supposed to ($3.00 a pop, when the regular route is 75 cents).  Not sure how they will be about accurate pickup and dropoff times, but I will let you know once I've had the pleasure of finding out.  

 

My biggest problem with using public transit here is the limited hours of operation. Most of our community events occur during weekends, and are completely inaccessible to me by public trans. Evening events and appointments are also inaccessible by the bus system.  And, since Springfield's ONLY cab service recently went out of business, this means I'm usually stuck at home in the evenings.  Curiously, Springfield does have a substantial population of disabled veterans and such, so you would think we'd have a little better accomodation for our own.

 

hugs from ducky 

 I will bring up my pet issues is that meeting ADA code requirements does not man it is usable or Easley dealt with.
Case in point I use a train to commute there is one ramp up and into the train and by code two ground accessible crossing points and one elevator up ramp across the tracks and back down by way of a second elevator back down that is located a full 2 blocks away from that said ramp into and out of the train I have. The two ground level crossing levels are unusable because of arriving and departing trains or trains sitting on the tracks and from a safety issue not very wise form both  transit trains or Amtrak that use those tracks.
Another issues are bike riders they are supposed to walk their bikes on that said platform but often cut me off or others to beat us to elevators we are forced to take 2 blocks from where we get off. So you see the station meets requirements as far as code requirements go but I am forced to go two blocks out of my way put up with rude bike riders thinking the elevator is for them and their lone bike because they got there first.
Lesson learned is code requirements can be met but usability matters are another story not addressed fully.

I am from Atlanta and all of their buses and trains are accessible to wheelchairs. Both work well, but the trains have wide aisles and have two wheelchair stalls per car. The bus will take you pretty much anywhere you need to go. The rail system mainly stops at the popular parts of town with tourists and business people. As far as usefulness, the DC metro is my favorite. Their rail system is 100% accessible and quite expansive. Though, the train cars are slightly more cramped than Atlanta's and they lack stalls. Just park yourself where ever there is space.