HANDICAPPED RIDERS WIAT FOR TAXI SERVICE

On Aug. 30, and again on Sept. 6, Jim Jarrell decided to go to church. But he never got there.

His car was in the shop getting a new motor, so at 8:30 a.m., he decided to call Kelley Transportation for a cab to make his Saturday School at 10 a.m., or the 11 a.m. services at the Seventh Day Adventist Church on West End Boulevard, Jarrell said.

Both days, he called again at 10:15 and a dispatcher told him a van was on its way. "Then I waited until about 11:15 and just told them to forget it," he said. "I thought about how Saturday school was over, and services had already begun."

Jarrell lost the use of his legs in an accident and uses a wheelchair to get around. He said Kelley doesn't provide service to people in wheelchairs comparable to the service they provide to other people.

Other wheelchair users interviewed for this story said that it is nearly impossible for someone in a wheelchair to call and get same-day service on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, and after 6 p.m. any day. Apparently, the vans are tied up on Tuesdays and Thursdays transporting patients to dialysis.

Indeed, when a reporter called on a Thursday and asked if he could get a ride in a wheelchair-equipped van, the dispatcher told him, "Unless you notify us at least one day in advance, most of them are booked ahead of time."

Terrence Kelley, who runs Kelley Transportation said he is doing the best he can, and that he has added a second wheelchair-equipped van to his fleet. Kelley said he can't afford to do more.

Ron Welch said he has given up trying to get a ride from Kelley. Welch lives in the Missouri Veteran's Home. He lost the use of his legs and most of the use of his arms in a 1980 automobile accident and cannot drive a car as a result.

He tells of not being able to get rides on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. His mother visits him every Wednesday, so he has only two days a week when he can use the service to shop, eat out or visit friends. He said dispatchers have told him to call three days in advance, "and I don't know if I'll feel like getting up three days in advance."

"I've had times when I had to wait three hours in the hot sun for a cab," Welch said. Once when he went to a downtown restaurant to eat, they wouldn't pick him up to take him home because it was after 6 p.m. Welch had to find someone to take him home. His wheelchair is too large to fit in many cars.

Welch is so determined to go out and visit that he had driven his wheelchair downtown from the Veterans Home. He realizes how dangerous that is in a town with few curb cuts.

Crystal Tankersley is an independent living specialist with SEMO Alliance for Disability Independence, an agency that helps people with disabilities. Tankersley once stopped at a convenience store and found someone stranded there because Kelley would not pick him up after 6 p.m.

"We have a guy who works and he has a 12-year-old daughter" and he can't take her to the emergency room at night because there is no accessible service, Tankersley said.

At the Ratliff Care Center, staff members said they have tried to overcome their problems by scheduling pickups as far in advance as possible. Ellen Wills, Ratliff's nursing director, said as soon as she schedules an appointment for a resident, she contacts Kelley to arrange for transportation. Sometimes, she has to reschedule appointments to be sure transportation is available.

"In one particular instance, I made four or five phone calls, and it eventually worked out," Wills said. "The more notice we can give them, the less likely we are to get scheduling conflicts."

Wills and Ratliff Center owner Emmagene Ratliff have met with Kelley and believe he is making an honest effort to address their concerns.

Kelley said he has a van for people in wheelchairs operating on the streets constantly from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. and an accessible van on call overnight.

Originally, Kelley had only one van that could accommodate a single wheelchair at a time, but the cab company has since purchased one that can handle two. One of the vans was out of service last week with a broken wheelchair lift.

Kelley said he has problems getting his employees to drive the vans for people in wheelchairs. He pays them on a commission based on the number of riders they carry. The vans that carry people in wheelchairs carry fewer riders per shift.

Even with the new van, he has trouble keeping up with the demand, and he cannot afford to buy another van for people in wheelchairs.

"A lot of times, we've got wheelchairs that have been booked up weeks in advance," Kelley said.

In addition, Kelley said he has trouble finding enough qualified drivers for his company. "Sometimes I get short-handed," he said.

"I do as good as I can, the best that I can," Kelley said.

But people who use wheelchairs and their advocates expect more.

"People with disabilities in 1997 should have the same rights as everybody else," Tankersley said. "If you call on a Saturday, you're going to sit."