CLEARWATER, Fla. — Using public transportation in the Tampa Bay area is not always easy, but it could soon get more difficult for riders with disabilities if the Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority does not secure more funding.
"We obviously don't want to cut these routes,” said PSTA spokesperson Whitney Fox.
Fox said the agency is short more than $800,000, and while leaders have tried to work around service cuts, the lack of additional funding could leave them with no other choice.
"The Americans with Disabilities Act says that you have to provide a service for residents with disabilities within 3/4 of a mile to your fixed bus route. So, for a long time, PTSA has been extending that service even farther than just 3/4 of a mile,” she said.
“But because that service has been in such high demand and it's grown exponentially, so has the cost. So, unfortunately, without our funding growing, we are looking at potentially cutting back to that 3/4 of a mile."
PSTA gets most of its funding through local taxes and is looking at other options such as reallocating the county bed tax as another revenue stream, but that would take time.
Meanwhile, residents with disabilities say they hope the agency will preserve the service.
“I mean, every time I'd have to go someplace, I'd have to spend an exorbitant amount maybe on a taxi or something, where if I had the DART (service), I can get around,” said Judson Cahill.
Cahill, who has an amputated leg and is legally blind, often has a friend help him run errands. However, he said he feels for those who have no other mode of transportation.
"Just getting around, doing everyday things -- it would be a real nightmare,” he said.
His message to PSTA decision-makers: “Make sure it's there in place for everybody to use it so that they can get around, so I would ask that they do not cut the budget."
If PSTA does not get adequate funding, cuts could come as soon as June. The agency is also looking at eliminating service to buses 58, 22 and 814. There could also be partial eliminations to buses 5, 16 and 38.
Emerald Morrow is a reporter with 10News WTSP. Like her on Facebook and follow her on Twitter. You can also email her at emorrow@wtsp.com.
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