MTA to enforce paratransit radius, potentially expand it

Macon-Bibb County Transit Authority CEO Craig Ross recently announced plans to crack down on riders who live outside paratransit service’s coverage areas.

Paratransit services offer non-emergency transportation to those with disabilities or medical conditions that prevent them from riding on the authority’s other bus services. 

The Federal Transit Administration requires local transit services to provide these services to and from locations within three-quarters of a mile of existing fixed bus routes. 

For instance, a Macon-Bibb resident living within this distance of a fixed route can schedule a paratransit bus — for $2.50 one way — to pick them up at their home and drive them to a doctor’s office if it is also within three-quarters of a mile from a fixed route. They can also schedule paratransit pickup from locations within the radius that are not their home address.

Ross told board meeting attendees on Aug. 26 that more than 80 residents who live outside of the coverage area but still ride paratransit buses will be cut off from using the service in the near future.

“We gotta stop some of this bleeding, now, that is costing us so much money,” Ross said in an interview with The Macon Melody.

Paratransit bus drivers complete the trips listed on their manifests and are not necessarily aware of or responsible for enforcing the distance requirements, he explained.

Data analyzed from TripSpark — a $1.3 million tool meant to boost the authority’s route optimization and performance — brought the oversight to the CEO’s attention a couple months ago.

He said some of the more than 80 individuals flagged as potentially beyond coverage once resided within the acceptable radius but have since moved and failed to update their home address with authority officials.

“They signed the application, so they knew what their responsibility was and they didn’t follow through,” he said. “They moved.”

He noted one individual using the paratransit service has fallen outside the range because the authority has since discontinued a nearby fixed bus route, thus terminating the approved radius in the area.

“There’s gonna be some people that this really affects,” he said. “I can’t be everything for everybody.”

Ross likened the sudden reinforcement of the existing federal rule to being pulled over for speeding. 

If a police officer pulls someone over for speeding, he said, they won’t try to tell the officer they’ve always driven that fast but haven’t been caught before. 

At the meeting, Ross also said residents will receive 30 days notice prior to being cut off from paratransit usage. He later told The Melody he plans to extend it to 60 days.

The notification letter will include information on the federal rule and on the authority’s “ride on demand” rapid transit system, which launched in early July and costs $5-8 a ride.

Paratransit rider and retired Macon-Bibb sheriff’s deputy Wade Horton suggested that the roughly 80 individuals outside of the coverage area who are still receiving paratransit services should be grandfathered in and the rule should be enforced with new applicants moving forward. 

Horton, who uses paratransit daily to go to doctor’s appointments, the store, the gym and more, previously filed a lawsuit against the authority alleging wrongful denial of access to paratransit services. His 2020 suit was dismissed with prejudice by the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Georgia in 2021. 

Solutions

Before sending out notification letters to the affected residents, Ross said he is considering expanding the radius to eight-tenths of a mile — a policy change which he said does not require board approval — citing the arbitrary nature of the federal government’s requirement.

“Why not a mile? Why not half a mile? Why three-quarters of a mile?” Ross said. “The government does a lot of stuff that we don’t understand.”

After reconfirming who falls outside of the service area and who doesn’t, Ross said he wants to see if expanding the radius will benefit riders living on the edge of the coverage area. He said he will then send out the letters to those still affected.

Even though Ross could increase the service area to more than a mile, he said, the authority is limited by the cost of paratransit. He said paratransit trips cost the organization $46 each way.

“We could, but we won’t,” he said. “We got to work something out so we can come up to a medium without going so far overboard.”

Ross also highlighted money losses from riders who don’t show up or cancel late. In July 2024, 16% of all scheduled trips were canceled or no-shows. That amount decreased to approximately 13% in July of this year. 

The federal government provides the authority with 80% of its funding. The Georgia Department of Transportation and authority monies cover the other 20%.

Ross said significantly increasing the paratransit coverage area would cost riders more.

“We haven’t had an increase in years. We’ve got to raise our fares,” he said. “The passengers have got to take responsibility for some of that.”

Ross said the authority is also searching for a third-party company to further analyze their operations and help determine where more routes need to be added or trimmed.