Max
12-27-2002, 05:44 PM
Bus cutbacks leave disabled without a ride
"I understand there's been cutbacks. But why is it that the blind and the physically handicapped are going to be turned into shut-ins on Sundays and holidays?" - Sandy Furtado
12/27/2002
BY DANIEL BARBARISI
Journal Staff Writer
FALL RIVER -- Every Sunday morning, Sandy Furtado walks tentatively out of her home on Dwelly Street into the open door of a van waiting curbside to drive her to church.
Every Sunday, that is, until this one.
Furtado, 49, is blind. Since 1987, she's been faithfully using the Southeastern Regional Transit Authority's Demand Response service to get everywhere she needs to go. It's like a bus, but runs door-to-door for people with disabilities, taking them shopping, to friends' houses, or to work: Furtado takes it every day to her job as an assistant in the Radiology Department at Charlton Memorial Hospital.
But because of budget cuts, the Sunday service has been discontinued. No buses or vans for people with disabilities will run in either New Bedford or Fall River on Sundays and holidays.
For the disabled, Furtado says this amounts to house arrest.
"I understand there's been cutbacks. But why is it that the blind and the physically handicapped are going to be turned into shut-ins on Sundays and holidays?" she said.
The idea of canceling Sunday service was first floated in July, as SRTA's final budget became clearer. By early fall, the cut was tentatively written into SRTA's 2003 budget, said administrator Louis D. Pettine.
Pettine knew the cuts would incur the wrath of locals who depend on the vans, but felt that there was no choice. Cuts had to be made, and slashing Sunday service wouldn't impair people's ability to get to work, or keep those with disabilities from doctors' appointments.
SRTA held public hearings last month on its proposal to eliminate all six buses running on Sundays in New Bedford, and the three vans offering rides to the disabled between the two cities. The plan would save $240,000 annually, for an agency with a $10 million budget.
Pettine estimates that the service transports about 20 passengers every Sunday, some on multiple trips.
At the hearings, crowds of roughly 50 people pilloried Pettine and the SRTA board for their decision. Why not cut other areas, such as administration, they said? Why not just raise the rates for Sunday service?
"We couldn't raise the rates enough to make it pay," Pettine responded.
Who will fill the gap, they asked? What will people with disabilities do now?
Pettine and the other board members couldn't answer -- because, likely, no one will fill the hole. SRTA was so heavily subsidized, Pettine said, that a private company would have to charge 20 times the SRTA rate of $1 per zone -- roughly $4 to get from Fall River to New Bedford -- to make any money.
"There's nobody out there who's really interested in filling this void," Pettine said. "If you could make money at this, the private companies would still be doing it."
Even worse, additional cuts may still be coming, including the loss of Saturday Demand Response service. Fares may increase on all routes as well.
If the disabled want to get out of the house, taking cabs and calling friends is now the only way to go. But Furtado said this isn't an option, both because of cost, and because of fear.
"It's far from cheap. And honestly, I'm afraid to take a cab by myself."
So depending on friends will be the preferred mode of travel for many with disabilities. But if they can't find a ride, Sunday may become a day to be dreaded for its solitude.
"I'll be stuck in the house. I can't walk to church," Furtado said, adding that she barely realized how much she'd miss the bus service until she took her last ride, this past week.
"I knew it was coming, but it really didn't sink in. Yesterday, I was really bumming."
Search the archives for related articles:
http://www.projo.com/massachusetts/content/projo_20021227_fr26busx.c0a7f.html
"I understand there's been cutbacks. But why is it that the blind and the physically handicapped are going to be turned into shut-ins on Sundays and holidays?" - Sandy Furtado
12/27/2002
BY DANIEL BARBARISI
Journal Staff Writer
FALL RIVER -- Every Sunday morning, Sandy Furtado walks tentatively out of her home on Dwelly Street into the open door of a van waiting curbside to drive her to church.
Every Sunday, that is, until this one.
Furtado, 49, is blind. Since 1987, she's been faithfully using the Southeastern Regional Transit Authority's Demand Response service to get everywhere she needs to go. It's like a bus, but runs door-to-door for people with disabilities, taking them shopping, to friends' houses, or to work: Furtado takes it every day to her job as an assistant in the Radiology Department at Charlton Memorial Hospital.
But because of budget cuts, the Sunday service has been discontinued. No buses or vans for people with disabilities will run in either New Bedford or Fall River on Sundays and holidays.
For the disabled, Furtado says this amounts to house arrest.
"I understand there's been cutbacks. But why is it that the blind and the physically handicapped are going to be turned into shut-ins on Sundays and holidays?" she said.
The idea of canceling Sunday service was first floated in July, as SRTA's final budget became clearer. By early fall, the cut was tentatively written into SRTA's 2003 budget, said administrator Louis D. Pettine.
Pettine knew the cuts would incur the wrath of locals who depend on the vans, but felt that there was no choice. Cuts had to be made, and slashing Sunday service wouldn't impair people's ability to get to work, or keep those with disabilities from doctors' appointments.
SRTA held public hearings last month on its proposal to eliminate all six buses running on Sundays in New Bedford, and the three vans offering rides to the disabled between the two cities. The plan would save $240,000 annually, for an agency with a $10 million budget.
Pettine estimates that the service transports about 20 passengers every Sunday, some on multiple trips.
At the hearings, crowds of roughly 50 people pilloried Pettine and the SRTA board for their decision. Why not cut other areas, such as administration, they said? Why not just raise the rates for Sunday service?
"We couldn't raise the rates enough to make it pay," Pettine responded.
Who will fill the gap, they asked? What will people with disabilities do now?
Pettine and the other board members couldn't answer -- because, likely, no one will fill the hole. SRTA was so heavily subsidized, Pettine said, that a private company would have to charge 20 times the SRTA rate of $1 per zone -- roughly $4 to get from Fall River to New Bedford -- to make any money.
"There's nobody out there who's really interested in filling this void," Pettine said. "If you could make money at this, the private companies would still be doing it."
Even worse, additional cuts may still be coming, including the loss of Saturday Demand Response service. Fares may increase on all routes as well.
If the disabled want to get out of the house, taking cabs and calling friends is now the only way to go. But Furtado said this isn't an option, both because of cost, and because of fear.
"It's far from cheap. And honestly, I'm afraid to take a cab by myself."
So depending on friends will be the preferred mode of travel for many with disabilities. But if they can't find a ride, Sunday may become a day to be dreaded for its solitude.
"I'll be stuck in the house. I can't walk to church," Furtado said, adding that she barely realized how much she'd miss the bus service until she took her last ride, this past week.
"I knew it was coming, but it really didn't sink in. Yesterday, I was really bumming."
Search the archives for related articles:
http://www.projo.com/massachusetts/content/projo_20021227_fr26busx.c0a7f.html