THE COST AND QUALITY OF PARATRANSIT SERVICE FOR THE ELDERLY AND HANDICAPPED

Abstract

This article compares the real cost of service provided by two major subsidized paratransit operations in the New England region with rates currently applicable in the costs for both non-profit organizations and publicly-owned costs for both non-profit organizations and publically-owned paratransit fail to include the real cost of vehicles and equipment. Non-profits can secure funds to defray the cost of capital equipment from Section 16(b) (2) of the Urban Mass Transportation Act, and public transit systems are eligible for similar subsidies under Section 3 and 5. The real cost of labor was also often understated due to government programs such as the Comprehensive Employment and Training Act (CETA). As a result, figures relating cost per passenger trip by non-profit organizations and public transit are seriously underestimated and do not truly reflect the economic cost or the efficiency of services provided. Most importantly, these cost figures are clearly misleading when used to demonstrate that transportation service for the elderly and handicapped provided by the for-profit sector is more expensive. The second issue, relating to adequacy of service, is complicated by a number of factors that contribute to determining the quality of transportation services. The two major subsidized paratransit operations considered in the cost section are also evaluated for quality of service relative to services provided by the private for-profit sector.

Cite this work

No public copy is stored for this record, so only the metadata is cited.

Stored only when both papers are in the corpus — 10 citations exist upstream.