GILROY
– Disabled residents Wednesday put faces and names on the impact
a Valley Transportation Authority cost-savings proposal will have
on their ability to get around.
GILROY – Disabled residents Wednesday put faces and names on the impact a Valley Transportation Authority cost-savings proposal will have on their ability to get around.
At Gilroy City Hall yesterday, VTA officials held one of several public forums unveiling $1.7 million of cost-savings proposals for its Outreach program – a paratransit service for public transportation users who are too disabled to ride the bus or light rail.
Roughly two-dozen elderly and disabled residents – along with cab drivers, social workers and health-care professionals – attended Wednesday’s session. They are hoping that the level of service they have grown used to in Gilroy, Morgan Hill and San Martin does not diminish as the VTA tries to recover from a $50 million revenue shortfall.
“These are very tough business decisions about a human service program,” said George Tacke, VTA’s manager of accessible services. “We’re not saying there isn’t a lot of need, we’re only suggesting there is a limit to what VTA can provide.”
Before taking public comment, VTA officials explained how the agency is proposing to save money on paratransit. VTA staff is recommending that, by June 5, its board adopt the following policy changes:
• Disallow customers from scheduling trips once a negative account balance of $15 has been reached.
• Discontinue door-to-door escorting to increase the number of hourly rides. Under the new policy, drivers would not walk a rider from their door to the car upon drop-off.
• Limit service to three-quarters of a mile from the nearest bus or light rail service.
Under the federal Americans with Disabilities Act, paratransit must be provided up to three-quarters of a mile from a bus or light rail stop. The VTA is currently operating paratransit well beyond that distance.
The policies would make it impossible for many of the customers at City Hall Wednesday to get served in the future. For many, their Hecker Pass and Pacheco Pass homes exceed the three-quarter mile limit. For others whose homes lie within the boundary, they worry that without door-to-service they will not hear or see when their cab arrives.
“Everyone in this room is unserviceable except those who live at Wheeler (a senior living home in Gilroy),” said Barbara Serrano. “Yellow Cab drivers get paid by the mile, not hourly, so giving clients door-to-door service is not going to save you any money.”
Serrano is a driver for Yellow Cab Company which is contracted by the VTA for paratransit. The company claims VTA could save $9.4 million if it used their services more exclusively in South County. Yellow Cab charges $2.30 per mile, while another company that contracts with, ATC, charges more than twice that amount, Yellow Cab Operations Manager Dave Logan said.
“I’ve got an unlimited amount of drivers who can work that area (South County) and here the VTA is in hard economic times,” Logan said. “It’s very frustrating right now.”
Tacke, however, claims that the per mile fees do not affect costs.
“The way we structured our contract, it doesn’t matter how far they have to drive to pick up a customer,” Tacke said last week.
But riders Wednesday advocated for more Yellow Cab service nonetheless.
Several clients said Yellow Cab drivers were more familiar with South County roads than ATC drivers. If all vendors were as familiar with the area as Yellow Cab, VTA’s goal of increasing rides per hour could be accomplished without cutting door-to-door service, clients argued.
The public will get more opportunities to opine about VTA’s cost-cutting proposals. There is a series of workshops scheduled from 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. May 15 at San Jose City Hall. The board is slated to make its decision June 5 during its 6 p.m. session held at the Board of Supervisors’ Chambers at 70 West Hedding St. in San Jose.
Protesters announced they will gather before tonight’s VTA meeting. They are fighting against a soon-to-be implemented reduction in bus service and fare hike.
