Innovative Practices #8: The Purpose Built Paratransit Bus

FRIENDLY BUS - This is a new low-floor bus that had it's debut at last fall's BusCon Trade Show. It is designed by Dallas Smith Corporation, built by StarTrans, and distributed by American Bus Products. It has a 'step-in' height of 8" and can go as low as 5" using the "kneeling" feature. Fold-out ramps can be positioned on the side, rear, or both. For seat/wheelchair configuration: there are all kinds of factory options available, and the now standard flip-up seats for flexibility. This is very impressive. Just the kind of purpose built bus I talked about previously in "Building A Better Paratransit Bus".

Using the Ford F-450 front wheel drive (truck) platform instead of the rear wheel Chev or Ford van chassis is certainly a departure from existing designs. If the air-ride suspension is as good as advertised, that will certainly be appreciated by riders who have come to accept bone jarring rides as inevitable with paratransit buses. And the whole of issue of improved accessibility with low-floor buses is the direction we have to go. It's what we're all about. Of course there's a price to all this. But there are also costs associated with the industry standard 'mini-school bus' design, such as expensive lifts that require frequent maintenance and use up valuable floor space.

PACE Paratransit's Troubles Not Uncommon

CHICAGO - It's almost painful to watch the difficulties that RTA's PACE Paratransit Services and it's users have been going though in the past weeks. A new $3 million dollar automated dispatch and trip reservation system was implemented on March 28. All seemed well until the final service provider was added on April 1 (no joke), the system then became overwhelmed and crashed. After several attempts to make adjustments and overhaul the system, the problems continue. Users responded by Metro Seniors in Action organizing a rally outside Mayor Daley’s office. A local TV station's coverage can be found here.


These changes would have been brought in for three primary reasons. PACE Paratransit has been experiencing chronic service difficulties for years, and this was intended to address the problem. Another reason is that in the long run the investment will be worth it because of the cost savings in improved efficiency. And finally, as demand grows and the service expands you need a system that can grow with it, and automation is the way to go. In short, management did what (according to current prevailing industry wisdom) would be considered appropriate, and yet their in this mess. And once you've made a commitment like this - there's no going back. PACE will work through this. It has to.


It is difficult to watch not only because of the obvious and unnecessary hardships which the users have been subjected to, but because this could happen to any paratransit system attempting to implement or even upgrade their scheduling, dispatching, or trip reservation systems. It is not uncommon. This is just on a bigger scale. So, what do you do if a problem is systemic throughout an industry? You get together, share experiences, discuss, identify commonalities, and come up with a better model of implementation. APTA's upcoming Bus & Paratransit Conference would be provide an ideal venue for this. The leading software developers will be represented there, as will paratransit managers and the like. This is not an isolated case, nor will it be the last; everyone has a stake in this.

Paratransit Song

PARATRANSIT SONG - This little ditty comes to us courtesy the good folks at the National Federation of the Blind (NFB). It was included as part of the entertainment at the banquet for the NFB's 2007 Convention. It is sung to the tune of Clementine.

"Para-transit, para-transit, para-transit, I did ride.
You have hurt my heart and soul, but most of all you hurt my pride.
Had a rendezvous with my sweetheart set the time for half past eight.
By the time it finally got there, it was almost three hours late." more

Listen to the mp3.

Paratransit Included in Disaster Response Network

DISASTER RESPONSE NETWORK - In the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, the U.S. Federal Government identified the need for a national ambulance response plan to bolster the state and regional plans that were overwhelmed by those catastrophic events of 2005. Besides ground and air ambulance; paratransit has been recognized as one of the services needed to augment the Federal and Military response to a disaster, act of terrorism, or other public health emergency.

To implement this initiative, FEMA has awarded American Medical Response (AMR) the contract to provide these services in the 21 states along the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts. AMR is America's largest provider of medical transportation services, locally operated in 37 states and the District of Columbia. To supplement AMR's own resources, they are inviting private providers, public agencies, volunteers, and others to join the team of network providers. This national network is intended to compliment and support other existing plans, agreements, and resources.

