March 23, 2015 

The Honorable Secretary Anthony Foxx 

us Department of Transportation 

1200 New Jersey Ave, SE 

Washington, DC 20590 

Subject: Support for Access Services' Petition for Rulemaking 

Dear Secretary Foxx: 

On my own behalf, as an Access Services rider, and those individuals that I have served and am 

continuing to serve, I am writing to you in support of Access Services' Petition for Rulemaking 

that asks for an amendment to the Department of Transportation's regulations concerning the 

calculation of Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) paratransit fares. 

During, a period of over the past 40 years, I was employed in several non-profit organizations 

that served people with developmental disabilities and a mixture of other disabilities in 

general. The many caseloads that I dealt with throughout my employment life, about 90% of my 

clients were on "fixed" incomes, and many were below the poverty line. All of these people were 

having trouble meeting their basic daily needs. In addition for the past 36 years I have and am 

still serving people living with disabilities in the Second Supervisorial District of Los Angeles 

County that covers the South Central area of Los Angeles, ie., the inner city, as a member of the 

Los Angeles County Commission on Disabilities. I was just recently, re-appointed at the beginning 

of this year, by Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas. 

Access uses a simple, two-tier coordinated fare system that has been in existence for nearly 

twenty years. This system was originally implemented with the consultation of many disability 

communities and a number of advocacy groups as being fair and easy for riders to understand. I am 

very concerned that any new fare system will be significantly more complex and lead to confusion 

amongst, particularly those with memory and other physical impairments. Many of my clients that I 

served in the mid-eighties, would not be competent enough to deal with any kind of change in 

calculating and understanding a new fare structure, which is being proposed. I am also concerned 

that a new fare system would lead to higher fares for certain clients, many of whom live on 

fixed-incomes and who can least afford to pay for any kind of increase. Any increase may cause a 

rider to have to make a choice between a doctor's visit trip, a trip to the pharmacy or a trip 

for food or possibly looking for another paratransit service, or just remaining at home. 

The Americans with Disabilities Act was signed into law, and will be celebrating, its 25th 

Anniversary this July. The ADA has been a blessing for people with disabilities in America. The 

Department and the Federal Transit Administration deserves a lot of credit for ensuring that 

transit agencies comply with these regulations. However, in this instance, I am urging the 

Department to amend the regulations to allow Access' coordinated fare to continue as it has for 

the last two decades. 

If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact me. 

Thank you for your attention regarding this matter. 

Respectfully, 

John B. Troost 

3650 Fairland Blvd. 

Los Angeles, CA 90043 

(323) 291 9212 

winnie codv@a~~.ne~ 

cc: Karen Bass, Congresswoman, 37th Congressional District 

Andre Colaiace, Deputy Executive Director, Planning and Governmental Affairs 

Holly J. Mitchell, State Senator, 30th Senatorial District 

Mark Ridley-Thomas, LA County Supervisor, 2nd Supervisorial District 

Sebastian Ridley-Thomas, Assemblyman, 54th Assembly District 

Shelly Verrinder, Executive Director, Access Services, Inc., 

s 10-150331-012 
Mr John Troost 

3650 Fairland Blvd 

View Park, CA 90043 

s 1 0-150331-0 12 

e ~· ono able Sec et~ry A~ thony Fox 

US Dey~rtment of TrRn sno~~~ ~ion 

1200 New Jersey Ave , SE 

Washington , DC 20590 

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