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Next Stop: The Future of Mass Mobility

Next Stop #4 - Mobility For All

In partnership with:
Transportation for Massachusetts (T4MA)
Date and time
Monday, May 23, 2022

Accessibility is central to transportation. For people with disabilities and for our aging population, access is a deal-maker. While the Americans with Disability Act has been the law for decades, the MBTA and other transit agencies are making slow progress towards providing full accessibility. How is the MBTA prioritizing accessibility improvements, and what are the partnerships that are necessary to success? In addition, the advent of e-bikes have made cycling more accessible and convenient for many more people than conventional bikes. What is needed for e-bikes to realize their potential and to encourage widespread adoption. The panel for Next Stop: Mobility for all, moderated by GBH News Reporter, Bob Seay, includes Laura Brelsford, MBTA Assistant General Manager for System Wide Accessibility, Reggie Ramos, Director of Inclusive Public Transit at the Institute for Human Centered Design, and Sarah Dylan Breuer, Co-host of Bike Talk, KPFK radio. ### Resources [Accessibility at the MBTA](https://www.mbta.com/accessibility) [History of Accessibility at the T](https://www.mbta.com/accessibility/history) [Current Accessibility Initiatives](https://cdn.mbta.com/sites/default/files/2021-12/2021-12-03-swa-initiatives.pdf) [How to Get Involved](https://www.mbta.com/accessibility/get-involved) [Public Meeting on Status of Settlement Agreement](https://www.mbta.com/events/2022-06-08/public-meeting-accessibility-and-daniels-finegold-v-mbta-settlement-update) [An Act to Reduce Traffic Fatalities](https://malegislature.gov/Bills/192/S2273) [MBTA Bus Network Redesign](https://www.mbta.com/projects/bus-network-redesign)

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Reggie Ramos
Reggie Ramos is the Executive Director of Transportation for Massachusetts, a coalition of community based and non-profit organizations advocating for just and equitable transportation across the Commonwealth.
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Sarah Dylan Breuer
Sarah Dylan Breuer is a writer, musician, and activist, having retired from youth ministry due to disability, and is a co-host of Bike Talk on KPFK radio. She is living with Ehlers Danlos Syndrome, an incurable, degenerative, genetic connective tissue disorder. When not going to medical appointments, she loves cycling on her e-bike, cooking, and volunteering to make the world better and more just for all people. ### Resources [Sarah's website](http://www.sarahlaughed.net)
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Laura Brelsford
Laura joined the MBTA in 2007 as part of the newly formed Department of System-Wide Accessibility. Since that time, she has worked to advance the MBTA’s mission of becoming the global model for accessible public transportation. She and the dedicated SWA team have spearheaded a number of major accessibility initiatives including the development of an internal monitoring program, a first-ever training for front-line staff responding to customers with disabilities during emergencies, and the development of the Plan for Accessible Transit Infrastructure—a roadmap for making the system fully accessible. Her top priority, however, is to ensure that people with disabilities, employees as well as riders, have a voice in decision-making. As a full-time wheelchair user, Laura leverages the MBTA’s accessibility on a regular basis and (when not quarantining) can frequently be spotted on the Red Line. She is a graduate of Mount Holyoke College.
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Transportation for Massachusetts (T4MA)