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Resident urges Georgetown to expand accessible transportation options for people with disabilities
Summary
A Georgetown resident told council the city’s current paratransit and community-transportation services leave residents with disabilities isolated if they fall outside existing service boundaries or do not qualify for Medicaid; she asked council for an expedited data review and short-term pilot options.
Sancha Matheson, who described herself as a longtime Georgetown resident caring for a disabled Vietnam veteran and a 21-year-old daughter who does not qualify for Medicaid, urged the City Council to address what she called a “critical gap” in transportation for residents with disabilities.
“My daughter has autism, ADHD, and anxiety…she cannot drive,” Matheson said. She told the council that many residents who live outside service boundaries or who do not meet narrow program criteria are effectively homebound, unable to reach therapy, work or community activities. Matheson said some rideshare fares can cost “$20 to $30 one way” for short trips, which she said can exceed weekly earnings for some disabled residents.
Matheson asked the council to take three steps: within 30 days extend existing paratransit and other community-transportation boundaries to key hubs (she named the Randall’s on Jim Hogg and a new HEP at Parma Ranch as priority hubs); within three months produce a public data review showing where adults with disabilities live inside city limits and in the extraterritorial jurisdiction and how they currently get to work and health care; and within six months present an action plan with up to three pilot options including costs, partners and metrics for success.
Matheson said Georgetown’s rapid growth and capital investments have not kept pace with accessible transportation needs, and she left materials for council members to review. The mayor thanked Matheson after her remarks; the council did not take immediate action on the request during the meeting and proceeded to the consent agenda.