Because so much of what the paratransit industry does is done in conjunction with public transit, I think it is easy for us to forget that there is a medical need behind it all. We shouldn't undervalue the work we do. By and large, paratransit providers put alot of effort and investment into specialized training and equipment to serve the disabled and elderly. And that community, locally or elsewhere, are especially vulnerable during a disaster. Involvement in this program would mean that whether your local area was directly effected or not; you or your organization could contribute to a disaster response in a meaningful, effective, and timely way.

You can find out more about AMR's Disaster Response here. Any questions can be directed to:

Troy Lambert, REMT-P
National Para-Transit Disaster Manager/DRT Recruiter
Troy.Lambert@AMR.net
Telephone: (228) 897-6643
Fax: (866) 836-3019

Website Review #3: Metro Magazine

METRO MAGAZINE - I think it is unfortunate that the Paratransit Industry does not have a trade publication of it's own. A place where ideas could be shared, news spread, topics discussed. So, it is at least encouraging to see one transportation industry magazine make an effort to include some paratransit content.

Metro Magazine's Paratransit Central page brings together relevant news items and feature articles, with links to recent editions of their Annual Paratransit Survey. These surveys are an interesting read. While brief, they provide an informed industry-wide snap shot of current trends. They include: Operators Squeezed by Lean Finances (2005), Paratransit Providers Strive to Balance Costs and Demand (2006), Despite Challenges, Paratransit Providers Find Ways to Improve Service (2007).

I don't think it would be unrealistic to suggest that a publication such as this could go a step further and try including Paratransit as one of their regular "departments"- a page or two each edition for a trial period of a year. Line up some advertisers: Q-Straint, Trapeze, Ricon; they may welcome the chance to market directly to a particular segment of the market. As well, it would broaden the appeal of the magazine, and hopefully that could be reflected in increased subscriptions. Just floating an idea.

The most recent issue of Metro Magazine is best viewed though it's home page. Past issues can be accessed here. As well, there is Metro Directory for products and services, including some paratransit.

Donate-A-Bus

BUS DONATIONS - I was going to do a post on this around Christmas, (I don't know, maybe it's the Grinch in me) but there is just so many charities asking for help at that time of year that I begin to tune them out. Here is one that may be of some interest to paratransit providers: the Special Kids Fund accepts donations of accessible vans and matches them with recipients. The donor receives a 'fair market value' tax deduction and of course the satisfaction of giving to some individual or organization something that will be truly appreciated.

As good as this organization looks, I think the first place to consider giving back to is your own backyard - local group homes, special needs community support, cerebral palsy association etc. - organizations that the paratransit provider would already be familiar with. When it's finally time to retire an old bus, this would be a fitting way of giving back to the community that benefits everybody.

On the Air in Santa Cruz

SANTA CRUZ, CALIFORNIA - Although this is not the most recent of news stories, the format by which it is presented makes it worthy of some attention. It's not every day that paratransit gets 2 hours of airtime on the local talk radio station, but such was the case March 3, 2004 in Santa Cruz on KSCO. That day, the Saturday Morning Special (hosted by Michael Zwerling, aka. MZ), featured Sam Storey (Community Bridges, the non-profit community organization that runs the local paratransit service: Lift Line), Bryant Baehr (Santa Cruz Metro), and Mike Bradshaw (Central Coast Center for Independent Living).

The prompting for the sudden interest in paratransit came from former KSCO host and local personality, Dave Alan. Mr. Alan had in 2000 been the victim of a stroke which left him in a wheelchair and was now a user of the paratransit services offered in Santa Cruz County. The transit service to the area where he lived had recently been cut by Santa Cruz Metro, and consequently meant he no longer had access to ADA Paratransit.

The program is about much more than Dave Alan's experiences, but they do provide an interesting case in point that the panel can refer. This could be a 'Anywhere, USA' kind of news story, as the challenges facing paratransit in Santa Cruz County are pretty much what everybody is up against. Nothing really gets solved, but bringing all the players to the same table to have an informative open public discussion can't hurt.

An MP3 of the program is available here. Or if you prefer, go to the Saturday Specials Archive and find the program for March 3, 2004.