Berkeley cuts back free rides program for senior and disabled residents

City officials are cutting transportation benefits older adults and people with disabilities use to access health care and social services around town, following surges in applications and ridership costs.

The Berkeley Rides for Seniors and the Disabled (BRSD) program, operated by the Department of Health, Housing, and Community Services, provides eligible residents free taxi services from cabs, accessible wheelchair van rides and trips on Uber and Lyft.  It is funded by Alameda County Measure BB.

The transportation program will reduce the number of vouchers it distributes and how much it subsidizes to “adapt to changing dynamics,” City Manager Paul Buddenhagen wrote in a memo to the City Council. Participants are slated to lose hundreds of dollars each year in taxi scrip and other ride benefits.

Buddenhagen said reductions will begin this month and will allow the program to continue serving populations in need “within budgetary constraints.” Participants have been notified by mail. 

“This program is an essential service and any cuts to it are extremely unfortunate, but the fact remains that above all else, the program must be sustainable and equitable such that we are able to continue offering it to as many who are in need as we can,” Councilmember Shoshana O’Keefe wrote in an email statement.

City officials said the transportation program would be unsustainable past this fiscal year without reducing benefits. Program revenue is expected to be over $865,000, but operation costs could reach $2 million, according to the memo. 

BRSD is at capacity and will waitlist or reject applications until space becomes available, Buddenhagen said. The program receives about 50 new applicants each month. 

Jose Richard Aviles, a transportation analyst at the UC Berkeley Othering and Belonging Institute, said the city’s infrastructure isn’t suited for differently-abled people — an issue the BRSD program tries to address by providing no-cost transportation services. 

“By cutting funds for some of the most vulnerable populations, the City of Berkeley puts residents in a place where they have to decide between getting their basic needs or having to find alternative ways to travel to their needs, which can potentially lead to an increase in financial burdens,” Aviles wrote in an email.

Berkeley residents at least 70 years old or people of any age who use Paratransit rides are eligible to apply for the program. Recipients who are “high medical need,” or who have at least two medical appointments each month, can receive additional vouchers for free taxi and van rides. The program serves 1,650 older adults in Berkeley and is part of an effort to increase mobility for marginalized groups, according to the city website.

Before the cuts, participants received three $200 vouchers for taxi rides each year, totaling $600. Beginning this month, participants will receive only two vouchers valued at $120 — a $360 reduction.

Participants who need a wheelchair-accessible van to travel will also receive less money. Recipients were given $448 vouchers three times a year for rides from groups like Easy Does It, totaling $1,344. Following recent cuts, they will get those vouchers only twice a year, for a total of $896. 

According to the memo, demand for the high medical need taxi program was “significantly reduced” due to Medi-Cal recipients enrolling in Alameda Alliance or Kaiser Permanente, which provide similar services.  

In the memo, city leaders pointed to separate existing programs that can provide transportation services for older adults. Medi-Cal recipients receive transport to and from appointments covered under the insurance plan and to pick up prescriptions and medical supplies. Local transportation agencies like AC Transit and BART also offer low-income options.

City officials said they will collect feedback and monitor usage rates to identify service gaps in the program. They will also perform outreach to inform older adults about alternative transportation methods available to them.

If you stand to be impacted by budget cuts to the Berkeley Rides for Seniors & the Disabled program and wish to share your experience, we want to hear from you. Use the form below to get in touch with our editors.