Concerned about the limited use of accessible fixed-route service which is available on 72% of MTA bus routes, the Mass Transit Administration (MTA), in conjunction with the Maryland Centre for Independent Living (MCIL), designed "a lift to freedom", a 12-month demonstration project to increase accessible fixed-route ridership in the Baltimore city-county area. The project is intended to prepare consumers with disabilities to use accessible fixed-route service and MTA operators and the general riding public to receive them. Strategies for the project include: implementing outreach and public awareness campaigns; developing information materials; employing people with disabilities to train and demonstrate lift bus usage; training MTA operators in lift operation and disability sensitivity; and conducting a series of independent living workshops hosted at the Baltimore gas and electric company facilities in the Central Maryland area.
Samenvatting