[bscb-announce] CORRECTION: Executive Order 530: provide suggestions to improve/reform Community, Social Service and Paratransit transportation

[Rick Morin]

I apologize for the faux pas I made in my previous post. I mentioned “The Ride” which is the complementary paratransit service of the MBTA in the Boston area. For those of you outside the Boston area, this matter applies to you also and is not limited to your complementary paratransit service such as the PVTA in the Springfield area. This is a state wide effort. I apologize for being so Boston-centric.

Stay Safe,

Rick

 

From: bscb-announce-bounces at acb.org [mailto:bscb-announce-bounces at acb.org] On Behalf Of Rick Morin
Sent: Saturday, August 27, 2011 9:47 AM
To: bscb-announce at acb.org
Subject: [bscb-announce] Executive Order 530: provide suggestions to improve/reform Community, Social Service and Paratransit transportation

 

I attended the first meeting of the Commonwealth wide Commission established by Governor Patrick’s Executive Order 530  to examine and offer suggestions to improve/reform Community, Social Service and Paratransit transportation.

 

All materials used by this Commission are available at http://mbta.com/execorder530.

 

This matter is of great importance to everyone with disabilities, not only users of The Ride.

 

Below you will find the introductory information copied and pasted directly from this website.

 

Please review these materials and forward concerns and recommendations to any member of the Bay State Council of the Blind Board. The challenge of the commission is  to address the fiscal aspects of providing equitable transportation to members of the community of people with disabilities. 

 

Regards,

 

Rick Morin

Treasurer

Bay State Council of the Blind

 

The following is from the website: http://mbta.com/execorder530.

 

Executive Order 530

On April 6th of this year, Gov. Deval Patrick signed Executive Order 530.  This is a Commonwealth wide effort to examine and offer suggestions to improve/reform Community, Social Service and Paratransit transportation. The Order established a Commission of 16 members.  The Governor′s office, through their outreach to State agencies and their partners, along with consulting industry leaders in various transportation areas, suggested names of people across the Commonwealth who possess the expertise listed in the Order for the Governor′s review.  The Commission is co-chaired by both Secretary Mullan of MassDOT and Secretary Bigby of EOHHS.  Staffs from the MBTA, MassDOT, and EOHHS are providing all necessary support and assistance to the Commission.

 

As people′s transportation needs change, so do their expectations of their public transportation system.  As a result, the demand for services keeps growing, costs continue to rise and resources remain limited.  The goal of the Commission is to develop detailed recommendations for reform and maximize efficiencies in the provision of these critical services utilized by persons with disabilities, persons with low incomes, persons with Limited English Proficiency, and seniors and visitors to the Commonwealth.

 

 

The 16 members are comprised of:

 

Jeffery Mullan - Secretary and CEO of Transportation

Dr. JudyAnn Bigby - Secretary of Health and Human Services

Coleman Nee - Secretary of Veterans Affairs

Ann Hartstein- Secretary of Elder Affairs

Jay Gonzalez - Secretary of Admin & Finance

Ron Marlow- Assistant Secretary of Admin & Finance for Access and Opportunity

Richard Davey- General Manager of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority

Francis Gay and Thomas Cahir- Two representatives for the Regional Transit Authorities

Francisca Fajana- One member with Civil Rights background

Judith O'Connor - One representative of a Council on Aging

Jini Fairley and Denise Karuth - Two members representing Paratransit users

Mohammed Khan and Will Rodman- Two members with expertise regarding Paratransit service delivery and operations

Linda Guiod - One member with extensive experience in human services

 

The first meeting of the Commission is scheduled for Thursday August 25th in the Gardner Auditorium of the State House 3:30-5:00pm.

 

Six listening session will also be held throughout the state to allow for the general public to speak to Commission members regarding their experiences regarding community, social service and paratransit transportation. Dates for these sessions will be posted on this site as soon as they are available.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   

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