CO: RTD plans vote on ending free Access-on-Demand rides for people with disabilities

After more than a year of debating how much public tax money should be spent to enhance mobility for people with disabilities, RTD directors will again consider a plan to implement fares and scale back the Access-on-Demand service, which currently provides free rides from services like Uber and Lyft.

The Regional Transportation District’s latest proposal — directors delayed a decision in July — would impose a base fare of $6.50, cut the maximum per-trip subsidy from $25 to $20 for up to 60 rides per month, and end 24/7 availability across RTD’s 2,342-mile service area.

Ridership using Access-on-Demand has ballooned tenfold since the program began five years ago. The program provides more than 62,000 rides a month using commercial services at a cost of about $17 million out of the Regional Transportation District‘s $1.2 billion annual budget. RTD staffers estimate tens of thousands more metro residents will qualify for subsidized Access-on-Demand rides in the future.

RTD Chief Executive and General Manager Debra Johnson has pushed the 15 RTD directors to contain program costs and make Access-on-Demand, which initially required a $2 fare that was dropped, “financially viable.” Riders with disabilities have packed RTD meetings asking that the service they describe as life-changing be preserved as is. They say it allows people with disabilities, many of whom are low-income, to reach work, get groceries, make appointments, and maintain social connections.

A vote is scheduled for Tuesday.

“This is the one RTD service where everybody who uses it is thrilled. It is so sad that it is the one service they are trying to go after,” said regular rider Maryann Migliorelli, a blind state government employee who favors a compromise that directors discussed in July with a base fare of $4.50 or even $2.50, the reduced per-ride cap, and continued 24/7 service.

“It certainly feels very much as if there are some people at RTD who are not very fond of this program, even though it has been one of the most successful things RTD has ever done,” said Migliorelli, who serves as president of the National Federation of the Blind’s Boulder Valley chapter.

“What other class of people could they do this to and get away with it? If there’s a budget crunch, why don’t they cut services across the board?” said Claudia Folska, an RTD board member from 2012 to 2020 who is blind and opposes any fare. If RTD directors agree to a base fare, “they would kill the program by pricing people out,” Folska said.

This week, 24 state lawmakers signed a letter to be sent to RTD directors urging them to “wholly reject the recommended action,” warning that the changes would have “devastating impact” and amount to “reckless, irresponsible, and immoral” targeting of people with disabilities, according to a copy reviewed by the Denver Post.

RTD’s Johnson had not seen it, she said in a written response to questions relayed by an agency spokeswoman. “Subsidizing the entire cost of the fare and covering the cost of Access-on-Demand services, up to $25, created great demand,” which is “unsustainable to continue indefinitely,” Johnson said, adding it is the only program besides the Zero Fare for Youth program that requires no fare.

Colorado Cross-Disability Coalition leader Jaime Lewis, who served on the RTD board last year and relies on a wheelchair, pointed out that “all public transit is subsidized” but said the survival of Access-on-Demand means “RTD has to collect some kind of revenue to offset the cost.”

RTD must ensure that wheelchair lifts and other assistance, which are not universally available on Uber, Lyft, and other commercial ride services, are available for riders using Access on Demand, Lewis said. As a result, RTD managers divert some of their 214 vans contracted for the separate $51 million Access-a-Ride service, required under the Americans with Disabilities Act  — hurting the Access-a-Ride on-time performance.

“There’s no free lunch. Nobody’s going to offer you an Uber ride for nothing,” Lewis said. RTD made a mistake in offering Access-on-Demand as a free service, “setting up unrealistic expectations,” he said. “Now reality has hit.”

RTD director Chris Nicholson said restructuring Access-on-Demand could save $5.6 million a year, enough to launch new bus routes “so that everyone everywhere could get better service.”

RTD likely will approve the proposal, Nicholson said. “Yes, this is uncomfortable. But we’re facing a $50 million shortfall, and forecasts show a downturn in sales tax revenues. Everything has to live within its means, even if that is politically uncomfortable.”

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