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LAWSUIT
SETTLED!
After many years of a long struggle for equality, some gains have been made for our community!
Read the full public settlement document here!
Read the original lawsuit filed here.
~Thank You~
David Geffen Mediation
Transport Workers Union Local 250A
The City & County of San Francisco
and (in loving memory) Bob Planthold and Hollynn D'Lil
This success would not have been possible without the legal expertise of David Geffen, the courageous support of TWU Local 250A, and the willingness of CCSF to come to the table and figure out some solutions. While we didn't get all I had hoped for, what is here is substantial, and focuses 100% on operator education and positive reinforcements, instead of punishments and penalties.
Did you know? Less than 1% of bus operator beginner education covers disability (3.5hrs of 400hrs of training), and before this lawsuit there was no perspective or inclusion of disabled voices in that training, or even a quiz !
With some legal encouragement, CCSF (City County of San Francisco) has stepped up to help change some of this, and I'm excited to see the changes! They have also created some brand new websites that I was advocating for, for the first time letting us know our ADA rights, how to file a complaint, who to contact, and more (see below)
The NEW Disability Complaint webpage
(know your rights!)
https://www.sfmta.com/accessibility-complaints
The NEW Disability ADA Hearing webpage
(know your rights!)
https://www.sfmta.com/services/request-administrative-hearing/accessibility-hearings
The NEW Quick Start portal for people with Disabilities (PWD)
https://www.sfmta.com/getting-around/accessibility/quick-start-residents-disabilities
Video and Image: a logo; a green circle with mini buses illustrated along the outside and a sprouting plant, reading "Transit Equity Day: Civil Rights and a Healthy Planet" inside the middle. [video desc. unavailable as of yet]
Image: a group of transit activists from the 1970s, all in wheelchairs holding signs saying "Freedom Rider" "Buses are for Everyone"
MUNI for ALL
Image: a snake wearing a MUNI hat sticks its head out of a bus to yell "Catch the Next One!" at a shocked hedgehog in a mobility chair. Art by Zach Karnazes.
As many wheelchair users in SF know, MUNI buses often deny us access. It is common for MUNI drivers to refuse to board us, or engage in passive-aggressive behaviors to deter us from using public transit.
Even worse, the ADA process at SFMTA has is extremely broken and set up to make complaints as difficult as possible.
Please note, that I am Pro-Union and I support the unionization of MUNI workers 100%.
Giving MUNI workers fair pay and benefits is not what causes these problems.
They result from a lack of training, poor oversight, over-crowded buses, and a broken ADA system within the
San Francisco Municipal Transit Agency (SFMTA).
Image: A mock ad for "SFMTA Brand 100% Human Sardines" with a picture of a sardine can that says "MUNI, 49 bus flavor." A hype sticker in the corner says, "Now with more misery!"
Art by Zach Karnazes
Below are vital public documents I've spent many hours requesting and pulling teeth from SFMTA to get.
--PUBLIC RECORDS--
-ADA Grievances-
I'm just one person among the hundreds of ADA complaints made to SFMTA each and every year. I recently did some public records requests which show the devastating condition of transportation for the disabled in San Francisco:
(Click on the links below for PDFs of every ADA complaint filed against MUNI / SFMTA in the past 5 years (up to 9/2019):
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
-SFMTA / MUNI Rules-
How do you know if the rules are being followed, if the public doesn't know the rules? Fortunately, these should help:
The Official MUNI Code Section
(the Rules MUNI drivers have to follow)
and
The ADA Hearing Procedure rules (which they continue to change, so this is likely outdated at the moment)
You can use these rules to learn about your rights and what violations are happening.
Rules 4.15.5 and 4.17.1 are particularly interesting and offer details about disabled rights to board.
-ADA Hearings-
Rarely does an ADA complaint make it all the way to the hearing. This is an exhausting process, requiring an amazing amount of energy and persistence from people already worn down by disability. If SFMTA hasn't worn you down with PR talk, misled you with their online forms, ignored you, rescheduled last minute, destroyed public evidence, or denied accommodations you need, you might make it to one of these:
Click on the links below for PDFs of every ADA Hearing
(scroll to the bottom of each PDF) at SFMTA in the past 5 years (up to 12/2019):
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018 (Part 1)
2018 (Part 2)
2019 (Part 1)
2019 (Part 2)
After you get the ruling in your favor what does SFMTA do? Compensate you? Say 'thank you' for informing them of violations to their code and Federal Law? Nope. They just issue these rulings and that's it. No appeals process.
Having bus access problems? Feel free contact me if you want to work on issues together! We can go to SFMTA meetings and spread the word, among other useful things :)
--DID YOU KNOW?--
SFMTA makes over $90 Million in fines and citations each year...
...From 1.5million parking and transit citations each year
over half a million of those citations were for "street cleaning" alone!
" Administrative Fees" for towing have gone up over 400% since 2009
Wouldn't it be nice to have a transit system that prioritizes access for seniors and disabled people instead?
SFMTA continues to pretend they have a "budget crisis", even though they spent millions of dollars on a new bus fleet recently and millions on projects like "A Better Market Street."
This department is not working in the interests of the population that they serve, or in the interests of the union workers that break their backs each day keeping everything going.
--AUDIO CLIPS--
00:00 / 04:09
From the 2-20-20 MAAC Disability ADA SFMTA meeting hosted by Heidi Seretan
00:00 / 02:48
From the 2-20-20 MAAC Disability ADA
SFMTA meeting
(about the "new budget" ideas presentation from
Jonathan Streeter
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