Boston public transportation's past, present and future

"Public transportation authorities may not discriminate against people with disabilities in the provision of their services. They must comply with requirements for accessibility in newly purchased vehicles, make good faith efforts to purchase or lease accessible used buses, remanufacture buses in an accessible manner, and, unless it would result in an undue burden, provide paratransit where they operate fixed-route bus or rail systems."  - American with Disabilities Act (ADA)

By Christine  Pafumi

4/30/10

Boston Transportation's Past

As early as five years ago, it was fair to assume that a person with a disability would run into many obstacles while using Boston's public transportation system. It was far more common for elevators in T stops to be not working than working, if there were any elevators at all. Getting on the trains sometimes proved impossible due to gaps. Signs were not big enough for those with visibility impairments. The list of access issues seemed endless.

In July 2002, 11 individual plaintiffs and the Boston Center for Independent Living (BCIL) brought a civil action ADA lawsuit against the MBTA. "When this agency sued the MBTA, it was awful," said Karen Schneiderman, Community Organizer of the BCIL. "The MBTA was awful in terms of access."

In April 2006, the MBTA and BCIL reached a settlement for $310 million of planned improvements. The MBTA was given five years to comply with the terms stated in the settlement.The settlement agreement is overseen by Hon. Judge Patrick J. King (Ret.). The federal court-appointed judge who acts as a mediator between both sides. He assess the MBTA's compliance. If he thinks that the MBTA is in violation, he can bring it back to court.

"There were a million problems. There's a big gap between, depending on which car and station, between the train and the station. So if you're wheeling in, your wheels can go right down in between, or cane or crutches," Schneiderman said. "So some people just took the risk and hoped for the best. I think a lot of people just decided this is too much work, this is too difficult."

It is a not-so-distant past that is still very fresh in the minds of those who lived it and continue to deal with access barriers every day. So how is the transit system doing? 

 

Boston Transportation's Present

In 2010, 20 years after the American with Disabilities Act (ADA) made it illegal to discriminate against people with disabilities in the provision of their service, Boston's public transportation has made improvements, significantly within the past five years, but there is still a long way to go.

Laura Brelsford, System-Wide Accessibility Coordinator at the MBTA said she is pleased with the progress and thinks things are going well."I think both parties, the MBTA and the plaintiffs, and the group BCIL, we have a really positive relationship today, very collaborative. And I think that both parties are sort of pleasantly surprised about the progress that has been made to date." 

The T created the Department of System Wide Accessibility in 2007 to oversee the programs and services for people with disabilities. It is the newest department at the T and a direct result of the settlement. Their focus is providing and maintaining better accessibility on the fixed routes of the MBTA.

Elevators:

"Things began to improve, slowly, but they began to improve," Schneiderman said. "The elevators were out about 75 percent of the time. That's not true anymore. Sometimes elevators are out but you can usually rely on them." Schneiderman said that funds allocated for second elevators in heavily used stations will also help to ease transportation congestion for current users and the additional people who will now be able to use public transportation.

Brelsford, who also uses a wheelchair, said that the elevator service improvement has been a big day-to-day life changer for her as a customer of the T. "I should say that I use the T everyday that's how I get to work and get around the city. I would say as early as 5 years ago, it was really really tough to depend on the T, specifically because the elevators were frequently out of service. Just nothing was reliable."

In November 2005, the MBTA signed a new elevator maintenance contract with KONE Inc. There were assurances from both T staff members and KONE officials that the situation will improve with teamwork according to a Boston Globe article at that time. This contract focused on preventative maintenance. Today, the MBTA website boasts that all MBTA elevators have been operational approximately 99 percent of the time. There is also a page on the site where any customer can check before traveling to see if there are any alerts indicating elevator is out of service at a station. "So it's maybe once a month, run into an out of service elevator as opposed to three to five times a week," said Brelsford.

Buses:

The MBTA buses are also different now than they were five years ago. The MBTA has procured 310 new low-floor buses since the settlement. This has created even more accessibility for people with mobility disabilities on the buses.  There is also a bus operators recertification program developed by Bus Operations and System-Wide Accessibility that has been implemented.

"There's just been a tremendous amount of progress, especially in our bus services and in our elevator service, which were really the two major issues behind the lawsuit that I think everyone's pretty energized and pretty excited," Brelsford said. "That having been said, there are certainly many, many things that have still to be done that everyone's focused on and committed to. But I think we're in a pretty good place."

 

The RIDE:

It is the T's paratransit, shared ride, service that provides door-to-door service to eligible people who cannot use general public transportation due to physical, mental, or cognitive disability. It is a segregated system and was not inclued in the settlement. This program sounds ideal but has received mixed feedback. 

"I am glad I am able to use the subway. If I couldn't, I would not be happy if I had to use the RIDE," said Schneiderman. "It's very hard to manage I think. And it's separate in a lot of ways from the Massachusetts Public Transportation system."

The RIDE consists of lift-equipped vans that can accommodate those who use wheelchairs and scooters. It operates everyday from 6am to 1am in sixty cities and towns. The cost is $2 for a one-way trip.

"I could get a RIDE but I don't take it. I found it very oppressive and demoralizing," said John Kelly, who prefers to take the T or his own van. "Historically it's not been all that reliable. It's a very difficult guessing game. But it's wonderful for people who have difficulty traveling any other way."
 
"It sounds very glamorous but you can have five people going four miles and it may take two hours to get home," said Schneiderman. "Even though we're not pushing to get rid of the RIDE because some people truly benefit from the service."

Another complaint is the process one must go through to use the RIDE. "You have to be registered for the program, you have to submit medical documentation and then you have to call in advance for your ride. Typically you have to book a ride at least 24 hours in advance," said Michael Muehe, Executive Director for the Commission for Persons with Disabilities and ADA Coordinator for the City of Cambridge.

Boston Transportation's Future Prospects

"We're just extremely optimistic. I think one of the greatest things the plaintiffs could have advocated for and the MBTA could have supported was the creation of this department," said Brelsford about the Department of System-Wide Accessibility at the MBTA. "Even after the settlement goes away, this department is here and our mission will always be to make sure that accessibility is a priority and that we're in compliance with a variety of different codes and regulations and civil rights issues." 

About five years after the settlement, Judge King will begin issuing reports assessing the MBTA's compliance. There needs to be four consecutive quarters of perfect compliance with the terms of the settlement. If by the end of the time allotted, access is not achieved, they can go back to court. But that is not something the BCIL wants to do said Schneiderman. 

Some are uncertain about the future, but still hopeful. "So we don't know the pace at which this will continue to move, but they [the MBTA] are by law obligated to do this so it can be unpleasant or it can be pleasant. So lets hope it will be pleasant," said Schneiderman. "There's still a tremendous amount to do but it is slowly changing."