UA Escort Service buys handicapped-accessible shuttle

Associated Students Adviser Jim Drnek said former Associated Students with Disabilities director Judy Schneider, a UA graduate student, threatened to file a complaint with the Arizona Equal Employment Opportunity Commission - a move that could have resulted in the discontinuation of Escort Services.

The service has four vehicles, none of which are handicapped-accessible, said Christina Moshier, Escort Services director. Americans with Disabilities Act standards require student programs to be available to all students.

The service, which provides transportation for students who don't want to walk alone at night, agreed to purchase a "retired" CatTran vehicle from UA Parking and Transportation Services in order to avoid a complaint and comply with ADA standards, Drnek said.

The service has attempted to accommodate handicapped students by walking them to their destinations, but legal advisers said that practice violates the law.

"We felt we were handling it," Moshier said. "It (the purchase) puts us in full and utter compliance (with the ADA)."

Still, Drnek said the threat of a complaint was not the only catalyst for the purchase.

"It (the purchase) isn't the result of one thing that happened in the last year," he said.

But Rachel Reinhardt, Escort Services assistant director, said the vehicle was bought out of necessity.

"They told us we had to accommodate disability students or be shut down," Reinhardt said. "We honestly don't have the money, but we don't have a choice."

The vehicle, which has been used by the UA for the past five years, will cost the Escort Service $15,000 even though it is worth about $25,000, Parking and Transportation Director Marlis Davis said.

The department will also offer ASUA free training for helping disabled students and will help Escort Service drivers obtain commercial driver's licenses.

Moshier said Escort Services funds that are separate from the rest of ASUA's budget will foot the bill and the vehicle will be paid off over a 3-year period.

The new vehicle is partly for future stu-dents, and Escort Service employees "don't really have a demand for it yet," she said.

John Mosser, senior program coordinator for the UA's Center For Disability Related Resources, said he does not believe the service violated ADA standards.

Mosser said he is not aware of any complaints made to CeDRR regarding Escort Services, but the university as a whole is responsible for complying with ADA standards.

Schneider could not be reached for comment yesterday.

Erin Mahoney can be reached via e-mail at Erin.Mahoney@wildcat.arizona.edu.