5 AND SIDEWALKS, TO PLACE THE LIFTS IN OPERATION WOULD HAVE BEEN FUTILE. MEANWHILE, THE BUSES CONTINUED TO BE OPERATED THROUGHOUT THIS PERIOD DESPITE THE FACT THAT THE LIFTS THEMSELVES WERE NOT BEING USED. ABOUT TWO WEEKS LATER, IT WAS DECIDED THAT THE LIFTS SHOULD BE CYCLED AT LEAST ONCE A DAY TO PREVENT SALT OR OTHER CORROSION FROM PERMANENTLY DAMAGING THE LIFTS. UNFORTUNATELY, CONSIDERABLE DAMAGE HAD ALREADY BEEN DONE AND, OF THE FIRST TEN BUSES THAT WERE CYCLED, SEVEN OF THE LIFTS DID NOT WORK AND DISABLED THE BUSES. IT WAS NECESSARY TO STOP THE CYCLING EFFORT AND COMPLETELY REWORK EVERY LIFT AND MAKE SURE THAT FROM THEN ON THEY WERE CYCLED EVERY DAY AS THEY WENT THROUGH THEIR TAKING AND WASHING PROCESS EVEN THOUGH THEY WERE NOT ACTUALLY IN USE. ON APRIL 18, 1979, 50 BUSES WITH OPERABLE LIFTS WERE PLACED IN SERVICE ON FIVE ROUTES. ON MAY 28, 1979, A SIXTH ROUTE WAS ADDED BRINGING THE TOTAL BUS REQUIREMENT TO 59. IT SHOULD BE NOTED THAT IN MAY, 1979, UMTA ISSUED REGULATIONS REQUIRING THAT 50% OF A BUS FLEET BE LIFT-EQUIPPED WITHIN TEN IN 1980, AN ADDITIONAL 150 LIFT-EQUIPPED BUSES WERE YEARS. DELIVERED AND LIFT SERVICE WAS EXPANDED TO 17 ROUTES. USAGE OF THE LIFT-EQUIPPED BUSES BY WHEELCHAIR USERS WAS MINIMAL. ON THE OTHER HAND, THE RIDERSHIP ON THE USER-SIDE SUBSIDY PROGRAM GREW RAPIDLY AND WAS CLEARLY THE CHOICE OF ELIGIBLE DISABLED INDIVIDUALS. THE FACT THAT USAGE OF A FIXED ROUTE TRANSIT SYSTEM REQUIRES THAT AN INDIVIDUAL MUST INDEPENDENTLY TRANSPORT HIMSELF OR HERSELF TO A BUS STOP, APPEARS TO HAVE MORE TO DO WITH SYSTEM THAN THE ENTRANCE STEPS OF "ROGRAM, BY PROVIDING DOOR-TO-DOOR PER RIDE TO THE INDIVIDUALS, WAS NTATION MODE OF THE MOBILITY-IMPAIRED "HE TOTAL RIDERSHIP ON LIFT-EQUIPPED OF OPERATION WAS EQUAL TO LESS THAN -SIDE SUBSIDY PROGRAM. IN A TYPICAL WAY TRIPS WERE TAKEN ON LIFT-EQUIPPED ON THE OTHER HAND, OVER 10,000 TRIPS SAIR USERS IN THE USER-SIDE SUBSIDY S WITH DISABILITIES WERE REGISTERED A FEWER THAN 25 DIFFERENT INDIVIDUALS IN APRIL, 1982, AN AGREEMENT WAS REACHED WITH THE DISABILITY COMMUNITY TO DISCONTINUE THE LIFT-EQUIPPED BUS OPERATION AND TO CONCENTRATE OUR EFFORTS ON THE USER-SIDE SUBSIDY PROGRAM. IN 1989, A MONTHLY AVERAGE OF 30,000 DISABLED RIDERS, OF WHICH 80 PERCENT OR 24,000 ARE WHEELCHAIR USERS, ARE USING THE USER-SIDE SUBSIDY PROGRAM. 7,600 PERSONS ARE REGISTERED TO USE THE SERVICE, OF WHICH 6,100 ARE WHEELCHAIR USERS. THE AVERAGE SUBSIDY HAS BEEN $7.98 PER RIDE. COSTWISE AND SERVICEWISE, THIS PROGRAM HAS PROVEN TO BE AN EFFECTIVE MEANS OF MOBILITY FOR THE DISABLED COMMUNITY. MAINTENANCE COSTS PER THE LIFTS IN THE 250 LIFT-EQUIPPED BUSES HAD AN ORIGINAL COST OF $2,500,000. BECAUSE OF THE HOSTILE ENVIRONMENT, THE LIFTS WHICH WERE LOCATED IN THE STEPWELLS AND EXPOSED TO THE ELEMENTS (NOT AN INSIGNIFICANT CONSIDERATION IN MILWAUKEE), THERE WERE FREQUENT AND CHRONIC MAINTENANCE PROBLEMS. LIFT APPROXIMATED $2,000 ANNUALLY OR A TOTAL OF ALMOST $500,000 PER YEAR. ON A PER RIDE BASIS, MAINTENANCE COST ALONE APPROXIMATED $1,000. THE USER-SIDE SUBSIDY PROGRAM, ON THE OTHER HAND, REQUIRES NO PUBLIC CAPITAL