The U.S. Senate passed a Federal transportation bill but the House of Representatives remains divided on its own version of the legislation. The bill calls for the reauthorization of funding for state projects.
The Senate’s two-year reauthorization bill for $109 billion, known as H.R. 7, was passed on March 14th. The House of Representatives is now debating a five-year $260 billion bill but House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) is reportedly considering opting for the Senate’s version instead.
Barbara Yanger, a reporter who uses a wheelchair, was injured at a January 1st press conference as she boarded a Veolia-operated bus in Garden City.
Yanger, who hosts two public access television shows for Cablevision Long Island, fell backward from the ramp as her chair tipped from the incline and she hit her head on the pavement.
The Suffolk County Disabilities Advisory Board is looking for ways to reduce late cancellations and no-shows on the Suffolk County Accessible Transit (SCAT) paratransit system following a federal review of the service.
In April 2011, the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) issued a tri-annual report on SCAT that cited a high number of no-shows and late cancellations. The Department of Public Works (DPW) that runs SCAT responded with a proposal to decrease the advance reservation time from 7 days to 3 in the hopes of reducing the no-show rate.
The fight for accessible taxis in New York City has taken two monumental steps forward.
On December 23rd, U.S. District Judge George B. Daniels ruled in favor of Disability Rights Advocates in a class action lawsuit charging the Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC) with discrimination against wheelchair users.
The judge wrote, “It is clear, however, that less than 2% of the city’s fleet being wheelchair accessible, resulting in the unavailability of taxi transportation and significantly increased waiting times for disabled persons who require wheelchairs, is not meaningful access…meaningful access for the disabled to public transportation services is not a utopian goal or political promise, it is a basic civil right.”
On January 1, a private company assumed operating responsibilities for the service formerly known as Long Island Bus, ending the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s (MTA) role in the service.
The system now known as Nassau Inter-County Express (NICE) Bus includes the paratransit service Able-Ride. Veolia Transportation, the company that is now in charge of the service, has promised to maintain the current Able-Ride service area for three years even if changes are made to the fixed route service. Fares will also remain the same.
Nineteen months after being struck by a car while riding his bicycle, Andrew Rosa is coming home.
Rosa, 16, suffered Severe Traumatic Brain Injury and multiple bone fractures on May 17th, 2010 while riding his bike home in Selden, New York. Since then he has had multiple brain surgeries and remains in a “minimal conscious state,” according to the Stay Strong Andrew Foundation.
Please visit www.ablenews.com for the latest news on taxi accessibility.
Legislation to allow livery cabs to pick up street hails in the outer boroughs and increase the number of accessible medallions has been stalled.
The legislation was passed in June but Governor Andrew Cuomo said he will not sign the bill until several issues have been resolved, including wheelchair accessibility.
The first Commissioner of the New York City Mayor’s Office for People with Disabilities has died.
Matthew Sapolin, 41, passed away on November 29th. The cause of death was cancer, which he had battled since childhood.
Sapolin was born in Islip, New York. He became blind at age five from bilateral retinoblastoma, a cancer affecting the optic nerve.
He held a BA in Philosophy from New York University (NYU), where he was co-captain of the wrestling team. Sapolin earned the University Athletic Association Athlete of the Week honor three times and received the President's Service Award for Volunteerism and Community Service upon graduating. He also held an MA in Public Health Administration from NYU’s Wagner School of Public Service.
U.S. Senator Tom Harkin of Iowa, who introduced the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), is weighing in on the accessible taxi debate in New York City.
Harkin held a hearing called “The Americans with Disabilities Act and Accessible Transportation: Challenges and Opportunities” November 17th to reflect on recent developments including a class action discrimination lawsuit by the Taxis For All Campaign against the City’s Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC).
The Health, Education, Labor & Pensions Committee sponsored the hearing where experts in the field were invited to speak.
The New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC) unanimously approved a regulation change to allow wheelchair users to sit in the front of taxi and livery vehicles, paving the way for the industry to purchase MV-1 vehicles.
The MV-1, which is manufactured with a ramp at production, is considered more durable than vehicles that are retrofitted to become accessible later.
Production of the MV-1 began several weeks ago and there is already a back order of 4,000 vehicles, with the first 1,000 sold out. Fred Drasner, chair of the Vehicle Production Group that makes the MV-1 said the company plans to sell 12,000 vehicles next year. The MV-1 sells for about $39,000 and Drasner said the vehicle’s fuel efficiency and natural gas incentives from the government will help offset the cost.
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