The Utah Transit Authority (UTA) and members of community came together today to honor UTA employees who have made a difference for riders with disabilities. Bus operators Fernando Piraquive and Richard Montoya and paratransit scheduling specialist Suzanne Haskins were honored for their outstanding customer service. Fernando and Richard were nominated by a member of the UTA Committee for Accessible Transportation (CAT) for their polite professionalism and ability to serve riders in wheelchairs by pulling the bus right up to the curb and quickly helping riders secure their chairs inside the bus. Suzanne was recognized for an incident in which she personally delivered a rider’s lost cell phone, which was that person’s only means of communication. “I remember when she told me about this situation and I told her that was so nice of her to take the phone,” Suzanne’s supervisor, Angela Hancock, wrote in a program for the event. “She said, ‘It's no big deal I don't mind helping out our passengers, they're just like family.’ She has the sweetest, kindest heart and to her she was just doing what anyone else would do to help our passenger out.” Rider Patrick Perry was recognized for his choice to use UTA’s fixed-route services instead of paratransit buses and his willingness to provide feedback that helps UTA improve facilities for riders with disabilities. Also recognized was Wendy Porter of MV Transportation, a private company that UTA uses to provide paratransit transportation in some service areas. The annual American's with Disabilities Act (ADA) Celebration also highlighted recent improvements to UTA’s paratransit services. UTA has implemented a rider notification system that alerts paratransit riders five minutes before their bus is scheduled to arrive. Over the past several years, UTA has also added cement pads at hundreds of bus stops, making it easier for riders with disabilities to navigate to the curb and board the bus. More bus stops will be improved in 2016.