INVESTMENT AND THE PUBLIC COST PER RIDE AVERAGES $8.00. THE USER-SIDE SUBSIDY PROGRAM HAS INCREASED THE PARTICIPATION OF DISABLED MILWAUKEEANS IN OUR COMMUNITY EVEN THOUGH THE METHOD USED MAY BE A SEPARATE TRANSIT SERVICE AND NOT CONSIDERED MAINSTREAMING. THIS PROGRAM, HOWEVER, REPRESENTS WHAT MAY BE TERMED "EFFECTIVE MAINSTREAMING," ELIMINATING THOSE ASPECTS OF USING A TRANSIT SYSTEM WHICH PREVENTS ACCESS TO THAT SYSTEM, BUT 8 PROVIDING THE INDIVIDUAL WITH ACTUAL MOBILITY SO THAT HE OR SHE CAN BE IN THE MAINSTREAM OF SOCIETY. ALTHOUGH IMPROVEMENTS HAVE BEEN MADE IN BUS LIFT TECHNOLOGY SINCE THE MILWAUKEE EXPERIENCE, THE POINT IS THAT ONLY A RELATIVELY FEW DISABLED PERSONS HAVE EFFECTIVE ACCESS TO ACCESSIBLE TRANSIT VEHICLES. MOBILITY. THE ACCESSIBLE BUS PROVIDES, AT BEST, BUS STOP TO BUS STOP PERHAPS WITH EXPERIENCE, TECHNOLOGY WILL OVERCOME THE DIFFICULTIES WE HAD WITH THE LIFT AND A MUCH IMPROVED LIFT IS POSSIBLE. HOWEVER, THE UNFORTUNATE TRUTH OF THE MATTER IS THAT HOWEVER PERFECT THE TECHNOLOGY, LIFT-EQUIPPED BUSES CANNOT PROVIDE EFFECTIVE MOBILITY FOR MOST DISABLED PERSONS IN AREAS SUCH AS MILWAUKEE COUNTY. THE BARRIERS FOR THE TYPICAL DISABLED PERSON IN A WHEELCHAIR TO GET TO A BUS STOP ARE OFTENTIMES MUCH MORE SEVERE HILLS THAN THE BUS STEPS THEMSELVES. THIS CAN INCLUDE THE LACK OF FAMOUS. AS A SOCIETY, WE MAY BE WILLING AND ABLE TO BUILD SIDEWALKS WITH CURB CUTS THROUGHOUT RURAL AND URBAN COMMUNITIES AND TO REDUCE DISTANCES TO THE BUS STOPS. HOWEVER, IT IS SAFE TO SAY WE WILL NEVER BE ABLE TO CONTROL OR MODIFY THE INCLEMENT WEATHER THAT CREATES A NATURAL BARRIER TO WHEELCHAIR TRAVEL IN LARGE PORTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. SNOW, ICE AND COLD ARE PART OF LIFE IN MILWAUKEE FROM THE END OF NOVEMBER TO THE BEGINNING OF APRIL. OUR 9 IS 40 TO 42 INCHES AND THE MEAN WINTER 28 DEGREES. INSIDENT KNOWS AND UNDERSTANDS THE DIFFERENCE **R FORDER SNOWFALL WHICH MELTS OFF IN A DAY OR TWO HEAVY ACCUMULATION WHICH COVERS THE GROUND AND PILES HIGHER INTO THE WINTER. WHEN WE GET A MILD MELT DOWN "ARE ABOVE FREEZING DAY, THE SLUSH MELTS FROM UNDER THE 'R ONLY TO FREEZE INTO SLICK ICE AS TEMPERATURES DIP DURING T. IF EACH HOUSEHOLD HAS NOT SHOVELED THAT SLUSH ON THE DAY OF THE SNOWFALL, A HAZARDOUS PATH OF ICE BUILDS AND MAY IN ADDITION, WHEN THE WIND BLOWS ACROSS THE SNOW SURFACE IT ATES WHAT WE KNOW AS WINDCHILL. THE ACTUAL TEMPERATURE MAY BE 48 DEGREES. HOWEVER, THE WINDCHILL ON THE SAME DAY MAY BE CLOSER TO 10 DEGREES. TRAVAILING THE SNOW AND ICE TO WAIT 15 OR 20 MINUTES IN 10 DEGREE WINDCHILL FOR A BUS CHALLENGES THE SOUL OF EVEN THE MOST DETERMINED WISCONSINITE. BASED ON THE MILWAUKEE EXPERIENCE, PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES PREFER, IF NOT REQUIRE, DOOR-TO-DOOR SERVICE. BUT DON'T TAKE MY WORD FOR IT. THE DISABLED OF MILWAUKEE HAVE EXPRESSED THEMSELVES NOT BY POLITICAL PRESSURE, NOT BY IN THE MOST DRAMATIC FASHION BUT BY ACTUALLY USING PARATRANSIT OVER ACCESSIBLE BUSES WHEN BOTH WERE AVAILABLE. OUR RIDERSHIP COUNT ON ACCESSIBLE BUSES (ATTACHED) SHOWS THE SHARP DECLINE DURING WINTER MONTHS. |