One story about public access, or rather an extreme lack thereof, for people with disabilities that I have been following for a few years is the ongoing saga about the high level of inaccessible taxicabs in New York City. In short, there aren’t near enough to cater to such a large population of wheelchair users who desperately need to use them. Part of the problem is that the Metropolitan Transportation Authority eliminated a bunch of bus routes and the buses were replaced with inaccessible vans, which led to the United Spinal Association to file an ADA lawsuit against the New York City & Limousine Commission last fall. Resorting to the use of subways isn’t ideal because so many subway stations are also inaccessible, lacking the necessary renovations to include or maintain ramps and elevators. As for taxis, only 231 out of over 13,000 are accessible to those who use wheelchairs or scooters. So it’s a mess of public transportation inaccessibility.
All that mess came to head right around the same time that NYC was making decisions on its so-called Taxi of Tomorrow. Starting back in May 2007 Mayor Bloomberg announced that NYC’s taxi fleet would be completely hybrid within five years, which ignored the fact that people with severe disabilities cannot enter available hybrid taxi vehicles, also despite the fact that many modifiable accessible minivan options existed. When the choice was made to go with an inaccessible Nissan hybrid for the Taxi of Tomorrow the United Spinal Association denounced NYC’s pick in taxi as a perpetuation of discrimination against people with disabilities. Moreover, the city overlooked a wheelchair and scooter friendly taxi that could be made in Brooklyn and save millions of dollars. The worst thing about it is that starting in 2013 the inaccessible Taxi of Tomorrow will be NYC’s taxi for the next ten years, which closes a door to accessible cab options for quite a while. How unfortunate for so many people.
Accessible taxi and transportation issues exist to varying degrees in every city in America though. Here in Minneapolis there is a taxicab company that has a small fleet of wheelchair accessible minivans but apparently they don’t run after 9 pm. Of course, that wipes out the ability for wheelchair users, or others with related mobility impairments, who don’t have their own vehicles to go out on the town, get night time rides home from the airport, or partake in other late night ventures. A few falls ago I did some research for a client who was considering suing that company for discrimination. All he wanted to do was go out to the bars downtown with his buddies like anyone else his age but he wasn’t able to get a ride. In Minneapolis, Metro Mobility and their fleet of wheelchair ramped vans is another accessible transportation option, but similarly they don’t run past a certain time. I have given late night rides home for a few friends in wheelchairs in the past few years because of it. Think they wouldn’t like late night accessible taxi access too? It’s a crappy situation.
My own experience with public transportation is limited since I drive my own van, which I am thankful for everyday, but by the same token I have enough experience to know how aggravating it can be. Before I got my van I needed a local accessible van service to drive me to and from high school every day and I hated it. Most of the vans were full size vans with raised roofs but I was limited from seeing more than about ten feet in front of the vehicle so I couldn’t anticipate when the drivers needed to brake. And plenty of the drivers hammered the gas and break which caused me and my chair to jerk around inside. One time a guy forgot to tie down the front of my chair and when he hammered the gas I flipped backwards onto the rear bench seat. Good thing I was in the back and there was a cushioned bench seat behind me or it would have been ugly. Last spring I took a city bus for the first time as a part of a nonprofit leadership training outing and it was OK but nothing I care to do frequently. Last month I used the Light Rail for the first time to go to a Twins baseball game with my girlfriend and that was OK too. But it was frustrating having to watch three rail cars go by before we were able to board one that had enough room to accommodate my wheelchair. It was busy mostly because of Twins game commuters but it didn’t exactly inspire me to use it before my van the next time I venture out and about.
In general, public transportation can be a tricky proposition for people with disabilities. Certain strides are being made bit by bit but there is still tons and tons of room for improvement. But having cities like New York, one of the most populous cities in the world, and therefore home to arguably the biggest per capita population of people with disabilities, make inaccessible decisions that have wide-ranging and long-lasting negative effects like with this inaccessible taxi issue doesn’t exactly move the disability access movement forward. In fact, it just makes it worse. And as someone who strives and yearns for things to be as accessible as possible this makes me mad. Unfortunately, for an indefinite amount of time the results will include super crappy ordeals like this, which clearly demonstrates the need for more accessible taxis everywhere. But the good thing is that the fight is on.
Many businesses in NYC are also not accessible, read this post about how one man is trying to change that “Man’s Lawsuit Crusade to Make NYC More Accessible” written by Tiff Carlson.
Photo Source: fee-ach
Are you frustrated with the lack of accessible public transportation in your city?
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