Improving Minnesota transit
was the agenda at a forum last month sponsored by two key disability
organizations. On November 7, 2007, the Minnesota State Council on
Disability (MSCOD) partnered with Pathways to Employment (PTE) to
present a forum entitled, “The Long Road to Work:
A Transportation and Employment Dialogue.” The day was designed to
facilitate discussion as well as stimulate and share innovative strategies
to address the transportation needs of Minnesotans with disabilities. Particular
attention was put on role of transportation in enabling people with disabilities
to find and maintain employment.
The morning’s keynote speaker was Karen Hoesch, Executive Director
of ACCESS Transportation Systems, operators of a paratransit brokerage
system in Pittsburgh. Hoesch’s message was clear – human
service agencies, community-based organizations, providers and employers
must cooperate to serve more people, provide more service, and utilize
existing capacity and resources effectively to meet the transportation
needs of persons with disabilities.
Hoesch identified opportunities
for transportation improvement and provided examples from Pennsylvania.
In one case, funding from federal, county and community sources
allowed for the creation of an employment-based transportation
service called Work Link in Pennsylvania. The service offers local
connections, links to several transit routes at multiple stops,
and child care drop-off. It provides 5,000 rides each month, 80%
of which are for work. Long-time advocate and transit user Lolly
Lijewski commented on what she took away from Hoesch’s message,
stating, “We need to flip the paradigm. Instead of thinking
of ourselves as people with disabilities who need a ride in order
to work, we are workers who happen to have disabilities and who need
a ride.”
During a breakout session,
Joel Ulland and John Tschida, current and former co-chairs of the
Minnesota Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities, discussed
the public policy context surrounding accessible transportation
in Minnesota. They outlined a vision for Metro Mobility service,
including expanding service to all of Minnesota’s
87 counties and increasing service hours to a minimum of 14 hours
each day, all by 2010.
In the afternoon, Bob
Olsgard, of North Country Independent Living, detailed his work
to increase transportation services in rural Washburn County, Wisconsin.
Nearly 40% of the population is comprised of persons with disabilities
and those 65 years and older. In 2005, Olsgard and his colleagues
conducted community assessments; from 1900 surveys they found that
sufficient seat capacity existed, but that much of that capacity
was only available to “eligible” consumers.
The group also found inconsistent driver training programs and qualification
checks, and that most services were limited to weekday hours between
6 a.m. and 5 p.m.
MSCOD and PTE intend
for the dialogue to serve as a springboard for creative problem-solving,
collaboration, and action, and will follow up with additional communication
to move forward on improving transportation for persons with disabilities.
As Lijewski states, “The time
is ripe for change in the area of transit. An aging population, a
shrinking workforce and increasing employment of people with disabilities
are going to be drivers in making change happen.” ![]()
