THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, September 7, 1995 TAG: 9509070005
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A10 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Letter
LENGTH: Short : 33 lines
Anna Isom (``Handicapped by TRT,'' letter, Aug. 19) asks a question often asked by customers of our Handi-Ride service for people with disabilities: Why are there no discounts as there are for our other services?
Many businesses offer discounts to attract more customers and sales where there is little or no additional cost for the service. TRT does this when it offers books of 10 discount tickets for use on our bus service, as there is adequate capacity on buses to handle additional volume at no additional cost. We encourage people with disabilities to use our wheelchair-lift-equipped bus service for half fare.
The situation on Handi-Ride vans is very different. Handi-Ride is advance-reservation service only. A van is dispatched only when a trip is requested, and each additional trip generates additional cost. At an average $8 subsidy per Handi-Ride trip, offering discount fares that increase subsidy would be financially imprudent. If we, together with our customers, can find ways to encourage more multioccupant trips, making each person's trip less expensive, then discounts for shared riding may be possible.
JAMES C. ECHOLS
Executive director
Tidewater Regional Transit
Norfolk, Aug. 24, 1995 by CNB