Categories | Lawsuits & Litigation Article

Maryland Transit Administration Promises to Change

January 26th, 2017 • Lawsuits & Litigation • 2 minute read
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Author Sara E. Teller

Maryland Transit Administration Promises to Change

A class action lawsuit was filed by the AARP Foundation Litigation and the Maryland Disability Law Center, now referred to as Disability Rights Maryland, against the Maryland Transit Administration (MTA) in 2015. The lawsuit alleged the transit service was routinely late picking up and dropping off passengers and unable and unwilling to accommodate passengers with disabilities. It was filed specifically on behalf of passengers who are disabled or critically ill and had been mistreated by MTA employees. Many missed vital doctor appointments due to unreliable service, or were simply denied certain accessibility rights. Other complaints from users included being put on hold for long periods of time when attempting to schedule appointments, or being told they are unable to ride without a sufficient explanation. The lawsuit documented numerous times in which the MTA put users on hold for long periods of time, in excess of 45 minutes, or made passengers wait up to hours for a ride. It became impossible for many to schedule needed medical visits and be guaranteed the ability to keep them. There are many nonverbal passengers with disabilities that rely on the MTA for their transportation needs and missing these appointments without an easy way to reschedule could be life threatening.

Image Courtesy of Maryland.govImage Courtesy of Maryland.gov

New specific quality assurance metrics have been put into place, and the consultants will continue to review compliance with these measurements and offer suggestions for improvement as necessary. Part of the program includes processing applications and confirming certification within 10 days of receiving them. If applicants do not receive a response within three weeks, they will be able to utilize the MTA until they have. Eligibility assessments will be completed on the same day as the MTA calls to schedule interviews. Anyone denied service will be "given a second chance" and asked to submit more information as needed for potential reconsideration. The forms available for appeals have been adjusted to provide greater protection against applicants being unjustifiably denied. Passengers are cautiously optimistic that the restructuring will bring about positive changes.

Sources:

MTA agrees to improve mobility/paratransit service in settlementMTA Mobility Service Changes
Sara E. Teller

About Sara E. Teller

Sara is a credited freelance writer, editor, contributor, and essayist, as well as a novelist and poet with nearly twenty years of experience. A seasoned publishing professional, she's worked for newspapers, magazines and book publishers in content digitization, editorial, acquisitions and intellectual property. Sara has been an invited speaker at a Careers in Publishing & Authorship event at Michigan State University and a Reading and Writing Instructor at Sylvan Learning Center. She has an MBA degree with a concentration in Marketing and an MA in Clinical Mental Health Counseling, graduating with a 4.2/4.0 GPA. She is also a member of Chi Sigma Iota and a 2020 recipient of the Donald D. Davis scholarship recognizing social responsibility. Sara is certified in children's book writing, HTML coding and social media marketing. Her fifth book, PTSD: Healing from the Inside Out, was released in September 2019 and is available on Amazon. You can find her others books there, too, including Narcissistic Abuse: A Survival Guide, released in December 2017.

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