“Together, we must remove the physical barriers we have created and the social barriers that we have accepted. For ours will never be a truly prosperous nation until all within it prosper.” These were the words spoken by President George W. Bush on July 26, 1990, the day he signed the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) into law. Now, almost 32 years later, we have come very far, but we still have a long way to …
I had no idea when I woke up that day, December 28, 2015, in Scottsbluff, Nebraska, that my life would never be the same. It was –13 degrees Fahrenheit that morning—so cold, you could barely feel your face after about 30 seconds outside. I was working on a USDOT grant for a rural mobility solution, and we were doing the first beta test for the app we were working on. We were collaborating with the …
One of the most gut-wrenching experiences for a call center agent in the transportation industry, is when a patient calls to schedule a ride to their healthcare appointment—for example, a hip replacement or tubes for their toddler’s ears—and they discover that they can’t afford it. Some cry, others yell and scream, and worst of all, some go silent—you can literally hear them stop breathing. The pain, sickness, disappointment, and frustration are palpable over the phone. …
When I was 14 years old, I first discovered the health equity barriers in our society and the role transportation plays in creating them. But it wasn’t until almost 20 years later that I realized it was going to be my life’s calling to help address these challenges. When a classmate’s mom’s car broke down one day, she lost her job because there were no public transit options that could get her to work. As jobs …
