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Capital District Coalition for Accessible Transportation (518) 273-1110 (A Grassroots Disability Coalition located in Albany, New York's Capital Region)
Members of: The Council for Community Service of NYS, (CCSNYS) The National Alliance of Public Transportation Advocates, (NAPTA) Americans for Transportation Mobility, (ATM)
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Updated: March 19, 2008 Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) How did you get started making a Coalition? One day, after having yet another problem while riding a STAR bus, Donna, the founder, resolved to go to a STAR Town Meeting. There she met others who were having the same problems and worse. They exchanged numbers and talked by email and over the phone. They spoke to the Independent Living Centers, Center for the Disabled and VESID and they offered their support and assistance. The group held their first meeting at the Independent Living Center of the Hudson Valley in their conference room, made goals, created a name for the organization and that was the beginning of CDCAT! I want to start a transportation coalition in my community. Do you have any tips? 1. Have people interested who want to really work on issues, not just socialize. Make sure the people want to help EVERYONE, and don't just have their own agenda or problems they want corrected. 2. Resolve to be professional and organized, even if you are a simple grassroots group. Research transportation and be ready to digest a LOT of information because there's a lot out there. There's also a lot of help too. Easter Seals and NAPTA both offer assistance with transportation issues. Don't be afraid to ask questions! 3. You'll need a computer, printer, fax machine and scanner or regular access to them. You'll need the backing of your local Independent Living Centers, who should be glad to have a group of people interested in this long neglected issue. Get other organizations involved too. Most of all, you need dedication and a lot of time. 4. What do you want to do? Social Work or Systemic Change? Social work is assisting people with paratransit applications, appeals answering questions etc. Systemic change is meeting with the transit companies, medical transporters , keeping up with board meetings for public transit, developing interest in transportation issues with everyone from organizations to senators. We do a little of both. We want to help PEOPLE and this also allows us to find out what problems are the most prevalent. We also work on issues from the other end, by meeting with the transportation agency and work on STATEWIDE issues with other transportation advocates across New York State. 5. Get funding! There are a lot of places where grants are available. Some are for small grassroots organizations like this. Independent Living Centers and other disability organizations may be willing to fund smaller amounts like postage for mailings, a meeting room at their office for your monthly use, payment to an organization for membership etc. Why is funding the last thing on the list? Because contrary to popular belief, you don't need a lot of money to organize and run a small coalition and you still can accomplish amazing things! We're funded currently on donations, including our local Independent Living Center's use of a meeting room, mentoring, and assistance, advertising, postage etc. This doesn't mean not to seek a grant or two. It means though that you can do a lot just with determination, a computer or two (or use of them) and dedicated people who want to make real changes! See our successes page for what can be accomplished on a (broken) shoestring budget. I'm in another state. Can you help me? I'm sorry, I can't guarantee it. We're a small organization and we barely have time to assist people in the Capital Region in NY. Another point is that people in your area will know how your transportation system is set up and who to contact and we won't. If you mail, and we have a free moment, we'll either try to give you a fast answer or direct you to someone who can. Your best bet though is your local Independent Living Center. You can also join the National Transportation link below
for the American Coalition for Accessible Transportation Information that
was set up for just this purpose - To join transportation advocates all
over the US)
I'm in another area of New York. Can you help me? I can try to give you the name of someone in your area who can assist you, yes. What do you get the most complaints on? 1. By far the most questions and complaints that come in are on public transportation for people with disabilities. Both line buses and paratransit (STAR) get complaints. This is why you see so much about it on our website. 2. Calling out Stops for Line buses iis still a big issue, even with the enunciators. 3. Taxi service. Wheelchair accessible Taxis are coming to the Albany, NY area! We're slowly achieving our goals! 4. Medicaid Transportation (Access, MTM) problem resolution, much of which is a problem with the transporter, then problems with taxi, rail and air. We really don't get many calls about air travel. Either these are going unreported or they are being reported to other sources, such as the airline, and being resolved. STAR service is wonderful! Thank you, we are happy you think so and take that as a complement because we've worked hard for change. You should know STAR wasn't so wonderful a few years back and we fought hard for the changes YOU are seeing. Some newer customers didn't see the major problems that many of us lived through and fought to have changed. Quite honestly, STAR isn't what it should be. Sometimes a few customers luck out and never have any problems with STAR. Sometimes, it's all a matter of time. New Customers are happy also with the sudden freedom they have traveling more or less anywhere they need to go and don't realize that STAR must run by Federal laws and that they have rights. We