Elderly, Disabled Need ‘Access’

One of the great blows of aging is the loss of mobility. That is especially true in Southern California, where mass transit is minimal, taxis are expensive and distances are great.

The Orange County Transportation Authority has operated a program called “Access” for several years. The beneficiaries are the aged and the disabled, people who are unable to get to the nearest bus stop; as a result, OCTA has brought the transportation to them.

Passengers pay $1.70 per trip. The problem is that the cost to OCTA can run from around $6 per person, if vans are at least half full, to nearly $24 per person if a van has only two passengers rather than the dozen or more it can carry.

Because of the difference between income and expenditures, OCTA has scheduled a public hearing Monday to air suggestions on cutting back Access. The authority is expected to decide the fate of the service next month.

The agency must keep some sort of service operating. The Americans with Disabilities Act requires public transportation agencies to provide services for disabled people “comparable” to what is offered to riders of the public bus system. But more than that, OCTA should consider the special needs of the elderly and give them prime importance in its decision-making process.

One proposal is to have the elderly meet the vans in front of a house rather than being picked up at the door. But some elderly people find it very difficult to get from the door to the street alone, especially if they use walkers. Some also are hard of hearing and will not hear a horn blowing outside to alert them to a van’s arrival.

It may be that the operating hours of the van fleet can be shortened; now it runs from 4:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. In case of emergency, the elderly or disabled would have to pay for taxi or ambulance service, but by definition those would be rare occurrences.

The Access service has been helpful to those in the county unable to use regularly scheduled public transit and unable to afford or use private cars and taxis. Getting someone to and from a senior citizens’ center can make a big difference in helping the elderly enjoy life. OCTA needs to keep Access operating as close to its current shape as it can.