DETROIT (WXYZ) — Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan is putting out an emergency contract tonight that will continue paratransit services in the City of Detroit for the next 6 months.
Paratransit services offer transportation for those with disabilities and there's been a lot of fear in Detroit this last month as access to the services was in question due to a decision by Detroit City Council.
Stephen Handschu lives in Detroit and is blind.
He told 7 Action News, "I don’t think terror is too strong a word.
Handschu is one of the many who relies on paratransit services and said, "The major use of paratransit is medical, people going to dialysis appointments, going to other appointments, the lack of which could threaten their lives."
The scare started in November when the city council voted down a contract that would extend para-transit services for five years through France-based provider Transdev.
Transdev provides 70% of paratransit services in Detroit, so by voting that contract down 70% of paratransit rides would go away for months while council worked to find new contracts.
At the possibility of not having access to rides, Handschu said friends who have disabilities, "Were literally calling me up and saying to me, 'I might have to choose between going to dialysis and eating.'"
City council officials say they voted down the contract because paratransit is known to provide very poor service.
Handschu confirmed, "I could go on with the horror stories."
However failing to provide paratransit services violates federal law, and Mayor Duggan has outspokenly criticized the choice this month, even calling city council "dysfunctional" in the way that they handled the contracts.
The whole dispute has caused a lot of turmoil, but at Thursday's press conference the turmoil was put to an end as Duggan announced he is putting out an emergency contract.
The contract will continue paratransit services through four temporary new contracts with four new transit providers: Moe Transportation, Big Star Transit LLC, Delray United Action, and Checker Cab Company.
At the press conference, Mayor Mike Duggan said, "There will be full operations, 1,000 rides a day continuously for the next 6 months, and that gives us time to put a permanent plan in place."
The emergency contract will cost $5.8 million, Duggan said it's about $1 million more than what city council's Transdev contract would have cost.
He promises the new providers will be overseen by DDOT, offering much better service.
"If we can believe what the mayor is saying, then we are very glad to have that happen," said Handschu.