have also always in the past heard not to rock the boat. Sometimes, you just have to take a chance and rock that boat or you will never see change. You can now schedule trips for tomorrow. You couldn't a few years back even though the law has said we should be able to for 15 years. No more standby! You probably don't even know what that was if you are a new customer. It meant you didn't know if you'd get your trip or not till sometimes an hour before the trip. Almost half the people did NOT get their trips either. It was against the law and CDTA finally stopped doing this in 2005 because of us and the Federal Government stepping in and doing a compliance review! Drivers are MUCH more likely to be not only polite, but friendly now. There were quite a few drivers years ago who would yell and intimidate customers. Like that 2.00 fare? We supported CDTA's fare change and the result was a DECREASE in STAR fare. We also pushed for reduced fare cards to be used ALL the time, not only during non-peek times. Like buying your STAR tickets on line? We suggested that and reduced fare online purchases too. We rewrote the STAR application, making it much shorter. CDTA did add the questions about mobility devices) but the rest is ours! You're now able to get large print and braille information from CDTA because of our advocacy. We've accomplished a lot in the past 5 years and working on much more.
Why do we speak about public transportation so much? We aren't biased. We simply get the most complaints about CDTA's public transportation. This sounds bad but remember, there are a lot of disabled people who use public transportation and use it every day as opposed to other forms of transportation like taxis which are more expensive, rail and air. CDTA's accessibility features, like ramps and lifts, are in constant need of repair and a good maintenance system must be maintained. While our public transportation system is by far not nearly the worst out there, that doesn't mean there isn't serious room for improvement. All we want is for the Americans with Disabilities Act 's Transportation Regulations to be followed and that's what we, and all disability advocates, should push for. Are you one of those militant groups that just wants to sue everyone? Nope. We try to meet with the transportation organization or agency and work things out. Matter of fact, we have many successes and have never resorted to even threatening anyone about suing them. While we will inform transportation agencies or companies if they are violating Federal Law, we want to work WITH transportation companies and actually, that's in everyone's best interest. Nothing is perfect.... Some may say, this isn't a perfect world, and we acknowledge it isn't; but that shouldn't be used as an excuse for transportation regulations that were enacted FIFTEEN YEARS AGO to STILL not be in compliance! Federal laws like "next-day service" for paratransit, having public information in accessible format, "calling out stops" by whatever means needed for people with vision disabilities on line buses and properly working accessibility features area must! This starts with making a realistic budget for paratransit so that it meets the needs of the disabled community, with enough buses to handle people with disabilities in real life situations where work, childcare, shopping, religious observation and LIFE simply DEMAND adequate transportation, just like the rest of the Capital Region's citizens who use public transportation! Lets put it this way, would your boss let you get away with not doing even part of your work for 15 years? Do I have to live within 3/4 of a mile from a bus stop to be eligible for STAR (Paratransit Bus)? No. You could live in Florida or California, in fact. Where you live has nothing to do with being approved for paratransit eligibility. How your disability affects your mobility is how paratransit eligibility is determined by Federal law. Once you are approved, you can use paratransit all over the US when traveling tool, as a visitor! (for up to 21 days in each area) I am blind. STAR mailed my re-certification application to me in normal print and I didn't even know I received it. They suspended my service. Help! Call us. We'll talk to STAR to reinstate your service pending receipt of an appropriate form that you can READ. This is required by law. We can also assist you with filling out the application. STAR sent me a letter saying I no-showed 10% of my trips last month and gave me a bunch of dates. They say if I do this again in the next 4 months I'll be suspended. What do I do now! The new STAR Policy was put into effect Dec 13, 2007. There is a pretty extreme STAR no-show policy now in effect for STAR paratransit customers. (Which the coalition is fighting) 1st - Call us if you receive a letter from STAR about no-shows, even if they aren't suspending you. You need to address this immediately and you should have advice from an disability transportation advocate or attorney familiar with disability transportation laws. STAR must abide by Federal law. Federal law says that any no-show that was beyond your control doesn't count. STAR refuses to tell their customers this information. If STAR claims you no-showed 10% or more in 30 days, immediately inform them which of the dates that they list are incorrect (a bus that didn't show up) or that you couldn't go because of something beyond your control. Beyond your control" could be (for example): illness, mobility aid problems, meeting or arrangements canceled by another person so you have no reason to go, emergency, driver went to the wrong door to pick you up, STAR taxi or bus didn't show up, a trip time was mis-scheduled etc. Late Cancellations also count against customers now. 3 of these currently equal 1 no show. If STAR claims you canceled late and you didn't, please let them know. Matter of fact, we heavily suggest keeping records of ALL trips you set up with STAR. We have a form for this in our forms section.
