Some Disabled Fear U.S. Law May Take Away Van Privileges : Transportation: Disabilities Act is designed to provide equal bus service to handicapped and regular users. But tighter eligibility rules for special shuttle may disqualify certain riders.

When the Americans With Disabilities Act was approved two years ago, many in Orange County cheered the landmark civil rights law for finally affording them access to places that had been out of reach.

This month, as the Orange County Transportation Authority begins implementing the law, that enthusiasm has become tinged with confusion and apprehension as the nearly 7,000 people who use the county’s van service for the disabled await the changes.

Most agree that the act, which requires all counties to provide bus service to the disabled equal to that offered everyone else, eventually will bring a much-improved transit system.

Yet some disabled people have criticized the law’s strict eligibility rules which might disqualify some current van riders.

The changes are all the more unsettling because they come just months after the county replaced the service’s longtime operator with a firm which submitted a lower bid. Some disabled riders protested the move, questioning whether the new company will treat passengers with the same care and understanding.

“Any kind of change like this can be confusing to people. They depend on this service . . . and that’s why some people are frightened,” said Irvine wheelchair user Phyllis Collier, who occasionally relies on the van service. “Beyond the initial confusion, I see this opening up horizons for everyone.”

Collier’s optimism is rooted in the OCTA’s effort to fully comply with the new law by 1995, two years earlier than required. The transit agency has been trying to determine how exactly to do this at a series of recent meetings that have been watched with intense interest by many disabled riders.

On Jan. 11, the OCTA board is scheduled to vote on general eligibility rules for the dial-a-ride and subscription van service and determine the fares.

Because many disabled people rely on the van rides to get to work and make doctor’s appointments, a good number of them are likely to attend the meeting, as they have several previous ones.

If all goes as planned, mentally and physically disabled people as well as frail senior citizens can expect more night and weekend van service by 1995 and should able to get a ride within 24 hours of making a request. Starting this month, the county will also use taxicabs to transport riders when the vans are full.

But some insist that the law’s rules are flawed because of the restrictions they place on who can use the special service.

Under the county’s own broad regulations, anyone with an impairment that makes it difficult for them to get around is allowed to use the vans, regardless of how severely they are disabled.

That will change over the next few months when the federal rules go into effect. The new standards allow only people who cannot use regular county buses to ride on the vans.

“If you have someone who uses a wheelchair and is currently able to ride a bus, (that person) may or may not be eligible under the new criteria,” said Elizabeth Mahoney, OCTA’s acting manager for contract transit. “That is what will have to be decided.”

Pat Bayley is one person who might lose her riding privileges.

Bayley suffers from spina bifida, a birth defect that affects her sight and makes it difficult to move her neck. On the two days a week that she works as a librarian at the Catholic Diocese in Orange, Bayley takes a regular county bus from her Anaheim apartment to a stop more than a mile from her final destination.

On most days, she walks the final leg of her trip. But when the weather doesn’t cooperate, she uses the van service.

“My disability limits me in the same way it does anyone else. I think the (disabilities act) should protect my right to use the system when I need it,” Bayley said. “This discriminates against one group over another.”

While transit officials expressed sympathy for those who might be disqualified, they said the county has little choice but to accept the requirements.

Current shuttle users will be asked over the next few months to fill out eligibility forms. To make the process as fair as possible, the county has left it up to a variety of social service agencies that deal with disabled people to determine who may use the service, Mahoney said.

Anyone who is ruled ineligible can appeal the decision to a review board, which will take into consideration special circumstances such a lack of regular bus lines near the persons’s home, Collier said.

Concern, however, extends beyond who will ride the vans to the issue of who will drive them. Many riders said the previous drivers offered personalized service that made the rides safe and comfortable, and they hope that the new company, DAVE Transportation Service Inc., does the same.

“We are very anxious to see if the new operator will be able to continue this,” said Dr. Marilyn Ditty, executive director of South County Senior Services. “It’s very important that they become familiar with the passengers and get to know what their disabilities are.”

DAVE Transportation officials said they take their responsibility seriously.

In addition to hiring several drivers from the previous contractor, the company has required that all drivers take special classes from the county on moving disabled people safely and understanding how best to help them, said Mark Wells, vice president and chief operating officer.