TRANSITIONING FROM PARATRANSIT TO FIXED ROUTE: A CONSUMER EDUCATION MODEL

Historically, accessible public transit can be traced back to the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, Secton 504 provisions. Early on, fixed-route transit systems did not fully understand how to provide transportation services to individuals with disabilities. In the following years, many disabled people began to request specialized transportation. In the absence of a management plan to provide paratransit services, the presence of a disability soon became synonymous with paratransit usage. In 1990, the Americans with Disabilities Act was passed and transit systems were required to provide a comprehensive system that yielded both accessible fixed-route and complementary paratransit services. However, the transition from paratransit services to accessible fixed-route services has not kept pace. The development of a consumer education program highlighting the benefits and flexible options of fixed-route systems would be an excellent tool for transit operators and consumers. This paper describes such a program, developed by Easter Seals Project Action, that seeks to educate the consumer to make informed modal choice decisions.