[nfb-talk] Curb to Curb verses Door to Door.

Thu Jul 27 14:05:09 CDT 2006

Hi  David, 
I can understand your frustrations. In the circumstances you have
described, I will suggest the door to door service. Here the metro
access goes into neighborhoods as well as large apartment complexes. I
suppose we have the door to door service. Most of the places have
sidewalks but some don't have them. In apartment building the person is
at a disadvantage as you have to stand near the door of the building and
if the ride is late, you can't go upstairs to call. Cell phones come in
handy when you have such problem. I am all for the door to door service.

Yasmin Reyazuddin 
Information & Referral unit
Department of Health & human services 
401 Hungerford Drive (1st floor) 
Rockville MD 20850 
Phone 240-777-1245 (info line) 
240-777-1556 (personal line) 
Fax: 240-777-4636
TTY: 240-777-1295 

-----Original Message-----
From: nfb-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nfb-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org]
On Behalf Of David Evans
Sent: Thursday, July 27, 2006 2:33 PM
To: NFB Talk Mailing List
Subject: Re: [nfb-talk] Curb to Curb verses Door to Door.

Dear Reyazuddin,

I work for MV Transit, here in Palm Beach County Florida and I am
serving on 
our local (TDP) Transit Development Plan steering committee.
We are receiving suggestions, mostly to save money, to switch from door
to 
door service to the curb to curb style of service for our Para-transit 
service.  This is just one small part of our plan, but it will have a
large 
effect on our riders.
I assume that you live in a very built up urban city with lots of side 
walks, fixed route buses and Para-transit.
My county of Palm Beach County is some urban with lots of suburbs spread
out 
over an area bigger than the state of Rhode Island.
A change for us from the door to door to curb to curb service may not
work 
well for our citizens here.
We have allot of seniors, (64 to 69% in parts of our county.
  Many live in walled communities where the big fixed route buses can
not 
get in and the people can not walk out very easy.  It can be sometimes
over 
a 1/2 mile from the gate just to the first building or house inside the 
community and most have no side walks.
We would have the same problems with many of the shopping malls in that
it 
can be a 1/4 to 1/2 mile from the main road across an open parking lot
with 
no pedestrian access or clear and safe path of travel.
Add this to our weather conditions and it is too much for most seniors
and 
disabled to deal with.
I am also afraid that the curb to curb service also removes too many
people 
from safe, cool and dry places as well as their home phones and will
just 
make it a nightmare for most seniors and the disable.
Curb to curb will require riders to come outside to a corner or
intersection 
to be picked up by the service, away from their phone and protection
from 
the elements.
I mostly see this as a deterrent or discouragement to be used to cut
down on 
ridership and to save money instead of service.

We currently have very good service here and just won two awards for our

service.  One award from the State of Florid and a National award from
the 
(CAT) Community Transit Association of America for having the Best Urban

Transit service
You can go anywhere , in the largest county east of the Mississippi for
any 
reason.
  A one way ride cost $2.50.  You just need to make a reservation today,

before 5:00 PM to have a ride tomorrow and can make trips up to 5 days
in 
advance, 7 days a week.

I guess the thing I am most concerned about is I see so many ways that a

person's transportation can get messed up and that without the door to
door 
service, many people will not be able to ride and get where they need to
go 
safely without allot of hassle.
.

I am just trying to get a better handle on some of the pitfalls and
pluses 
of curb to curb services elsewhere.  I would appreciate getting feedback

from people who have this kind of service in their areas and what they
think 
of it.
MV is doing the Para-transit service in the Washington DO.C. metro area
now 
where the service has been changed this way, as I understand.
We are having all kinds of problems with service delivery there now and
I 
don't know if it will get better or not.  I hope so.

most sincerely,

David Evans, NFBf
MV Transit
Consumer Advocate

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Reyazuddin, Yasmin" <Yasmin.Reyazuddin at montgomerycountymd.gov>
To: "NFB Talk Mailing List" <nfb-talk at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Thursday, July 27, 2006 8:33 AM
Subject: Re: [nfb-talk] Curb to Curb verses Door to Door.

> Hi David,
> Thanks for asking the question. I would like to know what is the
> difference between curve to curve and door to door.
> Here in Montgomery county Maryland, we have all kinds of service
> available. Para transit or metro access is called curve to curve as it
> comes in front of your house or building and the driver waits for the
> passenger. Right now this service is provided by MV transportation.
The
> cost is $2.50 for a ride.
>
> The second service run by some local counties is Call & Ride. This is
a
> cab service and person has to purchase coupon books from the commuter
> store. Depending on your income you can purchase $50 worth of coupons
> for as little as $6. It is good for low income seniors and people with
> disabilities. All cab companies accept the coupons.
>
> The third service is very specific for seniors and people with
> disabilities who have medical assistance. This service is only for
> medical appointments and limited. The person needs to call at least 14
> days in advance to book a ride. The rides are limited to the local
area.
>
> I hope this answers some of your questions. If you have any other
> questions, please write back.
>
> Yasmin Reyazuddin
> Information & Referral unit
> Department of Health & human services
> 401 Hungerford Drive (1st floor)
> Rockville MD 20850
> Phone 240-777-1245 (info line)
> 240-777-1556 (personal line)
> Fax: 240-777-4636
> TTY: 240-777-1295
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nfb-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nfb-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org]
> On Behalf Of David Evans
> Sent: Thursday, July 27, 2006 6:15 AM
> To: nfb-talk at nfbnet.org
> Subject: [nfb-talk] Curb to Curb verses Door to Door.
>
> Dear All,
>
> As daily transportation effects the Blind very directly, and as my
area
> is considering going from door to door Para-transit service to curb to
> curb service.  I am just trying to gather some of your experiences
with
> the curb to curb service delivery system.
> As someone who is very much involved in transit services, I am very
much
> interested in feedback from anyone as to the pluses and minuses to
both
> systems.
> I have to consider ALL disabilities, People Who are Elderly and
children
> in my considerations.
> Also the design of the communities to be served; walkable communities
> verses non-walkable communities, weather conditions and the like.
> You can write me off list , if you want, but I would like to see what
> different people think, which the list helps with as everyone can see
> the messages and responses.
> I think it is a worthy discussion to have as few things have such an
> impact on our daily lives as transportation and the independence it
> brings us.
> My e-mail address, off list is: drevans at bellsouth.net  .
>
> Sincerely,
>
> David Evans, NFBF
> MV Transit
> Consumer Advocate
> _______________________________________________
> nfb-talk mailing list
> nfb-talk at nfbnet.org
> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nfb-talk
> 

_______________________________________________
nfb-talk mailing list
nfb-talk at nfbnet.org
http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nfb-talk