Some with disabilities say T still a tough ride

For John Kelly of Fenway, 4 or 5 inches constitute a huge drop.

He uses a wheelchair, and recently took the Orange Line to get downtown. When the train stopped and the door opened at Downtown Crossing, he faced what appeared to be a 5-inch drop from the train to the platform, he said.

"I took the plunge," he said. "What else could I do? It ripped up the electronics under my chair. I wasn't able to recline or tilt after that."

Kelly and about 70 other subway and bus riders with disabilities brought a range of accessibility concerns to officials with the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority yesterday during a public hearing at the MBTA offices downtown.

"What really motivated people to speak is that they had some real difficulties," said Bill Henning, director of the Boston Center for Independent Living Inc., who organized the hearing. "They were aghast that certain problems continued, that they still will get caught between a subway car and subway platforms."

Michael Mulhern, MBTA general manager, attended the hourlong meeting and promised to "do what's necessary to continue on a steady path of improvement."

"You might say that's just another general manager in a suit and tie telling you they're going to do better," Mulhern told the crowd, "but I think if you look at our recent track record, the progress has been remarkable. I make a commitment to you that we will make much more progress in the very near future."

MBTA officials said 69 of 80 key stations -- those used as transfer points and as major activity centers -- are wheelchair accessible, compared with 26 of the 80 stations in 1990. The agency has spent $1.6 billion on accessibility-related improvements, they said.

Mulhern said every station on the Red, Orange, and Blue lines -- except for the Red's Wollaston, which requires additional repairs -- will have elevator service installed or under construction in the next three years.

Most underground Green Line stations will undergo similar upgrades in the next three years, officials said.

He said accessibility concerns will be addressed when the elevator service contract with Kone Corp. of Moline, Ill., is up for renewal at the end of the year.

MBTA patrons yesterday voiced concerns about muffled stop announcements, buses that don't stop for travelers in wheelchairs, and late pickups.

Still pending in US District Court is a lawsuit filed in 2002 by 10 individuals and the Boston Center for Independent Living, which accuses the MBTA of violating the Americans with Disabilities Act by failing to provide readily accessible, usable, and safe public transportation.