Update 6/2005 - SUCCESS! We made it our mission to have STANDBY abolished in 2005. We've succeeded. STAR is required to give you 100% of your trips 100% of the time (unless weather or other emergency). I'm leaving this up so that the info is available to other areas about any paratransit /transit companies still trying to impose this ADA violation on their customers. "Standby" means that there was no ride set up for you when you called in your trip date and time. It means you have no ride UNLESS a scheduler manually looks for one for you. You may not know if you have a ride until the day of the trip or even a hour before your trip. STANDBY, if used because a transportation agency has what's called "capacity constraints" (not enough buses or drivers for instance), is a violation of the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA). It's also "creating a waiting list" which isn't allowed by the ADA transportation regulations. It's been in use with STAR for over 15 years. Can you imagine CDTA one day saying, "Oopse, we didn't have enough buses today. everyone on routes 22, (insert any bus route number you want here) is on STANDBY. We may pick them up, or not"? I want to go out tomorrow! Is it too late to call STAR? No, not so long as you call them by "close of business" as ADA regulations state. Close of the administrative business office for CDTA is 5:00pm weeknights, weekends, and holidays. STAR told me I have to call in 24 hours in advance at minimum for a trip the next day! Is this right? WRONG! You can call in your trip reservations until the 5pm the day before the trip. For STAR this is: (Weeknights 5:00pm; Weekends and holidays 5:00pm). If someone tells you that you must call in 24 hours in advance, that's absolutely wrong and you should insist on talking to a dispatcher. If they still insist, call the Coalition hotline and we'll help you get your trip scheduled. STAR says I can't make a reservation unless I know the cross street along with the address. This is a new one on us and we can't figure out why a few schedulers claim this. Their own STAR rider's guide policy says all you need is an address. You don't need a cross-street too so this is not true. Ask for someone else. I called STAR but the phone rang and rang. I couldn't even get through to their automated system or where I would be forwarded to a scheduler! Star's new phone system breaks down at times, so does the automated system where you can check your trips and cancel them. If you were calling to cancel a trip, let the scheduler know when you do get through what time you tried, so they won't consider you a late cancel or no show. If you were trying to schedule a next day trip, try to let it ring till STAR answers and tell them when you called (before 5pm) and insist nicely that they schedule your next day trip. Get their NAME. Call CDCAT if they refuse to give you that next day trip. You can also call on the CDTA shuttle line and tell them immediately you are doing so because you can't get through on the regular STAR line, that something is wrong with it. (Shuttle line and STAR line are in the same office). I called STAR at 4:45 when I remembered I had to go out the next day. I got through on the STAR line ok but then it forwarded me to a scheduler and that line rang for over 10 minutes! Then they answered it and slammed me on hold for a minute or two. By the time they answered it it was 5:05 and they wouldn't let me schedule my next day trip because it was after 5pm! Try to schedule your trips as early as possible but ... STAR is still required to schedule next day service trips till 5pm. That means, even if you call at 5:57, they should schedule your next day trip! If you were trying to schedule a next day trip, try to let it ring till STAR answers and tell them when you called (before 5pm) and insist nicely that they schedule your next day trip. Get their NAME. Call CDCAT if they refuse to give you that next day trip. I'm blind. A bus driver for a line bus said he doesn't have to call out the stops for me any more because there's an automated system. The automated system wasn't working right though. Can he still refuse to call out stops? No. Bus drivers are absolutely responsible for calling out stops if the enunciator system isn't working properly or you can't hear it or understand it because it's garbled. Bus drivers should also be calling out their bus number where multiple buses stop. Having an automated system to do this is nice, but if it's wrong, garbled or otherwise not working, the driver is the one responsible to ensure that people with vision