Disabled Decry Plan to Alter Ride Service

Many disabled residents are incensed by proposed changes in a service that provides van and car rides throughout Los Angeles County. If approved by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, the changes will mean higher prices and less flexibility for those who depend on the service.

This week, the board of Access Services, a nonprofit organization that runs the service, approved a plan that would require riders to pay more unless they reserve rides at least one day in advance.

Board members say the changes are needed to accommodate a growing demand for the service. The MTA board, which provides the organization’s funding, will vote on the proposal in April.

Access Services has a fleet of 400 sedans and vans equipped with lifts that are dispatched all over the county to transport disabled people. Currently, users can call dispatchers 24 hours a day and give as little as 45 minutes’ notice before they need a ride. Cost is based on the distance traveled--from $1.50 to $4.

Under the proposed changes, similar rates would apply only to rides reserved at least a day in advance. Same-day rides would cost $15 regardless of distance. Hours that dispatchers are available would also be limited.

Changing the service would save $9.8 million to $13.8 million, said Access Services Director Richard DeRock.

The savings are needed to ensure that the organization can meet growing demand while providing at least the level of service required by federal law, he said.

When the MTA approved Access Services’ five-year plan and budget last year, the agency planned for 5% annual growth. But since last year, the number of trips has increased by 30%.

“It’s not so much a budget issue as it is we have riders coming out of our ears,” DeRock said at a recent meeting of an Access Services advisory committee.

“We’re proposing these changes because we can’t see a way to make this financial situation work.”

Many who use the service are unhappy. At one recent meeting of the Access Services board, nearly 60 disabled commuters--some zooming up to the podium in electric wheelchairs, others struggling with speech impediments--made impassioned pleas to maintain same-day service at current prices.

“The removal of same-day ridership will be devastating to the Access rider population,” said Kurt Hagen, a user of the service. “What if you were told you couldn’t drive your car unless you reserved it the day before, and if you did use it on the same day, you had to pay a higher price for gas? That’s roughly the equivalent of what’s being imposed on us.”

Sharon Russell, a peer counselor at Southern California Rehabilitation Services, said 1,200 of her center’s clients need same-day service but will not be able to afford it. Their average income is about $800 a month, she said.

“People can’t always plan 24 hours in advance,” Russell said. “What if people get sick and want to go home from work? They can’t do that.”