Aaron's Contribution And Rough Def Int Ions

Definitions Transportation Dependent - a term meant to encapsulate the entirety of the population who, for a variety of reasons (socioeconomic, lifestyle choice, disability, mechanical failure, etc.) is unable to utilize private transportation to safely evacuate. Transportation Services – a term used, in general, to describe any collection of transportation modes that are planned in advance to meet the needs of individuals who are unable to utilize private transportation. Public Transportation – Public transportation refers to all service involved in the transportation of passengers for hire by means of street railway, elevated railway, subway, underground railroad, motor vehicles, or other means of conveyance generally associated with or developed for mass surface or sub-surface transportation of the public, but does not include any service involved in transportation by taxicab, airport limousine, or industrial bus. (US Legal Definitions) Mass Transportation – for purposes of this paper, synonymous with “public transportation”. Private Transportation- a term which intends to create a contrast between those modes of transportation that are effectively under the control of exclusive private use (e.g., personally owned cars, trucks, boats, planes, etc.) that are available for use by their owners in times of emergency by right of ownership. The term is not meant to distinguish between public or private ownership, per se, but merely the characteristic that the means of transportation lacks a fundamental dependence on the actions of public actors outside of the traditional emergency

evacuation planning process. Carless – a term meant to encapsulate the entirety of the population who, for a variety of reasons (socioeconomic, lifestyle choice, disability, mechanical failure, etc.) does not own a private vehicle in which to safely evacuate. Emergency Preparedness Disaster Preparedness Disaster Planning Emergency Planning -

The key arguments that surround the need for a policy focusing on the incorporation the transportation needs of transportation dependent populations during a mass evacuation in response to a hurricane revolve around several distinct factors. A review of the literature surrounding the topic require a primary distinction to be put forth before a discussion of the policy positions of proponents can be undertaken. Firstly, while the focus of the current investigation encompasses what we refer to as “transportation dependent” members of the population, it is important to note the discussions regarding provision of transportation services during a hurricane evacuation center in two different bodies of thought. First, there is a large body of literature relating to the transportation needs of disabled citizens and their needs during evacuations due to natural and manmade disasters (Fox, White, Rooney, & Rowland, 2007; Kailes & Enders, 2007; White, Fox, Rooney & Cahill, 2007). This literature, focuses on the unique considerations of individuals with disabilities in responding to emergency and disaster situations, and deals with transportation needs as only one of a litany of factors that impact the ability of individuals’ with disabilities ability to successfully and safely evacuate from a disaster area. While this focus, undoubtedly, falls within the analytical framework of this analysis and provides invaluable insights into the issues surrounding effective planning for the evacuation of “transportation dependent” persons, disabled members of this group do not comprise the entire population of those in need of transportation services to safely evacuate a disaster area. The second body of literature that deals with emergency preparedness and the needs of the transportation dependent is related to more macro-level concerns regarding the efficiency, diversity, and resilience of the response scenario envisioned by emergency preparedness planners. This literature emphasizes the idea that transportation dependent populations comprise of large percentage of the

population in urban areas, according to Renne, Sanchez and Litman, 2008,

In New York City, the carless society represents the majority of the population, as 56 percent of households reported in the 2000 Census as not owning a vehicle. Washington, D.C., Baltimore, Philadelphia, Boston, Chicago, San Francisco, New Orleans, Miami, and Cleveland all had more than 25 percent of households without access to an automobile in 2000, and even people who own an automobile may need to rely on other modes due to mechanical failure, medical problems, limited road space or other constraints. (Renne et al., 2008) Not only does the need for planning for public transportation to assist with evacuations address the issues associated with the transportation dependent, it also serves to minimize the traffic congestion and inefficiencies that result from an overreliance on private transportation solutions to evacuations (Swartz & Litman, 2008; TRB, 2005; Scanlon, 2003). These two bodies of literature tackle the issue of planning to provide two separate, but related services. First, the development and public distribution of emergency and disaster plans that take into account the location and transportation needs of the transportation dependent population. Second, the actual provision of these services during the disaster response, it is not unheard of for local emergency manager’s to have provided transportation services but no one availed themselves of the service, due to lack of knowledge regarding its existence (White, et al., 2007, 24). An additional argument that traces its genesis from the second body of literature, is the idea that utilizing public transportation to provide transportation services to the transportation dependent, achieves an ancillary goal of responsible stewardship of public resources. Grounded in the fact that public transportation providers in New Orleans lost hundreds of valuable vehicles to Katrina (Donze, 2008) and the cost to replace them will run into the millions of dollars (FTA, 2007). While only incidentally related to evacuation, it does provide a rationale rooted in

economy to help justify the need for well-planned evacuations.

