Some disabled riders aren't happy with shields added to Suffolk paratransit buses

Plastic shields on dozens of paratransit buses in Suffolk County are supposed to protect drivers from COVID-19, but for many disabled riders like Marilyn Tucci, the barriers make boarding dangerous, she and others said.

The shields, which partially enclose the driver, cut into platform space, making it harder for those boarding to walk past with guide dogs or canes, riders said.

"When the buses first came out, I smacked into the shield. As a blind person, I had no clue it was there. I went in full force because I didn’t expect it there," said Tucci, who uses a guide dog and is one of 14,000 registered disabled bus riders in the county. "I hope something is done before someone gets seriously hurt."

Tucci, 70, said she and her dog can't get on the platform together. "Now my dog either has to go before me or behind me," she told Newsday. "It’s not safe."

Tucci, a member of the Suffolk County Transportation Working Group, also is an advocate and outreach coordinator at Suffolk Independent Living Organization, or SILO, which provides services for disabled people.

The shields were approved by the state Department of Transportation and subsequently installed on 40 Ford 2100 series paratransit buses — part of Suffolk County Accessible Transportation Services — in November, according to Darnell Tyson, chief deputy commissioner of the county's Department of Public Works. That department oversees contracted bus service operators and sets system policies.

The cost to install the shields were $1,495 per bus, but the county shelled out only 10% of the bill. Eighty percent was federally funded and the remaining 10% came from the state.

Drawbacks were revealed Jan. 24 during a virtual Suffolk County legislative meeting held by the Public Works, Transportation & Energy Committee, where several disabled riders said the barriers, intended to protect drivers and also customers, pose a safety hazard and called for immediate changes.

Among the safety issues raised, riders said the 10.5-by-14-inch sliding window for fare collection is positioned too low and is hard to find and access, creating a risk of falling.

"It’s been a nightmare," Brandon Heinrich, 30, who is blind and also previously crashed into the shield, said at the legislative meeting. " … When you’re trying to give money to the driver, the hole is so small and so far down, you actually have to go down the step. When I was first doing it, the driver had to tell me, ‘Go down the step, go down the step.’ "

"You have to be an acrobat just to find this hole," Heinrich, of St. James, later added.

In the hearing's aftermath, Tyson said the bus operator will alert riders they are boarding a retrofitted bus, and highlighting tape will be added around the fare payment slot and on the panel to make it easier to locate.

Technical issues prevented Tucci from speaking at the hearing, but she told Newsday she alerted several county officials in December about the problems and does not feel the tape will help people who can't see.

Tucci said if people with disabilities had been allowed to test out the newly retrofitted buses, a proactive fix could have been made. But, she said, this is part of a broader problem for disabled bus riders in Suffolk; they feel left out when it comes to new bus designs.

"Common courtesy is that they should let the passengers know they are coming out with these new buses. They don’t ask us and they don’t tell us, they just thrust us on the bus," said Tucci, of Shirley.

Tyson said officials were unable to alert Suffolk Independent Living Organization members of the proposed redesigns because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but added in a statement: "Ideally in the future, if conditions allow, we would bring any new buses by SILO for members' information and familiarization."

Cheryl Mahon, 64, who also uses a service dog, told legislators at the hearing that getting on the retrofitted buses becomes a tough balancing act.

"To me, it’s a dangerous situation that we’re put in on because of that shield. You get on and you have packages … you take that space away and it becomes a balancing issue," said Mahon, of Sayville.

"It was a mistake. I don’t think they took into consideration disabilities when they were designing that," she later added.

During the hearing, Suffolk County Legis. Nicholas Caracappa, head of the Public Works, Transportation & Energy Committee, asked Public Works Commissioner Joseph Brown whether the shields could be retrofitted, and Brown responded the agency was reassessing the situation.

"We have been, and perhaps there is more we can do, as passengers are entering, so that they know, to remind them where the shield is and to help them with the dropping of fare," Brown said then.

Deborah Hagan, the president of Transport Workers Union Local 252, who represents paratransit bus drivers, said the shields are an important tool to help minimize coronavirus transmission and added that bus drivers assist disabled riders having any difficulties.

"I think the shields are a great idea," said paratransit bus driver Jim McGloin, 68. He said he hasn’t heard anyone complain about the shields and hopes disabled riders will become more familiar and comfortable with them.

Paratransit buses in Nassau County do not have shields, according to the company that runs the service, Nassau Inter-County Express, or NICE. NICE CEO Jack Khzouz said the cab area in the Ford 350 buses could create boarding problems and glare for the driver.

Eman Rimawi-Doster, 37, an Access-A-Ride campaign coordinator and organizer with the nonprofit New York Lawyers for the Public Interest based in Manhattan, and who is a double amputee with lupus, said at the Suffolk meeting she hopes there is a safer solution for everyone.

A bus will be displayed at the next Feb. 28 Public Works Committee meeting, Tyson said.

"Blind people shouldn't have to feel around [for the fare slot]. It's degrading," Tucci said. "They could do better."