Disabled protest bus cuts

This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2007, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

Lexi Hiss has multiple sclerosis and cancer, and uses a wheelchair. She calls the two Utah Transit Authority bus routes that run near her Midvale home her lifelines.

Now those routes are being eliminated as part of a massive overhaul of the UTA bus system in Salt Lake County. And Hiss says she has no idea what she's going to do.

"This is life and death for me," she told UTA's Board of Trustees during its monthly meeting Wednesday. "The routes you are eliminating take away my ability to be independent or even leave my house.

"How am I going to get to the bank? My doctor's office? The grocery store? You're eliminating people's livelihoods and lives with this."

Hiss was one of dozens of disabled transit riders who showed up at UTA headquarters to give the board an earful about bus route changes - scheduled to take effect Aug. 27 - that put a premium on whisking commuters into downtown Salt Lake City and coordinating with TRAX and commuter rail stations. All in a bid to revive what has been flagging bus ridership in the county since the advent of the two light rail lines.

But what the mammoth overhaul also will do is whack UTA's current 117 bus routes in the county by more than half, to 57.

Most were deemed expendable by transit planners because of what they call route redundancies. But the elimination of so many stops - and the paratransit service that is tied to them - has created a backlash.

"What we're being told about this is, 'Don't worry. Trust us.' But we're fresh out of trust," said Jerry Costly, representing the Disabled Rights Action Committee.

Costly asked UTA board members to consider bringing in an outside analyst to evaluate the route changes, "someone we can all trust to make sure this [bus-system change] is more efficient for the poor and unhealthy. And not just commuters."

UTA Board Chairman Orrin Colby assured protesters that no final decisions have been made and that their input will be seriously considered.

"Many of us have difficulties in our lives," Colby said, citing disability issues in his own family. "Your circumstances are not lost on us."

But UTA's disabled customers were upset about more than just the route changes. They also also angry at a proposal to shelve what is now a $69 unlimited monthly ride pass for UTA's paratransit service - Flextrans - in favor of a fixed fare system that would translate into $44 for 30 trips or $76 for 60 trips.

"Sixty times is not many trips. That's 30 round trips," said Vicky Jaquien, who is blind. "If I had another option to Flextrans I'd take it. But I have no other choice. When you raise fares like this, you're taking food off my table."

Disabled activists were also incensed by what they called insensitive comments by UTA General Manager John Inglish, who recently characterized some paratransit riders as "irresponsible" because of how much demand they put on the service.

Inglish said he was only referring to customers who failed to show up after arranging for Flextrans pickups, not heavy users of the service.

But to those who were offended, Inglish said, "I sincerely apologize."

jbaird@sltrib.com