Preserving Paratransit

The Transportation Trust Fund faces a significant debt, and over 90 options have been proposed to eliminate it. Because the DART system is funded by these dollars, a few of the proposed options would affect paratransit.

Delaware has the country's most extensive paratransit service, and many if not most adults with disabilities depend on this service to be part of their community and especially to work. It is crucial to our adults with autism that we support measures that would not reduce the extent of the service. Options that have been suggested include:

• To double the rates outside the legally-required zone (within 1/4 mile of a regular route) to $4 per trip

• To raise all paratransit rates across the board to $3.

• To move paratransit to the General Fund under another agency

• To outsource parantransit to a private provider

 While Autism Delaware hopes that the Trust Fund's debt can be solved without impacting people with disabilities, we also recognize that rates have not increased since 1988. We support any option that will ensure continued access to door-to-door service at one consistent, affordable rate.