NCD hears transport innovators and riders on wheelchair access, on‑demand pilots and sustainability challenges
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Summary
NCD’s Orlando panel on ground transportation highlighted widespread wheelchair‑accessible vehicle shortages, cross‑county coordination problems and promising pilots (Pinellas County DirectConnect, mobility‑on‑demand, and cross‑county services); panelists urged federal flexibility and braided funding to sustain pilots.
A National Council on Disability panel in Orlando focused on ground transportation barriers for people who use wheelchairs and described a mix of persistent obstacles and local innovations.
Panelists said wheelchair users still face an insufficient supply of accessible vehicles, frequent scheduling cancellations, insurance and operating costs for wheelchair providers, and county boundaries that complicate trips to out‑of‑county medical appointments. Amanda Baker (Disability Rights Florida) noted long trips, limited private‑market options for power‑wheelchair users and scheduling unpredictability in rural areas; ‘‘it took hours to go to work’’ in her pre‑relocation experience, she said.
Pinellas County’s Ross Silvers described a multi‑pronged approach: DirectConnect (a first‑mile/last‑mile program where the transit agency subsidizes rides with Uber/Lyft/taxi and a wheelchair contractor), TD late‑shift service (to reach second‑/third‑shift workers), an FTA sandbox mobility‑on‑demand pilot that allows ADA paratransit customers an on‑demand option, and plans to pilot grocery‑delivery memberships to reduce trip demand. Ross said on‑demand wheelchair trips average a 35‑minute wait and that roughly half of daily paratransit trips have migrated to on‑demand options in Pinellas.
Jacksonville’s experience with YouServ (USERV), an on‑demand provider launched as a local pilot, showed the tension between popularity and sustainability: ridership growth forced fare and service adjustments that risked affordability for low‑income people with disabilities. Panelists urged better federal and state flexibility on operating funds (rather than capital‑only grants) and clearer FTA interpretations to enable public‑private innovation.
Transportation researchers at the University of South Florida’s CUTR described cross‑county pilots and CTD innovation grants as useful testbeds, but cautioned that pilots commonly face scalability and sustainability problems once grant funding ends. Panelists recommended clearer federal guidance for public‑private partnerships, better data sharing and performance measures, and program braiding options that allow federal funds to be combined or used as local match to support operating expenses.
NCD staff said the council will collect these pilot evaluations and lessons learned to inform guidance and recommendations for jurisdictions hoping to expand accessible mobility.