Policy Advocates Those organizations that are in favor of creating a policy that would mandate requirements that address the planning for and the provision of transportation services are, in the main, organizations that concern themselves with the rights of disabled citizens. The National Council on Disability, the Red Cross, the Spinal Cord Injury Association, are among the groups that favor action on this problem. Consider the testimony of Marcie Roth, the president of the Spinal Cord Injury Association, to the U.S. House of Representatives, Ways and Means Committee; [On August 29] Susan Daniels called me to enlist my help because her sister-in-law, a quadriplegic woman in New Orleans, had been unsuccessfully trying to evacuate to the Superdome for two days. …it was clear that this woman, Benilda Caixetta, was not being evacuated. I stayed on the phone with Benilda, for the most part of the day… She kept telling me she’d been calling for a ride to the Superdome since Saturday; but, despite promises, no one came. The very same paratransit system that people can’t rely on in good weather is what was being relied on in the evacuation…I was on the phone with Benilda when she told me, with panic in her voice “the water is rushing in.” And then her phone went dead. We learned five days later that she had been found in her apartment dead, floating next to her wheelchair … Benilda did not have to drown [emphasis added]. (National Council on Disability, 2006)

Interestingly enough, there don’t appear to be any organizations that are organized specifically to address the issue of transportation dependent populations outside of the smaller sub-community of disability rights organizations. Whether this is due to the fact that the shared advocacy and service role occupied by disability rights groups has created a more active and cohesive group of recognized common interests or some other factor, is unclear. The disability rights organizations do not seem to have a unified policy proposal, but have voiced their support for recommendations put forth by both government organizations (for example GAO-07-44) and academics. While public transportation providers have fairly routine access to many transportation dependent individuals, there

has been no organized push for reform on the part of public transportation providers, and it seems that there is a need to mandate that public transportation providers be brought into the emergency planning process (Renne et al., 2008,86) as they have not entered the arena of policy debate.

There does not appear to be any organized opposition to the disability rights groups and their erstwhile allies among emergency and disaster planners. Why this may be the case is uncertain, but the relatively low cost and uncontroversial nature of many of the recommendations made by advocates of planning for transportation services for transportation dependent populations could help to explain the lack of forces counter to their proposals. Additionally, the horrors of 9/11 and Hurricanes Katrina and Rita are still relatively fresh in the minds of Americans, and it may be politically unwise to take a stand against organizations of disabled individuals asserting their right to equal treatment in wake of the tragedy wrought by Hurricane Katrina.

Works Cited.

White, G. W., Fox, M. H., Rooney, C., & Cahill, A. (2007). Assessing the impact of Hurricane Katrina on persons with disabilities. Lawrence, KS: The University of Kansas, The Research and Training Center on Independent Living. Fox, M.H., White, G.W., Rooney, C., & Rowland, J. Disaster Preparedness and Response for Persons with Mobility Impairments: Results from the University of Kansas Nobody Left Behind Project Journal of Disability Policy Studies, 17(4), Spring 2007. Kailes, J.I. & Enders, A. Moving beyond "Special Needs": A function based framework for emergency management and planning Journal of Disability Policy Studies 17(4), Spring 2007.

Renne, John L., Sanchez, Thomas W., Litman, Todd. (2008). National Study on Carless and Special Needs Evacuation Planning: A Literature Review. University of New Orleans Transportation Center, October 2008. http://planning.uno.edu/docs/CarlessEvacuationPlanning.pdf Schwartz, Michael A. and Litman, Todd, A. (2008) Evacuation Station: The Use of Public Transportation in Emergency Management Planning ITE Journal on the Web January 69-73 U.S. Legal Definitions http://definitions.uslegal.com/p/public-transportation/ accessed 10-28-09 2009 Transportation Research Board (TRB), 2005. Public Transportation Security: Volume 7: Public Transportation Emergency Mobilization and Emergency Operations Guide. Chapter 5, Washington DC, USA National Council on Disability 2006. Emergency Transportation. http://www.ncd.gov/newsroom/publications/2006/hurricanes_impact.htm#emergency

FTA Press Release 2007. Deputy Secretary of Transportation Thomas Barrett Announces $35 Million for New Buses in New Orleans, Other Hurricane Katrina and Rita Transit Relief http://www.fta.dot.gov/regional_offices_7095.html Donze, Frank 2008. RTA rolls out first new bus since Katrina losses http://www.nola.com/news/t-p/neworleans/index.ssf?/base/news29/121212573524710.xml&coll=1&thispage=1