A week from now the Disabled Adult Transportation System is
bringing a new policy where you have to cancel two hours in advance or you get
hate mail. And if you get enough hate mail, you could be suspended from
service. So, as DATS user, after much deliberation I have decided how I am
going to handle it. I’m going to ignore it. Pretend it isn’t even there. I am a
busy person and if I can’t cancel within the said period, bring the hate
letters on. I really don’t care if I get suspended.
What bothers me is the way this was handled. DATS didn’t ask
users at all for their input. I find that very interesting given today’s
information age. They did bend a bit, saying those cancellations up until 7
a.m. will not go on the hate mail list. I don’t think that’s good enough. If
DATS administration would have asked users, they would know many things can happen
in the morning: personal care aides may be late, or not show up; equipment such
as wheelchairs and lifts may falter; accidents in the home might happen and
other things. Many of these things happen after 7 a.m. Respectfully, I think
the exemption time for the two-hour policy should be extended to 10 a.m.
But nobody asked. Nobody from DATS did their homework. So
despite 550 names on a petition the two-hour policy swings into affect next
week. Bring it on, I say. Because
I think this is a great opportunity for people with disabilities to make
another profound statement that cookie cutter philosophy without consulting
consumers does not work.
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