Social service guidelines questioned
December 29, 2005
Worcester Telegram & Gazette (MA)
By Bronislaus B. Kush TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF
bkush@telegram.com
WORCESTER— If Deborah S. Orzack chooses to, she can spend the night out on the town enjoying this year’s First Night. In years past, that would have been problematic.
The Worcester woman suffers from chronic pain and relies on an electric wheelchair to get about.
With the region’s public paratransit service shutting down at 9:30 p.m., it was nearly impossible for her to get anywhere at night.
That all changed this week when two specially equipped taxis began offering service to the area’s disabled.
"These taxis will be very important to members of the disabled community," said Ms. Orzack, a member of Rights for Equality and Dignity of the Disabled, one of the groups that pushed for deployment of the taxis.
Before the two cabs went into service, not one of Worcester’s taxis was accessible to the handicapped.
Since 1979, the number of taxi medallions has been frozen at 108, and the City Council could not be coaxed to increase the number of licenses.
While all taxicabs operating in Worcester are licensed through the Police Department, a taxi medallion remains the property of taxi owners until the owners transfer them through private sale.
The medallions can fetch more than $50,000, and some have sold for close to $75,000. Owners maintain that making too many medallions available would reduce demand for taxis, drive down the value of the medallions and hurt the industry.
Late this year, however, that sentiment changed, and the board added two new medallions that would be awarded for use by operators providing special service to the handicapped.
"We fought for this for at least 10 years," Ms. Orzack said. "They told us it would never happen, but it did."
One medallion was awarded to Virgil Hernandez, affiliated with the Yellow Cab Co. The second is held by Donald Donovan, who, with his wife, Toni, is principal owner of Red Cab.
Both of the taxis are Dodge Caravans equipped with rear entry ramps for wheelchairs.
City officials estimated it cost $25,000 to $30,000 to retrofit the vehicles.
According to City Hall spokesman Robert Bliss, the medallions, which cost $100 apiece, can’t be sold or transferred for three years.
Companies in Boston and Cambridge have operated fleets of taxis for the handicapped for years.
"In a nutshell, city officials in Worcester believed the issue was a private business matter with the taxi companies," said Albert Powers, chairman of the city’s Commission for Persons with Disabilities. "But we politely hounded them. We stressed that the matter involved equality. No matter how good the transportation system in the area was, it still did not provide round-the-clock service for the disabled."
Mr. Powers, who has cerebral palsy and uses crutches, said he’s not sure how many will benefit by the new service. He noted that about 40,000 people in Worcester have disabilities.
Mayor Timothy P. Murray said the taxis became a reality because of the persistence of advocates.
"There was a lot of give and take, and they stayed at the table," he said.
City officials said the new taxis can be used by anyone, but calls from the disabled are given priority.
They were not sure how many disabled people have taken advantage of the cabs to date but Lawrence Raymond, Worcester’s assistant director of human resources, said the service allowed a handicapped person to enjoy Christmas Eve with family.
Assistant City Manager Thaddeus Jankowski Jr. said the service was another example of Worcester’s efforts to comply with the federal Americans With Disabilities Act.
Meanwhile, Ms. Orzack said she looks forward to doing business with the cab companies.
Yesterday, the two vehicles were formally unveiled during a brief program at City Hall.
"Here goes!" said Ms. Orzack, as she was wheeled into one of the taxis, arms raised in a victory salute. "This is for everybody!"