A New Jersey Senate committee has advanced a paratransit measure introduced by Senate President Steve Sweeney (D-Dist. 3) and Senate Majority Leader Loretta Weinberg (D-Dist. 37).
Sweeney and Weinberg said S-2517 enhances paratransit service quality, enabling client-based service agencies to adopt best practices resulting in cutting travel times, reducing accident rates, and lowering costs.
“New Jersey’s paratransit services for physically and developmentally disabled people who cannot use regular bus and rail service is a crazy quilt of overlapping and too-often inefficient services that fails to meet the needs of the most vulnerable,” Sweeney said. “Fortunately, there are models that work, and we need to bring those best practices to our paratransit network. These reforms are especially important in the wake of the coronavirus crisis, which will put new demands on all mass transit services.”
The bill stems from complaints levied by physically and developmentally disabled riders and their advocates about Access Link, a federally mandated and funded program, during the Senate Select Committee on NJ Transit hearing.
Authorities indicated NJ Transit provides van service through Access Link, noting included among the complaints were
three-hour circuitous trips, difficulties in scheduling, and overlapping service because of inefficient coordination between Access Link and the 21 county-based paratransit systems overseeing transportation by local service agencies.
“We were gratified that the Board expressed such strong public support for implementing best practices in order to deliver paratransit services more efficiently for our most vulnerable riders,” Weinberg said. “Our legislation will bring together NJ Transit, the county transportation departments, and service providers to develop a coordinated, responsive, and cost-effective paratransit network.”