NJ Transit’s Access Link complies with federal law, but some who rely on it say it leaves much to be desired.
By Jennifer Sinclair
Editors’ Note: Two of the sources in this story asked to remain anonymous, and City Belt granted that anonymity, since they were criticizing a service that they use often.
I am legally blind, and rely on NJ Transit’s Access Link for my transportation. Often, its drivers end up asking me for directions. The drivers all have maps, walkie-talkies to communicate with service monitors in the home office, and, most importantly, they have good vision to see street signs. I have none of these things. So when a driver asks me, “Which way do I go?” or “Is this the right street?” I want to tell them, “If I could see which way to go, I would be driving there myself.”
Instead, I usually say something like “I don’t have very good vision, I can’t help you.” One driver insisted on asking me directions every step of the way, even after I told him that I am blind and that I had never been to our destination before. After I told him this several times, he replied, “Sorry, you don’t look blind.”
There are many reasons that some people may not be able to drive. Common examples are low vision (partial or total blindness), problems with use of the legs, or even just being a senior citizen. Access Link attempts to meet the transportation needs of disabled individuals in New Jersey while being both effective and compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act. In 2005, the service provided 535,000 trips to riders. However, users of this service say there are some major limitations.
A 2004 report and survey done by New Jersey Protection and Advocacy, Inc. (NJP&A) along with the United Spinal Association found that “the transportation needs of individuals with disabilities is still great” in New Jersey. It claimed that Access Link “[does] not come close to meeting the demand for services,” because of limited funding and the “serious restrictions” placed on consumers as a result of low funding.
Courtney Carroll, a spokesperson for NJ Transit, told City Belt that in both 2004 and 2005, “the complaint to trip ratio was less than one percent.”
Unlike “regular” buses, which run on schedules every day, Access Link users must call and make reservations to get a ride. Once you are an Access Link Passenger, you can call them two to fourteen days before you need a ride, and make a reservation. For this, you need to know the address you are leaving from, the address you are going to, and the exact pickup and return time of your trip.
Most importantly, users must keep in mind the twenty-minute window policy. If you arrange a ride to pick you up at 4 p.m., you must be aware that the driver could show up as early as twenty minutes before your scheduled time, and as late as twenty minutes after.
As one Access Link rider told City Belt, this policy often means enduring an unnecessary wait:
“I have to reserve a ride at least a half hour early, to ensure that I won’t be late. And of course it’s impossible to predict how long the wait will be at the doctor’s office, so I never have any idea what time to schedule my return trip. I get around this by allowing extra time; if I think the appointment will be over at two o’clock, I schedule my return trip for three-thirty. I end up sitting around waiting for an hour for a ride, because the other alternative is scheduling one too soon, and if my appointment runs longer than I think it will, I’ll miss my ride and be stranded in an unfamiliar town.”
If there was a posted schedule, like the ones available for “regular” busses, it might be easier to plan your trip. However, Carroll said that is just something the service cannot provide, given its nature as a “demand response service.” She added, “the actual routing of each vehicle tour is not finalized until the night before the trip, due to cancellations and additional reservations.”
Another customer said that communication from Access Link is often lacking. “If the driver is running late, no one will call you to tell you about it. You have to call the main number, be put on hold for a while, and ask where your ride is. When they say your driver is 40 minutes behind schedule, you hang up knowing that no one would ever have made you aware of this if you hadn’t had the sense to call.” Even though each customer gives a phone number each time they make an appointment, it seems that the phone numbers are rarely used, and customers often have to be the ones to initiate communication.
In addition, Access Link only “shadows” regular bus routes. This means that they will only travel within three-quarters of a mile from any NJ Transit regular bus stop. This severely restricts a disabled person’s ability to live or work in many New Jersey towns.
NJ Transit’s Carroll agrees. “There is a growing need and request for us to provide curb-to-curb service to customers who live outside the 3/4 mile radius. A major dedicated funding infusion would be necessary to increase the service area.”
Because of the restrictions on the service area, disabled persons in New Jersey face restrictions on where they are able to work. The Seattle Lighthouse for the Blind estimates that the unemployment rate for legally blind adults in the United States is as high as 70 percent, and the lack of available transportation only exacerbates the problem.
As users of similar programs in other states told City Belt, the job search is one of the first things to be affected by reliance on alternative public transportation.
Tanya Servis is a college student in Delaware who is legally blind, and currently unemployed. She told City Belt that she can’t work, “because I am so limited in where I can go. The only places within walking distance are restaurants, and I can’t see well enough to wait tables.”
Bostonian Mike Estremera, who is legally blind, echoed Servis. He told City Belt that he keeps his job hunts local. “When looking for my current job, and in future hunts, I plan to keep looking in my general area that's easily transportation-accessible,” he said.
Rebecca Feldman, a legally blind resident of Pennsylvania, said, “If I can’t get there, then I can’t take the job.” She explained that her lack of transportation options not only affects her employment, but also her social life, “because I cannot get to different towns to see my friends.” She said she copes by “not seeing friends” and by “trying to find a job within walking distance.”
Sidebar: Disabled in NJ
Number of disabled persons in NJ: 954,964
Total number of residents: 8,717,925
Percentage of NJ residents that are disabled: 11%
Sidebar: About the ADA
Established Jan. 3, 1990
The US Department of Justice says the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is “an act to establish a clear and comprehensive prohibition of discrimination on the basis of disability.” Specifically, the act sets guidelines defining and prohibiting discrimination on the basis of disability in areas like employment and job accommodation, health care, education, parks and recreation, housing, and even building design.
The ADA states that any transportation system which is “fixed route” (like buses that travel to pre-determined regular destinations), is required to offer a comparable alternative to these fixed-route buses, “to any individual with a disability who is unable, as a result of a physical or mental impairment (including a vision impairment) and without the assistance of another individual (except an operator of a wheelchair lift or other boarding assistance device), to board, ride, or disembark from any vehicle on the system.” Failure to provide such equal-access transportation is, under the ADA, considered discrimination.
On the Web:
ADA home page
Access Link
NJ Protection & Advocacy
Seattle Lighthouse for the Blind
Excellent article. I am a social worker in Philadelphia, PA, and work with dialysis patients. Many of my patients rely on the Pennsylvania equivalents of NJ Access Link (which I have also dealt with), and the problems you write about permeate the PA systems as well. As you pointed out so well, paratransit is a necesary service for the elderly and disabled and the systems seem inefficient and overburdened, as well as underfunded. Much of my time and my patients' time is spent negotiating them. Thanks for bringing attention to this serious issue.
Posted by: Joanne Weill-Greenberg | 08/13/2006 at 07:27 PM