August 1, 2019, 12:00PM (ET)

How Transit Agencies Implement Best Practice Strategies in Complementary ADA Paratransit Eligibility

This session will summarize the findings and recommendations that stemmed from a recent publication out of the Journal of Public Transportation.

To encourage greater fixed route transit use for people with disabilities, transit agencies are implementing more rigorous paratransit eligibility determination practices. Previous studies identified best practice strategies for eligibility determination, but did not fully document the implementation of these strategies, nor the factors contributing to successes or challenges. This study interviewed 16 transit agencies across the United States to investigate the use of ADA complementary paratransit eligibility best practices in order to (a) determine the extent to which transit agencies are adopting suggested best practices as part of determining paratransit eligibility, (b) describe how agencies apply these strategies in daily operations, and (c) explore factors that contribute to implementation successes and challenges. Findings indicate that many transit agencies have incorporated multiple best practice eligibility strategies as part of department-wide changes in paratransit operations and have overcome implementation challenges by recognizing departmental limitations and collaborating with other departments and organizations. Download Handout

Presenters: Molly Ranahan, PhD and Jordana Maisel, PhD, University of Buffalo

Molly Ranahan, PhD is an NRSA T32 Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Primary Care Research Institute and Research Assistant Professor for the Departments of Family Medicine and Urban and Regional Planning at the University at Buffalo. Her research and professional interests include aging, patient activation, community engagement and health education. Dr. Ranahan collaborates with colleagues from the Center for Inclusive Design and Environmental Access (IDeA) on research focused on universal design and the built environment.

Jordana Maisel, PhD is the Director of Research Activities at the Center for Inclusive Design and Environmental Access (IDeA), which is located within the School of Architecture and Planning at the University at Buffalo. She serves as a Co-Director of the Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center on Accessible Public Transportation (RERC-APT), a Project Lead in the current RERC on Universal Design and the Built Environment (RERC-UD), and is an Assistant Research Professor in the School of Architecture and Urban and Regional Planning at UB. She is currently PI or co-PI on a NIDILRR Field-Initiated Research Project on Independent Wheelchair Securement, a U.S. Access Board study on wheelchair transfer, and a Social Innovation grant from Toyota to study ride-hailing. Dr. Maisel co-authored the Goals of Universal Design. She has lectured at numerous conferences across the country and has written many peer-reviewed articles. She recently co-edited Accessible Public Transportation: Designing Service for Riders with Disabilities (2018), Inclusive Design (2018), and co-authored the first textbook on universal design, Universal Design: Creating Inclusive Environments (2012).