New Metro Transit Program Challenges Door-to-Door Transportation Service in Kalamazoo

The Mobility Management Program may be the beginning of the end of Metro County Connect, a door-to-door service mainly used by people with disabilities. The program was implemented last spring by the City of Kalamazoo, and seeks to reduce usage of Metro County Connect in favor of Metro Transit. The transition would save the city money, but are the users of the door-to-door service willing to make the change? Metro Transit Kalamazoo and advocacy groups for people with disabilities have worked together to develop travel training, which will teach individuals how to ride the fixed routes, but how individuals with disabilities feel about using the city bus is yet to be measured.

Dressed in layers of thick winter clothes, a scarf, a hat, and a plush blanket wrapped around his legs, Western Michigan University student Michael Burkholz waits for his ride to school. He is waiting at his regular spot, under a tall oak that marks the end of his lawn and the beginning of the pavement, seated in a black Invacare Storm TDX wheel chair. The temperature shows right around 30 degrees on this Thursday, and Burkholz is prepared to wait anywhere from 20 to 40 minutes for his ride, Metro County Connect. I waited over an hour in a snow storm once, said Burkholz, as he adjusts his blanket. Sometimes the van arrives early, which is why Burkholz chooses to be outside at 10 a.m., even though the ride is scheduled for half an hour later. The drivers are supposed to notify him when they are close, but just like this morning and many others, Burkholz does not receive a call. As much as he wants to wait inside, he cannot risk losing his ride to school.

Metro County Connect gets me where I need to go, the drivers are good and makes sure that I am comfortable, said Burkholz. I just never felt that way with Metro Transit. Using Metro County Connect means waiting and scheduling several days in advance, but Burkholz prefers it that way and he will continue using the services for as long as it exists. It is what he knows, and his past experiences with Metro Transit are mixed. The bus drivers werent always competent, and couldnt always tie down my wheel chair, said Burkholz, who has been using Metro County Connect regularly for the past eight years. The Mobility Management Program is open to anyone who wants to learn how to ride the city bus. Metro Transit is now working to fully implement the new program, and informs that it will cut spending. The more people we can get to ride the fixed routes that are currently riding Metro County Connect, the better it is from a financial stand point, said Bill Schomisch, Transportation Director in Kalamazoo. Schomisch adds that the federal government requires the city to have a Public Transit/Human Services Coordination Plan that focuses on improving the transportation system for people with disabilities, which is where the idea of the Mobility Management Program originated.

One component of the program is travel training, which is led by Mobility Manager Serena Steele, who was hired correspondingly with the program. During the training, Steele rides the bus along with the individuals to show them how to pay for a fare, make a transfer, request a stop, and get to and from a bus stop. One of my goals as mobility manager is to get people to ride the fixed routes before they even rely on the demand service [Metro County Connect], said Steele, who adds that it is often difficult to transfer people from the door-to-door service once they rely on it. Steele has worked with several advocacy groups to market the program, but Director of Disability Services for Students at WMU Jayne Fraley-Burgett had not heard of the initiative when asked by reporter. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, about 30,000 people with disabilities live in Kalamazoo County. Metro Transit estimates that Metro County Connect has 11,000 rides every month. Steele has reached roughly 100 people with travel training, and another 300 individuals have signed up to learn how to use the fixed routes in the future. Kalamazoo is the second large city in Michigan to provide travel training services. Grand Rapids has had it for 14 years, and has been an example for Kalamazoo on how to potentially improve the transportation system. Lansing, Ann Arbor, and Detroit dont have any travel trainers, said Sarah Green, travel trainer for Grand Rapids transportation system, the Rapid. The travel training in Kalamazoo is offered to anyone who wish to make the transition to the city bus, but Burkholz, who has used Metro County Connect frequently for the past eight years had not heard of the initiative until asked by reporter. Kalamazoo-resident Jhon Searles,23, had not heard of the program either. He is visually impaired, and has experienced difficulties with Metro Transit in the past. Metro Transit isnt very reliable, and it is impossible to figure out the routes for blind people. We cant access schedules online to figure out what stops to get off, said Searles, who says he was once dropped off a mile away from his destination. WMU student Johnson Simon faced problems with Metro Transit when he wanted to visit a friend on Westnedge avenue in Portage last February. Simon said that his electrical wheel chair broke the bus ramp, and the bus driver got angry and told him to use Metro County Connect next time. Travel training and its effects on people with disabilities in Kalamazoo has still not been officially measured. The program isnt even 6 months old, and there are a lot of people I have to reach out to, said Steele, who believes the Mobility Management Program will continue to be funded. The program is funded under New Freedom, and will expire September 2013 unless it is approved for another year.

We dont have a reason to believe that the grant will not be funded for a longer period of time, said Steele.