In This Issue

ADA Transportation Research is a Go

Dear Friends,

Oh the places we go. Just like everyone else: A job. A meeting with your child's teacher. The pharmacy. A date. Home. Transportation is the connective tissue that holds the body of your life together. Without it, many jobs are unattainable, health is put at risk, education is out of reach, and the stress of isolation grows.

DREDF has a long history of transportation access advocacy, headed by Senior Policy Analyst Marilyn Golden, that's provided extensive research and technical assistance. We're happy to announce our participation in two research projects on ADA transportation that will help create stronger connections between people with disabilities and our communities.

1. The "Strategy Guide to Enable and Promote the Use of Fixed-Route Transit by People with Disabilities" is being conducted for the Transit Cooperative Research Program, which is part of the Transportation Research Board and the National Academy of Sciences. The research is supported by the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT). The prime contractor is TranSystems Inc., and the other members of the research team, along with DREDF, are The Collaborative and KFH Group.

The disability community's participation will be a key factor. For example, through interviews and surveys, this project aims to gain a greater understanding of what factors most affect the choices people with disabilities make about which mode of transportation they will use for particular trips.

This project will explore a variety of ways to encourage and enable people with disabilities who are at least part time ("conditionally") eligible for ADA paratransit to increase their use of the fixed route public transit bus and/or train service. Major areas of study will include improving the accessibility of bus and train systems, including the streets and sidewalks used to reach bus stops and train stations; providing optional travel training; providing fare incentive programs; marketing the benefits of bus and train services to thedisability community; and exploring improved methods of paratransit eligibility determination.

The study will also focus on the benefits of combining multiple approaches. For example, efforts to improve the pedestrian infrastructure can be more effective when priority stops are identified using information from travel training and eligibility determination. The Strategy Guide will stress a holistic approach to encouraging fixed route use.

2. The "Accessible Transit Services for All Populations" project will research approaches for providing complementary paratransit services that have reduced costs, increased efficiency, and increased mobility for people with disabilities. The project is being conducted for the Federal Transit Administration of USDOT, and carried out by the same research team. DREDF is the prime contractor, and the team also includes The Collaborative, KFH Group, and TranSystems Inc. The research is supported by the Federal Transit Administration of USDOT.

Interviews, surveys, roundtable discussion, and case studies will all contribute information comparing the effectiveness of various ADA paratransit service designs, contracting methods, and procurement procedures. By the project's end, we expect to gain a complete "state-of-the-practice" of ADA paratransit service designs, giving us a multi-faceted understanding of what is cost-effective, and increases the mobility of people with disabilities. The study will also investigate flexibly routed services that effectively serve all riders. Further, it will examine best practices in on-time performance, service design, rider assistance, and other areas of ADA paratransit operations.

Are you interested in being part of these studies or just want to know more? Let us know.

BIG THANKS TO DREDF'S YEAR END DONORS
Every year, generous, loyal, and surprising community members help underwrite our work. Why surprising? Because you remember that we need to keep advancing disability rights even – especially – when times are tough. This list recognizes donors who have responded to our year end request. We also send our appreciation to all who are contributing through their workplace giving campaigns. Thank you for making it a Happy New Year indeed!

