This was my response:
"Simply
put, transportation makes my life way more difficult that it needs to be.
It limits
me.
It
isolates me.
It
frustrated me.
It
exhausts me.
Going
anywhere takes so much organization, planning, and sometimes it’s just too
complicated to deal with.
A single
event can literally take me hours to get to and get home from.
A few
examples:
My six-hour work day translates to
an eight / nine-hour day because of my transportation.
A forty-five-minute author talk /
signing at a bookstore across town turned into a five-hour adventure because of
transportation. There were no accidents to make us late. No weather-related
problems. No vehicle malfunctions. It was simply a matter of the para-transit
shared ride system.
A trip to a grocery store one mile
from my apartment, an activity that should have taken less than an hour, lasted
three hours instead.
But I
know I am lucky.
At least
I have access to transportation.
My daily
trips can be arduous, but at least I can get to and from work, the grocery
store, doctor appointments, and some social activities.
My
transportation can be stressful, yet I am grateful that it is safe,
predominantly reliable, and affordable for me.
I know my
situation could be worse.
I am not
confined to my home due to a lack of transportation.
Some people
with disabilities are blocked from being productive members of society simply
because they don’t have accessible transportation.
They cannot
work outside the home.
They are
unable to get to medical appointments.
They are
prevented from having social lives and engaging in community events.
Para-transit
services, accessible ride shares, accessible bus systems, and especially
partnerships among these modes of transportation are paving the way to
independence and inclusion in society for many people with disabilities who
cannot operate a vehicle.
But we
need to do even more.
Transportation
that is accessible, safe, reliable, and affordable must be a right, not a
privilege."
librarianintx
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