ADA Paratransit Public Feedback Tool: Houston METRO Case Study

For many transit agencies, Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) paratransit demand continues to grow. ADA paratransit growth is driven by a variety of factors including population growth, aging population and greater number of trips scheduled by individuals. Transit agencies are challenged to meet demand while balancing limited financial resources and quality of service requirements. Transit agencies are taking a number of actions to change policies and practices but are challenged in engaging the public on ADA paratransit issues in a meaningful way. Agencies must balance the risk of providing too little information and too much. “Information sharing is important not just for meaningful involvement on issues but also can build trust, create transparency, enhance advocacy efforts and proactively guide public conversation. (Giering, 2011).” Houston METRO has seen a steady increase in ADA paratransit demand and is considering changes in multiple policies and practices. METRO looked to researchers to determine industry best practices for public input. The researchers found through literature review and transit agency/expert outreach that there is a lack of public feedback tools for ADA paratransit. Researchers developed a data collection tool used to gain feedback on nine ADA paratransit policy and practices. This paper provides best practice elements found, methodology used to develop a data collection tool and results as applied to METRO.