Mark Aaronson and Marjorie Gelb, Ben and Renee Adams, Bill Alderman, Gloria Alee, Bernadene V. Allen, Eve Alpern, Robert and Lynne, Barbara Altman, Margaret Azcona, Anthony Bair and Nancy Reier, Seth Barad, Joanne Beckwith, Janet Bernault, Jorge and Helen Bernett, Al and Bev Bertaina, Janine Bertram, Michael Bien, Leslie Ann Binder, Ricki Blau and Bill Reeves, Susan Bloom, Arthur Bolstein and Elizabeth Hamann, Sharon and Don Bonney, Harold Borkowski and Janice Grau, Larry Bradshaw and Lorrie Beth Slonsky, Jerome Braun, Mark Breimhorst, Donnita and Willie Bryan, Betty Bulos, Donna Calame, Philip B. Calkins, Dennis Cannon, Christina Casenza, Claudia Center, Susan Chandler, Joanna Cooper and Charles Pollack, Joan Costello, William Crandall, Hilary Crosby and Adele Kaneda, Ann Cupolo Freeman and Sam Freeman, Barry and Marika Cutler, Deborah Daniels-Smith, Yoshiko Dart, Mary L. DeLuca, Sheila Dermer, Alan Dickson, Stephen and Victoria Dobbs, The Dolphin Foundation, Ann Duveneck and Thomas Panas, Micky Duxbury, John and Kristin Dye, Andrea Dye, Toni Eames, Amy Ruth Edgington, Robert and Barbara K. Efron, Julia Epstein, Elizabeth and Joseph Eto, Cheryl Farrell, David Flamm and Margaret Stevenson, Paul and Rebecca Feuerstein, Sally Greer Galway, Gary and Lily Gee, David Geffen Law Firm, Scott Gibbs and Pam Winfrey, Cynthia Greenleaf, Margaret Groce, Paul Grossman, Rikki and Norton Grubb, Lynn Hansen, Susan Helmrich and Richard Levine, Bruce and Ruth Helsel, Jean Henderson, Susan Henderson and Dave Nold, Paul and Sharon Hermann, Ann and David Hermsen, Judy Heumann, Robert and Dale Hill, Wai-Kee and Ching-Yee Ho, James C. Hormel, Ching-Yee Hui, Michael Iskowitz, David Isler, Anne Jennings and Andy Stacklin, Gary and Ilene Katz, Katelyn Keil, Robin Keller and Mark Geliebter, Jennifer Kern, Arnold Kessler; Jeanne King; Kristi Kirschner and Raymond Curry; Sara A. Knapp; Mary Jean and Andrew Kotch; Tom Lakritz; Beth Lamont; Meri and Jeff Lane; Bill Lann Lee; Mark and Marian Leeds; Alan Leff and Barbara Bishov; Suzanne Levine, Lewis, Feinberg, Lee, Renaker & Jackson, Bonnie Lewkowicz and Paul Church, Wendy Lichtman, Michelle and Micah Liedeker, Irene Litherland and Dhruv Joshi, Frances Lowder David Markowitz, Jamieson Marx, Melissa Masland, Clarence Masuo, David and Diane Matsumoto, Tommie Mayfield, Mark and Marsha Mazz, Kathleen McCallum-Gesher, Ann McDonald-Cacho, Dan and Carolyn McGovern, The Law Offices of Ken Meleyco, Pam Mendelsohn, Gretchen Menn, Virginia Miller and Bruce Riordan, Norman Miller, Michael and Tracy Mintz, Neil and Laura Mitchell, Morrison & Foerster Foundation, Daniel Murphy, Toni Murphy, Nancy Newman, Maria Ocampo, Patricia Orr, Elaine Ostroff, Anthony and Christine Pagano, Anand Parthasarathy, Sherry and Michael Perez, Sebon Pettie, Zachary Pine, Melvin and Rita Reier, Leo and Patricia Rennert, John and Debbie Resler, Lance Reynolds, Susan Riggle, Whitney Roberts, Maggie Roffee, Rosen, Bien & Galvan, LLP, Ann Rosewater, Burton Rothleder, Denise Rozell, Susan Nelson Sargeant, Victor and Janet Schachter, Dara Schur, Steven Schwartz, Carolyn and John Schwebel, Alison Seevak, Brad Seligman and Sara Campos, Kristy Sermersheim, Marci Seville, Lisa Shenson, Doreen Sing, Debbie Smith, Margaret Staton, Vikki Stefans, George Steneberg, Jean Stewart, Lorraine Stiehl, Grover and Gretchen Stone, Peter Straus and Lili Byers, Ronald Strochlic and Avi Rose, Barbara Stuber, Sheila Styron, Joan Sullivan, David and Mojgan Sumner, Mary Alice and Michael Susca, Kim Swain and Michael Sugarman, Eleanor Swift; Charles Swinehart; Cheryl Theis; Richard Thesing and Francesca Farr; Lee Tierney, Ingrid Tischer and Ken Stein, Les Treece-Sinclair, Kevin Vielbaum, Ruth Walz, Anne Wasserstrom, Ellen Weaver, Weiss Associates, Catherine Weiss, Jane E. West, Patricia and Mark Whitehouse, Diane Wieser, Joseph and Judith Workman, Stan Yogi,Tyler, Zoanni, Steven Zolno.

© 2012

Related Links

Resources

• The Federal Transit Administration Americans With Disabilities Act website
• Topic Guides on ADA Transportation

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