Over the past decade, a local activist has fought for New York State to expand its paratransit system beyond the federal minimum distance it can go. Stephanie Speaker's own experiences with paratransit, the point-to-point public transportation system for people with disabilities, not being able to reach where she needs to go has galvanized her to secure funding and potential legislation that could expand the system. This week, WBFO's Emyle Watkins shares an interview with Speaker from 2023 about her work and why she wants to see paratransit go farther.
PLAIN LANGUAGE DESCRIPTION: Paratransit is a bus service created by the federal government to offer an accessible alternative to the main bus system which goes along the same route every day. Paratransit is for people with disabilities and seniors to be picked up at one destination and dropped at another, rather than having to walk or roll to a bus stop, wait, ride, and then get dropped at another bus stop and have to walk or roll to their destination. However, right now the federal government only requires this bus to go three-fourths of a mile beyond where the main bus routes go. Because of this, some people with disabilities who need to get picked up or dropped off from a certain place, can't be picked up or dropped off where they need to be because the bus won't go far enough for them.
Stephanie Speaker, an activist with a disability, experienced this herself. Ten years ago, when she got dropped off a mile and a half from where she needed to go, she decided someone needed to fix this problem. She met Mickey Kearns, who was a New York State assembly member at the time, and he helped her introduce a law that would make all paratransit buses in New York State go three miles beyond where the main line bus route goes. This change would cost the state money, so Stephanie also advocated and got $750,000 that the NFTA, or the bus authority in Erie and Niagara County, is now using to study what it would cost and what they would have to change to make the paratransit bus go farther. Her law still hasn't passed because the state still needs to put money towards the change.
TRANSCRIPT
Emyle Watkins: Hi. I am Emyle Watkins, and this is the WBFO Disabilities Beat.
Back in 2014, paratransit rider Stephanie Speaker walked into then-Assembly member Mickey Kearns' Southgate Plaza office for the first time. Paratransit, which is meant to provide point-to-point public transportation for people with disabilities, including Speaker, didn't reach the West Seneca Development Center, where she needed to go to access disability services. Instead, it dropped her a mile and a half away at the Southgate Plaza, because federal law only sets a minimum distance paratransit has to go beyond a mainline route. And after bringing the issue to Kearns' doorstep, Speaker started on a now decade-long campaign to make paratransit in New York State go farther. Here's part of an interview I did with Speaker in 2023 about the vital transportation system she believes needs to change.
Emyle Watkins: So, for people who aren't familiar with paratransit, how does it work when you take a ride?
Stephanie Speaker: Paratransit, it costs $70 for 20 trips, and if you don't have the bus pass, then it's $4 each way, and you got to call in the day before because you cannot make paratransit arrangements on the same day.
Emyle Watkins: When paratransit comes, what makes it different than the mainline bus?
Stephanie Speaker: The little bus comes and picks you up, PAL [Paratransit Access Line] bus, picks you up at home, and they give you a window like mine was, say, 11:30 to 12 o'clock today. Then when they come back and pick you up, you got a window, and the window I have is between 4 and 4:30 today.
Emyle Watkins: Paratransit only goes a certain distance beyond the mainline. Right?
Stephanie Speaker: Right.
Emyle Watkins: And so if you live near a route, let's call it Route Six, and that Route Six goes down the main road, but you live on a road off of that, if you are beyond three-fourths of a mile, you can't get picked up by paratransit. Right?
Stephanie Speaker: Right.
Emyle Watkins: So the issue you're describing is that people need to go to a location that's not within that service zone, and so they're getting dropped far away from where they need to be.
Stephanie Speaker: Yes.
Emyle Watkins: For you personally, how often does this happen to you where you need to go somewhere that's not in the service range?
Stephanie Speaker: Well, there's people that got stuck like me a couple of times. Paratransit, you could get to Sweet Home High School for track and field, but they have to pick you up between 4:30 and 5:00 o'clock, when the thing doesn't start until 6:30. Then they can't come back and pick you up until 8:45 to 9:15 at night.
