Give Disabled a Pass on This One

People with mental disabilities need extra help. They should be able to count on it from public agencies like the Orange County Transportation Authority.

OCTA says federal law does not allow it to issue reduced-fare passes to the mentally disabled simply because they show Supplemental Security Income, or SSI, cards as proof of disability.

The agency’s counterpart in Los Angeles, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, says the SSI cards are sufficient.

OCTA requires riders seeking a reduced-fare card to display an obvious physical disability, a Medicare card, or a physician’s statement that they suffer from a psychological illness that bars them from driving.

The problem with a Medicare card is that to obtain one a rider under age 65 has to show he has worked a certain number of hours before becoming disabled. Most of the mentally disabled have not been able to work enough hours; as a result, they obtain an SSI card rather than one from Medicare. Accepting one but not the other does not make sense.

Advocates for the mentally ill say the problem is about to get worse. Next year OCTA will increase bus fares. A Monday-through-Friday bus rider will pay about $650 a year. The reduced fare for cardholders will be $130. That is a substantial difference for people on tight budgets. Since they can’t drive, they need buses to get them to and from doctors’ offices and other appointments.

There have been complaints that a doctor’s statement sometimes did not meet the required wording to issue a pass.

If OCTA will not accept the SSI cards, it should make readily available a statement with the wording that will suffice. Supporters of the mentally disabled can see to it that doctors get the boilerplate documents and sign them. It would not be as simple as just accepting the SSI cards, but it could help solve the problem and avert any concern about misuse of SSI cards.

The county’s bus system is essential for those who cannot drive. It has to be kept as affordable and easily accessible as possible. Last month OCTA released a survey showing that nearly 80% of respondents lived in households with an annual income of less than $35,000.

The agency has reduced some fare increases it originally planned for seniors and the disabled after complaints they were too steep. OCTA needs to be sensitive to those who depend on it as their only transportation to and from home, work, shopping and other activities of their daily lives.