OPINION: Nassau has the ability to come up with Able-Ride answer

Legis Judy Jacobs (D-Woodbury) was presiding officer of the Nassau County Legislature from 2000 through 2007.

"Caring is a reflex. Someone slips, your arm goes out; and a car is in a ditch, you join the others and push. . . . You live . . . you help!" - Ram Dass, contemporary spiritual teacherThere are so many times when our hearts, as well as our arms, go out to those in need.

That's the way I felt when I heard that the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, in a precipitous move, decided to meet its budget shortfall by cutting service by about 10 percent in Nassau County. Most of that 10 percent is in the northeast quadrant - Syosset, Woodbury, Bayville and Oyster Bay.

The loss of regular bus routes in that area would literally stop Able-Ride - a transit system for disabled people, which functions within three-quarters of a mile of regular bus routes - from serving the people who live there and are able to work and attend school because of this necessary transportation.

People like Evan Skidmore, who lives in Syosset. He is incredibly strong in spirit, but is physically disabled and uses a power chair.

In explaining what the cuts to Able-Ride will do to his life, he wrote, "I am in my last year at Hofstra and expect to graduate in May with a bachelor's degree in sociology. I have been working toward this goal for 9 years. Since I cannot get to a public bus and cannot drive, I will not be able to attend the last month of classes and will not be able to take my final exams. My dream of earning a degree will be destroyed. I have had a dream of being able to work competitively. I will not be able to reach that goal since I will not have transportation."

Anthony Celardo, also from Syosset, who depends on a power wheelchair for mobility, finds himself in an equally distressing situation. So does Celeste Lopes, from Plainview, a brilliant blind attorney who is experiencing some hearing loss.

Skidmore, Celardo, Lopes and so many in the same situation are our neighbors and friends. They are vibrant people who have much to contribute to society. Do we sit back and shake our heads, or do we take on an advocacy role to ensure some type of solution to allow these talented individuals to achieve their potential?

This is life, folks. This is what caring and compassion is all about.

We cannot force the MTA to scrap its plans to cut back services to northeast Nassau, but we can continuously remind its leaders, loud and clear, that by doing so, they stop Able-Ride.

But there are alternatives. Twelve years ago Ohio dealt with a similar cutback by establishing a sedan voucher program to help those in need. Under this program, someone can buy up to 10 vouchers at $4 each to be used for one cab trip. The transit authority contracts with a taxi company that has both cars and lift-equipped vans, and disabled patrons can use those vouchers as needed. They can go anywhere in the service area - regardless of bus routes. Riders can also book a ride up to an hour before they need it. The system works.

If the MTA employed some alternatives, such as vouchers, it would allow them to use a variety of different vehicles. That would mean lower operating costs than for the Able-Ride buses they currently use. Perhaps, then, they could cut costs without cutting services. That would be a great alternative for everyone involved.

Rather than using a hatchet to cut services and destroy lives, the MTA should explore replicating the Ohio system here in a public-private venture to ensure that this disastrous cut to Able-Ride never happens.

Do we really believe that Nassau County cannot do what other areas have managed to accomplish during equally difficult times? I'm sure there are capable minds here in Nassau who can do it. Shame on all of us if we can't.