disabilities have an idea of where they are while the bus is moving and of course, they are obligated to tell you when you reach your stop. I have vision disabilities. The bus driver missed my stop and let me off about 1/4 mile after it. I had no idea where I was or how to get to my destination. Should the driver have let me off somewhere I didn't ask for? No. Drivers from time to time may miss your stop but they should ask you if you can get to your destination from where they DO let you off. They should give directions as left, right etc so that you know which way to turn and go. If it's too far from your stop and you're totally lost, they should either call a supervisor to transport you to your destination from that stop or the end of the bus run. Someone once said, "I'd complain but I don't want to be hard on STAR Paratransit" This isn't really a frequently said statement, it's rather rare actually, but it's still worth answering here. STAR isn't charity. STAR is a service you pay for that is supposed to be comparable to using the regular buses. Our rights are protected by Federal laws through the American's with Disability Act. If we don't use those laws when we see they aren't being obeyed, we will LOSE them. A lot of people fought HARD to gain these rights for us. We must protect them. If STAR isn't doing something they should be, even though it isn't a "perfect world" we still need to address the issues. If we don't, things tend to get worse, not better. Better planning, organizing and a half decent STAR budget would solve these things, but that's assuming that CDTA 's administration REALLY wants to have enough buses and drivers to meet the REAL current (and future) needs of STAR. But we have it so much better than someone in (name of any 3rd world country) or another US city where no one knows they even have transportation rights. People THERE don't have transportation. I've only heard this a few times too, but it needs to be addressed... This implies that we're being unreasonable or that we don't have patience. We do, believe me, or we wouldn't still be TALKING and meeting with CDTA. We'd be working on demonstrations and ADA complaints! Many of the issues we talk about at meetings have been issues for FIFTEEN YEARS in fact! And quite frankly, we aren't a third world country, we're the CAPITAL of New York in the United States of America! We could say, look at this or that third world country, we have it so much better than they do, or ...but they tried so hard to schedule all those paratransit (STAR) trips last night with only 3 drivers. Sorry - we don't buy into that. Why? Because by now, after YEARS, STAR can predict pretty reliably when peek times of use are and PLAN FOR IT! I'm not talking about emergencies or one time situations, I'm talking about only planning for the bare minimum of buses, where drivers are paid to sit and wait for a bus to be available! I'm talking about budgeting for years that put STAR into the situation that it's in now with too few buses to manage a growing aging population and people with disabilities who just can't use line buses and must use Paratransit. As for our transportation system being better than a third world country, I sincerely hope it is! In some third world countries having a wheelchair is a luxury. Having a paved street or regular meals is unknown. This country should be an example of what's possible to these countries. How far can we reach in the future with accessibility of homes, workplaces, cities and transportation? Saying that we're better than x city, state or country won't give us the future! The future starts by demanding transportation accessibility, that should have happened without demanding, 14 years ago.. NOW. Demand compliance to the ADA or risk losing those hard won rights. These rights were fought for, labored over, and after 15 years to work on transportation regulations, we've been patient enough I'd think ... waiting for someone to "do the right thing" and comply. This is why we push for public transportation to be accessible ... emphatically. My organization, service coordinators, social workers etc. have trouble getting STAR applications approved. Even filling them out is difficult. We're happy to speak about the Coalition or disability transportation to any agency, organization or group in the Capital District. Should your agency or organization/support group with to schedule something of this nature, please give us a call at (518) 273-1110. At least for now, this is free!
"To never try, is to never succeed. Reach for your dreams." 
Last Updated: 03/19/2008 | |||||||
