(WSVN) - When you have a family member who is disabled, getting around town for daily activities and appointments can be a challenge. That’s why many people rely on the county’s paratransit program, but as 7’s Brandon Beyer tells us, for some families, the service can be an “Unreliable Ride.”
For the elderly and disabled, special schools or day care are their only interaction outside their family. Many rely on Broward County buses called TOPS! Rides to get them there.
At $3.50 per ride, it’s affordable. But for some families, TOPS! is at the bottom of their list of trusted transportation services.
Veronica Miranda: “The biggest problem now is TOPS! is leaving him behind.”
Veronica Miranda’s 20-year-old brother José has Down syndrome and is nonverbal. TOPS! was scheduled to take him to and from his school and his after-school program.
Veronica Miranda: “Four times, maybe, that he’s been left behind at school or at the YMCA. It’s caused so much stress.”
Veronica Smith says her 34-year-old daughter Jessica is often picked up late.
Veronica Smith: “They didn’t get to the school till after 6 [p.m.]”
Interviewer: “What time were they supposed to pick her up?”
Veronica Smith: “At 2:30.”
And recently, a TOPS! driver refused to pick up Jessica at her adult day care program, even though she is a regular rider and had been dropped off that morning.
Veronica Smith: “I have got no explanation as to why. What kind of a person leaves a handicapped person just sitting there?”
She tried to call TOPS! to see what happened.
Veronica Smith: “I finally got through to a complaint line. They put me on hold, and they never came back.”
José’s family also had trouble getting through.
Veronica Miranda: “Calling TOPS! and reaching out to somebody there is impossible. Nobody answers, you get re-routed, you get put on hold for hours.”
TOPS! refused our request for an on-camera interview, but said in a statement they provide “over 3,300 trips on an average weekday,” adding that “increased ridership and worsening traffic congestion … pose challenges for drivers.”
They gave us a complaint summary which shows they have received more than 500 complaints in the last two months alone about scheduling and drivers being late.
Veronica Miranda: “We cannot rely on this service.”
José’s family just gave up and now drive him to school themselves.
Veronica Smith: “I’m just very disappointed.”
Veronica, who is in ill health, has to rely on TOPS! for Jessica. She worries about future scheduling problems.
Veronica Smith: “I thought the system was really designed to be an assist to the handicapped and the elderly, and I don’t think it is. I don’t think it’s working the way it should.”
TOPS! did say that Broward County Transit has ordered 46 new vehicles. They say the addition will help them improve service.
Broward Transit also says it has a strict no-stranding policy. If a customer misses their ride, they say, another vehicle will be reassigned to pick them up, even if it’s late.
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