LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Inside Down Syndrome of Louisville's campus on South Hurstbourne Parkway, more than a hundred people — young and old — flourish in ways they wouldn't without it.
But without one resource, none of that growth would even be possible.
According to Julie Torzewski, the executive director, many of the members count on TARC buses to get them to and from the center, to their jobs, and back home. TARC's para-transit service, known as TARC 3, uses a contracted vendor to provide that transportation service to riders with intellectual or physical disabilities.Â
"It's absolutely their independence and their freedom for our adult members," she said.
Monday morning, that resource suddenly disappeared. The buses never showed up and 30 members never made to the center or were kept from getting to their jobs. Torzewski called transit officials but says she got nothing but a runaround.
"We were either getting a voicemail or getting disconnected," she said.
Turns out, TARC 3 is transitioning from one vendor to another, and it caused a "decline in service" when some drivers went on strike because of a pay dispute.
TARC is cutting ties with First Transit and moving to an agreement with MV Transportation.
"On the first day of the transition (2/1), MV Transportation had a 97% completion rate for services. Those numbers have diminished in the last few days. The Transit Authority of River City (TARC) and its agency partners (MV Transportation and Z-Trip) have attributed the decline in service to a communication and labor issue that is currently being assessed. We expect the issue to be resolved within a matter of days," TARC wrote in a Tuesday night press release.
TARC now says the crisis has been mitigated.
It's brought in more drivers from other cities, it's increased the number of lines and staff at its hotline, and it's improving communicating better with customers.
"It was much better (Tuesday) morning," Torzewski said. "I will say I was surprised. We were bracing ourselves for a long road of transition and issues."
A TARC3 bus. (WDRB Photo)
But Torzewski says the messy disruption illustrates a larger problem: TARC 3 needs a top to bottom reassessment.
"I just really feel like it's not okay that we're treating the disability population this way," she said. "There would be riots if the public transportation that TARC runs had issues like this."
She says she tried to offer TARC her suggestions in the past after a separate problem but never heard back.
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