Paratransit Service Needs Improvement

Last November, I broke my leg. It was your average accident: something that could have been avoided and should have been avoided, but wasn't. I broke both my tibia and fibula and was confined to walking with a walker for the next six weeks.

As you can imagine, this was an extremely frustrating situation. Adding to the fact that I couldn't stand in the shower, carry my meals from one room to the other or transport myself independently was the fact that on a college campus, classes and engagements occur all over campus. Students constantly express frustration with having to make it between certain locations on campus in a 10- or 15-minute time span as is; having to do so with less than my previous capacities would surely be impossible.

Fortunately, Emory offers a paratransit service for disabled students. That population includes others like me, with temporary injuries, as well as permanently disabled students. You arrange pick-up times with the Office of Disability Services (ODS), and a shuttle comes to take you between classes, to the DUC, to the library, wherever.

But over the three months that I utilized this service, it ultimately proved to be more troubling than helpful.

First of all, the paratransit offices demonstrated an entire lack of understanding of the tribulations of, in fact, being disabled. The shuttles would wait in their allotted spaces outside the buildings, and if I wasn't there within about five minutes – for example. if I told them that my class got out at 2:15, and I wasn't there by 2:20 – they would simply leave. They didn't seem to understand that literally hopping out of a classroom, down the hall and out to the street can take more than five minutes, and if a professor let the class out even a minute or two late, I wouldn't be able to catch the shuttle in time.

About a half hour later, I would receive a call from the ODS reprimanding me for not showing up to catch the shuttle. Not a call directly from the shuttle asking if I was on my way, but a call after they had left. When this happened, the only options were to wait another 20 minutes for another shuttle to show up, or just start hopping.

Most frustratingly, the paratransit shuttles were apparently not permitted to go onto Cox Bridge. This means that the closest that the shuttles can take students trying to get to Callaway, Candler or Cox Hall is Asbury Circle, by the Dooley statue.

And if you're physically able, that might not seem all that far. But when you have a disability, even that simple commute becomes infinitely more difficult. With only one working leg, that walk from Asbury Circle to Callaway took at least 10 to 15 minutes every single time, and that was only if I was basically sprint-hopping. The walk goes over a cobblestone ground (which is already difficult to maneuver with a walker) and down a slight but ever-present incline before making it to Callaway: this is not a commute that a physically disabled student should have to make.

And guess what – that entrance to Callaway that's closest to Cox Bridge has stairs, and the wheelchair-accessible entrance is on the other side of the building, which takes another five minutes to get to. Once finally entering the building, it was still another few minutes to make my way in the building, down the elevator and down the hall to my classroom.

I mentioned that this is all hopping on one leg, right?

The issue is that all these buildings technically meet the American with Disabilities Act (ADA) requirements, which legislates that "A public accommodation shall remove architectural barriers in existing facilities, including communication barriers that are structural in nature, where such removal is readily achievable." These buildings indeed have wheelchair-accessible entrances – it's just that those entrances can sometimes be in extremely inconvenient locations, particularly when you only have 15 minutes between classes to deal with navigating two academic buildings.

I realized that the shuttles couldn't exactly motor through the barriers between Asbury Circle and Cox Bridge, so I suggested to ODS that the shuttle go around the other way (up Fishburne, past the library) and drop me off on Cox Bridge in front of Candler.

They told me no, they couldn't do that, as the shuttles weren't allowed to go onto Cox Bridge. Frustrated, I explained that I saw delivery vehicles and pick-up trucks go on Cox Bridge pretty much every day.

They said, "But those aren't our vehicles." Apparently, there's a weight restriction on the bridge.

So let me get this straight: there is a road that leads right up to Candler and Callaway, but the paratransit service, which serves disabled students who have limited mobility, can't access it? Those students are the ones who basically just have to deal with trekking from a further location, while delivery vehicles, which are at least operated by fully-functional individuals, have no problem getting on that road?

There are so many ways to avoid this problem.

Idea number one: use smaller vehicles. In my time on the paratransit service, I was rarely on the shuttle with another student, so there's clearly no need for the space of a full-size bus. They could just as easily transport students in a van, a minivan or a regular car – a vehicle that would not exceed the weight restriction.

Idea number two: let students ride in golf carts from Asbury Circle to their classes. When I suggested this, ODS told me they couldn't because of a liability issue. Okay, so have the students sign a waiver.

I find it incredibly hard to believe that I was the first student in the history of Emory University to suffer an injury while taking a class in Callaway or Candler, and moreover, I find it incredibly hard to believe that in this day and age, there isn't someway to avoid this.

I believe the problem with the paratransit system stems from, in fact, the relatively low number of Emory students who are physically disabled. Statistics from the Emory website reveal that in 2009, 573 students were registered with ODS – but those disabilities include ADD, ADHD and learning disorders. The number of physically disabled students is far lower.

It's all too easy to take our physical capacities for granted, but trust me: one accident, and you are forced to interact with your environment in a new way.

– By Arts & Entertainment Editor Emelia Fredlick, a College senior from Homewood, Illinois.

---