My new campaign
Most of my energy these days has been spent on a new campaign. I have been working on getting support from various Metro entities for a public bus forum for people with disabilities. I first brought this up at the E&D meeting that was held on the 10th of July. The proposal was met with positive statements, and though Pat Sheehan, our Chair, was out of town, and I would have to get approval from him, I decided to seek support from other Metro departments, and have this information for when I talked with Pat.
Everyone that I have spoken to at WMATA has been supportive of a bus forum. I placed a call to Wendy Klancher, of the Washington Metro Area Council of Governments, and Steve Yaffe, of Metro, and received support for the forum form them. I spoke before the WMATA Board of Directors, and afterward, one of the board members, Kathy Hutchinson, came up, and offered her support. I asked that she speak to her colleagues about this. I then sat down with Glenn Millis, and Jack Requa. They were extremely supportive, and Mr. Requa, though he offered no guarantees, promised to send out letters to the interim General Manager, and several other Metro officials. We even went over the possible dates, times, and District officials who would be invited! I have been trying to catch up with Pat, but I also want to speak with Dennis Jaffee, Chair of the Riders Advisory Committee. I feel that he would be a good ally, and I want to work closely with him on this.
The forum is not intended to put down Metro or its employees, but to air the concerns of passengers with disabilities despite the fact that Metro’s buses are now 100% accessible. My hope is that the E&D Committe, the RAC, and Metro will work together to address the concerns of its passenger with disabilities, and to offer solutions to these problems. I hope that the forum will not be an end, but a beginning in the effort to make Metro the best transportation system in the nation. It will not be easy, but based on the reception and support that I have received at Metro I feel pretty good, so far. I will keep you abreast of my progress.