Pace's panel will address substandard transit system

With complaints from distressed riders with disabilities registering loud and clear, Pace leaders are seeking to solve snafus with their new paratransit system.

But it will take months before recommendations to fix the problems are issued.

Pace administrators Wednesday released details about a "blue ribbon" panel being asked to offer ideas on improving service and communication with disabled customers.

Pace has been criticized for glitches resulting from changes it instituted in late March to its service for riders with disabilities in Chicago.

For starters, a computer system failure led to multiple scheduling failures at first. And many people are unhappy Pace has divided the city into three zones served by different companies.

Concerns include trips taking hours, drivers unfamiliar with the area, late pickups and missed rides.

The CTA used to operate the program but Pace took over in 2006.

"It was a change for the worse, not for the better," said Darlene Hale, who has a son with disabilities.

But Hale found herself a member on Pace's "blue-ribbon committee" along with state officials including Illinois Department of Veterans' Affairs Director Tammy Duckworth and advocates from the disabled community.

"Bear with us, we want to do what's best," Pace Chairman Richard Kwasneski said.

"We'll not eliminate the zone system in a month or in two months. But we're not set on the zone system."

Kwasneski said he expected the group to hold its first meeting this month and present a report in December.

Ayo Maat, who leads the transit equity group IMPRUVE, noted it took her nearly four hours to arrive at the Pace board meeting in Arlington Heights.

"We're not trying to give Pace a hard time. We're just trying to get from Point A to Point B," she said.

Maat also questioned the timing of the report saying, "We're in the middle of a crisis now."

In related news, officials said disabled riders with low-incomes should get a boost when Gov. Rod Blagojevich signs legislation providing free rides on fixed routes for those who qualify.

The program also puts the chief of Chicago's Office for People with Disabilities on the Pace board of directors.