Metro Denver residents with disabilities gathered outside the federal courthouse Monday after asking a federal judge to block the Regional Transportation District’s restructuring of its Access-on-Demand service, which has provided free rides using commercial services such as Uber and Lyft.
Their lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court, seeks a preliminary injunction to stop RTD from implementing a $4.50 base fare for riders who use the system because it would embody what the plaintiffs allege is illegal “disparate” treatment.
Attorneys representing the Atlantis community and American Disabled for Attendant Programs Today, an advocacy group known as ADAPT, argue that transit officials have increased fares and reduced the hours for Access on Demand service for riders with disabilities while reducing fares by 10% to 33% for riders without disabilities.
They contend this violates the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act. They also contend RTD has violated the will of metro Denver voters who last year approved Ballot Measure 7A, allowing RTD to retain revenues that otherwise should have been refunded in part to sustain transit for riders with disabilities.
RTD’s changes unfairly target “the people who need transit most of all,” attorney Mari Newman said. Public transit with equal access for all residents “is not a privilege. It is a right.”
RTD officials said they’ve received the complaint and are reviewing it.
“The agency remains committed to serving the transit needs of all customers who rely on its bus, rail, and paratransit services,” agency spokeswoman Tina Jaquez said.
It’s the latest development in a multi-year struggle between RTD and riders with disabilities. Despite a barrage of public opposition, RTD directors in September voted to implement the restructuring starting Jan. 1.
The directors set a base fare of $4.50 for the rides, reduced the maximum per-ride subsidy from $25 to $20 for up to 60 rides per month, and cut the 24/7 availability by two hours across RTD’s 2,342-mile service area.
“Let’s make RTD relevant for everyone. After all, everyone is paying for it,” said Dawn Russell, organizer for ADAPT and a plaintiff in the lawsuit.
The lawsuit states that, due to RTD’s changes, “many Coloradans with disabilities will be completely unable to access RTD’s services. Access-on-Demand is the only way that many Coloradans with disabilities are able to utilize RTD’s public transit system. RTD is singling out riders with disabilities by drastically increasing the costs and cutting the services of Access-on-Demand while at the same time enjoying revenue that is supposed to be used to maintain services for disabled riders and even reducing the cost of services for Coloradans without disabilities.”
RTD Chief Executive and General Manager Debra Johnson recommended the changes to make Access-on-Demand financially viable. She had commissioned a peer review of RTD’s program by officials at other U.S. transit agencies. They concluded that RTD should restructure it to ensure financial sustainability. Access-on-Demand costs about $17 million out of the annual RTD’s budget of around $1.5 billion.
Monthly rides taken using Access-on-Demand have increased to more than 70,000, according to RTD records. That’s more than 10 times the ridership when agency directors launched the program five years ago.
“We need to stop RTD’s gravy train,” said lawsuit plaintiff Claudia Folska, a former RTD board member.
The looming imposition of base fares in January “is sending absolute fear” to riders with disabilities who count on the rides to be able to live independently, Folksa said
“It’s causing anxiety and panic. People have to figure out what to do. They are counting on us to secure an injunction. A lot of them don’t even have a job. A lot of them are living on a tight, fixed income.”
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