Adele Crudden and Michele McDonnall

After participating in this session participants will be able to:  Paraphrase current knowledge about transportation barriers for people who are blind/visually impaired  Compare results from a transportation survey of persons who are blind/visually impaired to their personal experiences  Have a greater understanding of the limits of current research about transportation

Even with the ADA, transportation barriers exist  Public transportation is limited or inaccessible in some areas  Small percentage benefit from adaptive technology  Orientation and mobility skills are important  Awareness of options

Persons who:  Lack public transportation  Live in rural areas  Live in poverty  Have disabilities  Are elderly

 40% in rural areas have no public transportation of those who do, 25% have minimal services  Persons with disabilities comprise greater percentages in rural areas

Based on the American Community Survey (2012):  31.2% of adults with visual disabilities were below the poverty line (15.9% of general population)  Median household income was $33,400 for BVI ($51,324 for total population)  Transportation expenditures for low income households represent a higher percent of income

 Provide O&M training  Reimburse for defined period  Discuss importance of reliable transportation  Provide information about local options  Assist with paratransit applications

 Intervention study in AL failed to yield anticipated number of participants  Gain further information about transportation and impact, particularly regarding employment  Examine stress associated with transportation as well as availability

 Disseminated to NRTC Participant Registry  Useable pool of 142 persons  $25 gift card to participants  Modified survey disseminated to larger audience

 Not a representative sample  Issues with technology  Some missing data  Self report

Describe self as:US, 2010*Survey White/Caucasian Black/African American Hispanic(16.3)4.9 Multiracial Asian Amer Indian/Alaskan Nat Other/Unknown (did not answer) *US Census Bureau (2011) Retrieved from:

 Age of participants Mean = 43.6 years (SD=12.34) Range from 20 to 67  Age at vision loss: Birth = 52.8% After birth to 5 years = 9.1% 6 years and older = 38%

 Totally blind = 37.3%  Legally blind = 54.2%  Less severe VI = 8.5%

RegionRespondents South43.9% Midwest20.1% West19.4% Northeast16.6%

Income RangesUS 2012* (see note)Survey Respondents Less than $25, Between $25,001 - $50, Between $50,001 - $75, $75,001 - $100, Over $100, Missing (chose not to answer) 12.7

ResidenceRespondents Spouse or partner45.1% Alone34.5% Other adult(s)6.3% Adult children5.6% Other family18.3% Could select more than one.

Educational Level USDisability*Survey Participants Less than High School High School Some college or Associate Bachelor or higher degree

 75.4% white cane users  24.7% guide dog users  18.3% use neither  16.2% use other (wayfinding devices)

 69% received VR services  Of those, 20.6% said the VR agency assisted in locating transportation to and from work

Employed45.1% Unemployed26.8% Volunteer Only9.2% Retired9.9% Self Employed7% Chose not answer 2.1%  Approximately 37.4% of people with disabilities aged 21 – 64 are employed.  Approximately 1.8% of the US workforce are individuals with visual disabilities. US Census Bureau ACS year estimates of Selected Economic Characteristics for the Civilian Non-intuitionalized population for individuals 16 and over.

Barrier% Experienced Employer discrimination/negative attitude55.6 Lack of accommodations/AT46.5 Lack of jobs44.4 Lack of jobs with adequate pay35.2 Potential loss of benefits35.2 Difficulty with travel skills20.4 Low expectations of rehab counselor20.4 Lack of needed VR services19.7 Disagreements with rehab counselor16.9 Lack of skills or abilities for job13.4

MethodHow do you typically get to work? Public Transportation34.5 Walk21.8 Paratransit20.7 Spouse/family member17.2 Cab/taxi11.5 Volunteer Driver10.3 Carpool8.1 Hired Driver3.5 Work at home20.7

How satisfied are you with how you get to work? (scale from 0 to 10) 23% (0 to 3) Dissatisfied 43.7% (4 to 6) Neutral 33.3% (7 to10) Satisfied  34.3% have turned down a job because of transportation concerns

 75% had public transportation available  57.7% used public transportation one or more times per week in the last year  76.7% were very or somewhat comfortable using public transportation  93.9% who do not have public transportation would use it if available  82.3% have used paratransit

 11% were very or somewhat uncomfortable using public transportation  Reasons not used: Inconvenience – 66.7% Difficulty getting to destination – 58.3% Poor shelter from weather while waiting – 33.3%

 78.9% Received O & M services Received training in use of bus, train, or subway Respondents YES78.3 No, declined it3.8 No, not available17.9

Transportation Availability

 Asked how much difficulty experienced finding transportation for: Entertainment/leisure – 5.62 Visiting friends/family – 5.40 Other shopping – 5.18 Grocery shopping – 4.43 Employment – 4.34 Medical appointments – 4.32 Worship services – 3.88

ActivityRespondent % Entertainment/Leisure activities68.8 Visiting friends or family66.7 Other shopping (not groceries)55.8 Employment48.0 Volunteer activities44.2 Grocery shopping41.3

Transportation Stress

 Asked how stressful it is to use transportation for the same activities Entertainment/leisure – 4.74 Visiting friends/family – 4.59 Other shopping – 4.45 Medical appointments – 4.11 Employment – 4.06 Grocery shopping – 3.77 Worship services – 3.15

ActivityRespondent % Entertainment/Leisure activities54.9 Visiting family/friends47.9 Other shopping (not groceries)45.1 Grocery shopping37.3 Medical appointments32.4 Employment31.0

 Do people who are working, have higher incomes, or have access to public transportation have lower levels of difficulty & stress?  Working vs. not working: Difficulty finding transportation: only had differences on employment Stress using transportation: only had differences on employment

 Low income (< $25K vs. $25K+): Difficulty finding transportation: only had differences on employment Stress using transportation: only had differences on employment  Public transportation available: Difficulty finding transportation: differences on most Stress using transportation: differences on some (visit family/friends & leisure)

 36.1% of unemployed persons said transportation is reason  37.8% have looked for a job in last 4 weeks  27.8% of unemployed believe they are somewhat or extremely likely to make enough money at a job to afford transportation

 44.1% of those not currently working report one or more factors would prevent them from accepting a job (even if transportation was not an issue) 25% - Potential loss of benefits 14.7% - Poor health or other disability 10.3% - Difficulty with travel skills 4.4% - Lack of interest

 Only 7 drivers, 6 had a license  2 use a bioptic device  6 have problems driving at night  4 restrict length of time driving  3 restrict the route

Participants :  Were more likely to be working than general population of people with visual difficulties  Had more difficulty with transportation for factors other than work

 People who are working have similar amounts of transportation difficulty/stress as non-workers (other than employment).  People with lower incomes have similar amounts of transportation difficulty/stress as people with higher incomes (other than employment).  Many more differences on difficulty/stress based on access to public transportation.

 Is work related transportation the problem we think it is?  Low percentage get help from VR – is this surprising? What could VR do?  What is best way to uncover and document work related transportation issues?

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