CATS Struggles To Offer Enough Rides To Disabled

May 16, 2011
More people with disabilities need rides, but mass transit leaders are having a hard time keeping up.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. --

More people with disabilities need rides, but mass transit leaders are having a hard time keeping up.

Since local agencies, like the Department of Social Services, recently scaled back their transportation services, CATS has been picking up the slack.

But now, so many people with disabilities ask CATS for rides that it can't help them all. Under federal law, CATS has to help those who live within three-quarters of a mile of a bus or LYNX stop. After that, there are no guarantees.

"No one here likes to (say no,)" CATS' Pete Wallace said. "The call-takers hate it, the schedulers don't like it -- it's not our business. We want everybody to get where they want to go."

Copyright 2011 by . All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.