![]() ![]() The parties to the lawsuit have been in settlement talks for weeks, and are expected to continue, Maryland Disability Law Center litigation director Lauren Young said, but no one can comment on the status of the case. Capital News Service photo by Grace Toohey. She said she thinks she has it easier to work Mobility’s system than some customers because she is Internet savvy, which many of the elderly riders are not. Cheryl Gottlieb uses a walker to assist her as she boards her ride from MTA’s Mobility’s door-to-door service. Yes, there are areas of improvement,” Barnes said. “We are proud of the services we offer, serving the 7,000 trips every day. But in the last few months the on-time performance percentage has dropped to the low- to mid-80s, Barnes said. Larry Hogan’s appointee, Paul Comfort, took over the position May 11. Barnes served as the interim MTA administrator until Gov. The on-time performance goal for Mobility is 90 percent, which the service regularly meets, said Rob Barnes, senior deputy administrator for MTA. “We just got through a couple bad months, the weather was the definite impact.” ![]() “I think we’re doing well but we can do better,” said Dan O’Reilly, MTA Mobility director. Each ride isn’t considered late until it extends beyond the 30-minute scheduling window. Riders are supposed to pre-schedule their rides, either with the Mobility call center or through an online system, which has a program that works to organize about 7,000 daily rides. Mobility buses operate in Baltimore City, Anne Arundel County and Baltimore County anywhere within ¾ of a mile radius of a fixed-route transportation system. A paratransit option is federally mandated under the ADA to provide comparable transportation for people with disabilities. The Maryland Disability Law Center and the AARP Foundation filed a class action lawsuit in January against the state’s transit administration and the Maryland Department of Transportation for improperly denying eligibility and access to paratransit services, thus a violation of the American with Disabilities Act.īecause of her disability, Jackson is one of about 25,000 residents who are qualified and certified to use Maryland Transit Administration’s Mobility services as an alternative to fixed-route systems, like the local bus, light rail system or metro/subway lines. Capital News Service photo courtesy of Kathy Owens. Jackson, who is an incomplete quadriplegic, uses the alternative transportation service to go to work, meetings, meet friends and go shopping, which is why it’s reliability is crucial for her and thousands in the area. “We are in the process of being neglected and abused by the system every day.” Janice Jackson has used MTA Mobility for 31 years, and she said recently the service has been the worst she has ever seen it. “In 31 years, this is the worst I’ve ever seen Mobility,” said Jackson, who is an incomplete quadriplegic and executive director of Women Embracing Abilities Now, a mentoring program for young women with disabilities that focuses on their abilities. It wasn’t.Ībout four and half hours later, after the call center continued to tell Jackson 5 or 10 more minutes, after a phone call and visit with the police, after her phone died and she soiled her pants for fear of missing her ride to go inside to use the bathroom-a Mobility bus picked her up. “They said it would be there in 10 minutes,” Jackson, 55, said. she rang Mobility’s call center to inquire about her late ride. She waited the 30-minute leeway, and at 3 p.m. so she could make it to a meeting in Towson. She had a ride scheduled with Maryland Transit Administration’s Mobility, the paratransit service for people with disabilities in the Baltimore area, to pick her up at 2:30 p.m. BALTIMORE - Janice Jackson sat outside Walmart waiting. ![]()
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