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Angie Goodnight, also a
commission member, said “without TARTA, I would not have a
job.” She explained that her income from her job supports
her family and without transportation, she has no way to get
to work.
“What are we going to do?
I do not have the opportunity to get in a car and drive to
work. We are not that fortunate. We depend on public
transportation.”
Jo Rita Fox, a member of
the Community Advocates Transportation Rights (CATR) also
spoke of the need those with disabilities have for public
transportation in virtually every aspect of their lives.
“TARTA and TARPS help people with disabilities feel
independent and like they are contributing members of
society.”
Fox asked audience members
to appeal to local elected officials to help pass a sales
tax in order to increase local funding “and help TARTA serve
all of Lucas County.”
The location of the rally
in Sylvania Township was selected to impress upon township
voters and trustees the need for support of the TARTA
proposal to shift its local funding from a property tax to a
sales tax. It’s a proposal that township trustees have not
placed on a ballot and allowed their residents to vote on
the matter. That funding shirt requires unanimous approval
from all of TARTA’s member communities.
Lauren Notestine, a self
advocate, also addressed her family’s dependence on TARPS
for work and to get to other activities. Both Notestine and
her husband are disabled and unable to drive. If the TARTA
proposed elimination of service on Sundays goes into effect,
devoted church attendees such as Notestine and her husband
would be unable to get to their place of worship.
“I have found my voice by
speaking to you today,” said Notestine. “Silence is not an
option.”
A 2017 study conducted by
the Ohio Development al Disabilities Council found that
obtaining safe, reliable transportation is already very
difficult for Ohioans with disabilities. The study found
that existing transportation options do not operate at the
times and in the locations needed; the transportation
options do not serve the diversity of disabilities present
in the community; there are long wait times for rides and
riders cannot make flexible or spontaneous travel decisions.
A large part of the
problem in Ohio is that the per capita transit spending by
the state ranks near the bottom of the nation, between
Montana and Mississippi. Ohio’s per capita transit funding
is $.63 compared to Michigan’s $26.78; Pennsylvania’s
$128.83 and Illinois’ $200.59.
Toledo, one of the few
large cities in the nation that depends on property taxes
for local funding has seen that funding decrease by about $6
million (30 percent of its funding) in recent years.
A TARTA proposal to change
its funding structure from a property tax to a sales tax was
stymied by two Sylvania Township trustees who would not
allow the township voters to approve such a ballot measure.
Without the approval of all its member communities, TARTA
cannot move the needle on its funding issues.
The disability community,
said Ferris in his closing remarks, is proposing that TARTA
delay its service cut until the commission established by
the Lucas County Commissioners have an opportunity to
suggest alternatives; that state representatives support
consequential funding alternatives and that members of the
community speak with their representatives.
“Public transportation is
not an extra,” said Ferris. “It is an essential part of who
we are.”
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