Emyle Watkins: Do you feel like this system isn't reliable for people?
Stephanie Speaker: I'm trying to fix that up. Yes. I think it is unreliable for people because paratransit the people that need it, they can't get it.
Emyle Watkins: When you met Mickey Kearns, he was working in the assembly, right?
Stephanie Speaker: Yes, I met Mickey when he was working in the assembly, yes.
Emyle Watkins: And from my understanding, a lot of people were ending up in the Southgate Plaza, where his office was, and showing him this issue.
Stephanie Speaker: Yes.
Emyle Watkins: How did the bill come about that you ended up working on?
Stephanie Speaker: I talked to Mickey, and I said, "Mickey." I said, "Do you think you can help me?" He said, "What do you need help with?" And I said, "I need help with getting better transportation for me, my friends, the veterans, and the seniors." I said, "Do you think you can help me?" He went to me, he goes, "How would you like to get a bill started, Stephanie?" I said, "Okay, let's do it." So I've been working on it for nine years. I got $750,000 through Senator Kennedy.
Emyle Watkins: And so that was back in 2022, correct? That they provided this, the $750,000 -
Stephanie Speaker: Yes.
Emyle Watkins: - to evaluate if your bill is essentially feasible for them to do?
Stephanie Speaker: Yes. April of 2022.
Emyle Watkins: What would Stephanie's Bill do?
Stephanie Speaker: Stephanie's Bill would make paratransit go further. It would go three miles instead of three-quarters of a mile.
Emyle Watkins: Because that three-quarters of a mile is the federal minimum, correct?
Stephanie Speaker: Yes.
Emyle Watkins: And what kind of difference would that make for people? Are there people who can't get to work or medical appointments right now?
Stephanie Speaker: Yes, and three miles would make it more accessible for people to get around, go to their doctors appointments, go to stores, go wherever they have to go. Right now, paratransit is good, but it's not as good as it could be.
Emyle Watkins: And I know you mentioned that there's been times where you or people have been stranded or needed immediate transportation. Can you give us an example of what you've done in that situation?
Stephanie Speaker: Yes. The last time I was stuck, they dropped me off at the wrong building. They were supposed to drop me off at the library. I had a self-advocacy thing there. They dropped me off at the Erie County Rath building. The security guard, he come out, and he told me, he goes, "Stephanie," he goes, "you're loitering, young lady." I said, "Can I call my dad?" I said "I don't even know where I am." So I finally got in touch with my dad. My dad had to come pick me up and then stay with me for the whole entire day and then take me back home again.
Emyle Watkins: So it's a matter of your independence too as a person with a disability?
Stephanie Speaker: Yes. I try to be as independent as I can be because, right now, I want to show mom and dad that I can be independent. And that's hard to do when paratransit is not...
Emyle Watkins: is not allowing you to be?
Stephanie Speaker: Right.
Emyle Watkins: I know The objective of your bill is to expand the distance paratransit goes.
Stephanie Speaker: Yes.
Emyle Watkins: And this study that's being done with that money that you were able to get from the state is going to explore those improvements to paratransit. Are you hoping to see other improvements besides just the distance?
Stephanie Speaker: I would like to see a lot of stuff done with paratransit. I would like to see that you can make reservations on the same day and you can cancel your ride whenever you need to.
Emyle Watkins: What do you think the future of paratransit looks like? What would be the perfect paratransit system to you?
Stephanie Speaker: The perfect? That it would go further and it could help people because right now it only goes three-quarters of a mile and people can't get around.
Emyle Watkins: Thank you so much, Stephanie. I really appreciate your time.
Stephanie Speaker: You're welcome.
Emyle Watkins: The funding Speaker's advocacy secured from the state is currently being used by the NFTA to conduct an expansion study. Stephanie's Bill, which was first introduced by Kearns, still has not been passed, as additional funding would have to be allocated in the state budget to support it. To listen to the Disabilities Beat segment on demand, view a transcript, and learn more about paratransit, visit our website at wbfo.org. I'm Emyle Watkins. Thanks for listening.
