Trip Denials on MATAplus

MATAplus Denials may be discrimination

By Allison Donald

Recent experience of MATAplus customers seems to show that MATA has a pattern of practice of trip denials which is violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Many people are hearing when they try to make a reservation that the system is “booked.” That sounds like a capacity constraint that is not allowed by the ADA and is impacting the way people with disabilities are able to travel. 

Denying people trips limits options of travel for a person with a disability.  It forces people to find other ways to travel.  I had to use Lyft on Wednesday to get to work, because I was denied a ride.  If I had to depend on Lyft as my transportation every day I would not be able to afford it.  For individuals with disabilities or elderly that solely rely on MATAplus for transportation trip denials cut them off from the communities that they live in keeping them in the house, because they do not have a ride.

People without disabilities do not face this on the fixed-route. That is why the trip denials are considered discrimination in the ADA. Part 37 131 f (3) makes it clear that MATAplus is to provide service that “shall not limit the availability of complementary paratransit service to ADA paratransit eligible individuals by any of the following … (B) Substantial numbers of trip denials or missed trips.” The regulations point out other things that MATAplus riders will recognize, you may really like to read all of the federal regs: 

https://www.transit.dot.gov/regulations-and-guidance/civil-rights-ada/part-37-transportation-services-individuals-disabilities

The MATAplus Rider’s Guide defines a trip denial as:

·        “Any trip that is more than one hour from the requested pickup time is considered a trip denial under the ADA,” is the direct quote from the MATAplus Rider’s Guide.

·        When the customer requests a round trip and MATAplus is only able to schedule one leg of the trip and is unable either to schedule the other trip at all, or can only schedule the other leg of the trip more than one hour before or after the requested pick-up time, even if the customer refuses or cancels the offered trip.

“Trip denials have affected my travel greatly, because I have had to scramble to make other arrangements,” said Dr. Deborah Carter who has been riding MATAplus since 2002.  “If Christina Clift did not request a Lyft ride for me I would not have been able to attend the workshop or have a ride home. I would have not been able to fulfill my commitment to speak at the workshop.”

Dr. Deborah Carter is not the only MATAplus rider to have her trip denied. We want to know about it.  If you are a MATAplus rider and have been denied a trip please contact Allison Donald at the Memphis Center for Independent Living at 901-726-6404; allison@mcil.org; #tripdenials on Twitter or leave a comment on our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/mcilACTION/