[Archived] Alexandria City Council Honors DOT Paratransit Program For Providing 20 Years of Service to Disabled

City Press Release


	City of Alexandria, Virginia Office of the City Manager Alexandria City Hall 301 King Street, Suite 3500 Alexandria, Virginia 22314-3211 www.alexandriava.gov Telephone: 703.838.4300 Fax : 703.838.6343

For Immediate Release
November 16, 2004
PIO 276-04/rdo

Alexandria City Council Honors DOT Paratransit Program
For Providing 20 Years of Service to Disabled

The Alexandria City Council will join the Alexandria Commission on Persons with Disabilities in a ceremony honoring the City’s DOT Paratransit Program for providing 20 years of outstanding service to the disabled. The DOT Paratransit Program is a specialized transportation service for City residents and visitors who cannot use regular transit buses or rail due to their disability. A ceremony honoring the program will take place at City Hall, 301 King St., in the Vola Lawson Lobby, first floor, on Tuesday, Nov. 23, at 5 pm. The ceremony will be followed with City Council issuing a proclamation commemorating the program’s 20th anniversary during the City Council meeting.

The City established the DOT Paratransit Program in 1984 to complement the introduction of the fixed route DASH bus service. Since 1984, the program has enabled thousands of City residents with disabilities to participate more fully in their communities. The program provides van and taxi public transportation service for individuals to use for traveling to work and medical appointments, and to engage in the business, recreational and cultural life of the City. More than 1,100 persons with disabilities take more than 54,000 trips each year in Alexandria and throughout Northern Virginia using DOT.

City Council appoints the members of the Alexandria Commission on Persons with Disabilities. The commission researches programs and legislation relating to the physically and mentally handicapped and advises City Council and members of the community about these programs and laws. It serves as the local Disabilities Services Board and a forum for the disabled.

The DOT Paratransit Program has received numerous awards including the National Organization on Disability’s top award for being a model paratransit service for individuals with disabilities that should be emulated by other communities.

The City Council meeting begins at 7 pm in the Council Chamber, City Hall, 301 King St., second floor.

For more information on the ceremony and the DOT Paratransit Program, call 703.838.3800.

# # #