Disabled Advocates : The MBTA Needs To Do A Better Job With Replacement Bus Shuttles

(Required) — In this Tuesday, April 5, 2016 photo, Sarah Kaplan, of Lynn, Mass., rides an elevator to board a bus outside her place of work, in Boston. Transit systems in major U.S. cities are required by federal law to provide specialized services for disabled passengers. In Boston, the deficit-laden MBTA is considering ways of reducing service for the disabled and outsourcing more of it to taxis and ride-hailing services like Uber.

September 25, 2018

Disability advocates living on the South Shore are asking the MBTA to come up with a better plan for replacement shuttle buses as construction on the Red Line continues.

Crystal Evans uses a power wheelchair and is ventilator dependent. She co-founded a the group Advancing Community Inclusion and Equality (ACCESS) on the South Shore.

Evans says too many replacement shuttles have lifts that do not work or drivers who don't know how to work them. MBTA needs to do better, "we need to think outside the box, especially for people with wheelchairs and mobility devices," Evans said.

Evans says most of the complaints involve privately operated buses contracted by the MBTA to provide replacement service, while the Wollaston and Quincy Center Stations are under construction. She says many of the Yankee buses are inaccessible, "it often takes multiple people to figure out why the lift won't operate to get it working correctly."

Evans says access is critical to her group's some 200 members who use public transportation.

The MBTA says all shuttles are equipped with lifts, but will work to improve boarding times for disabled riders. Agency spokesperson Joe Pesaturo says the agency is looking to address the concerns.