OCTA Addressing Needs of Disabled

* Thank you for the important editorial April 4 regarding the need for the Orange County Transportation Authority to resolve eligibility issues for the mentally disabled.

The editorial implies that OCTA has been reluctant to work with advocates for the mentally ill; on the contrary, the agency has been proactively addressing this concern.

As noted in the editorial, eligibility has become more urgent now that OCTA’s Board of Directors has approved a number of fare changes.

The March discussion of fare changes led the board to direct the staff to satisfactorily resolve the issue before the implementation of fare changes in July. Since then, the OCTA staff has met with mental health advocates and has been working to develop a fair and equitable process to ensure that worthy recipients qualify for reduced fares.

The OCTA board wholeheartedly agrees with The Times that reduced bus fares must be made available to eligible persons. At the same time, special care must be taken that reduced fares are used only by those who have disabilities.

Therein lies the problem with granting reduced fares to all Supplemental Security Income recipients, since there are many people who receive SSI who do not have disabilities.

Prior to the change in fares in July, the OCTA staff will conclude its work with advocates for the mentally ill and the Orange County Health Care Agency to streamline and improve our eligibility process.

THOMAS WILSON

Chairman, OCTA Board of Directors

Orange County supervisor