Palm Beach County families are pushing back against recent changes to Palm Tran Connection that have shortened pickup hours for disabled riders, forcing some to leave work early or miss social activities entirely.
The door-to-door transportation service, which operates separately from regular county bus routes, changed its operating hours in mid-January. The latest pickup window now runs from 7 to 7:30 p.m., down from the previous 8 to 8:30 p.m. timeframe.
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Joyce Vargas has a 38-year-old son with Autism, Andrew. He relies on the service and the change has disrupted his established routines.
"Palm Tran Connection is a bus that my adult, autistic son depends on and he takes it to work three times a week," Vargas said.
The shortened pickup window has forced him to leave work early and affected his social events.
"I work for Tijuana Flats, like wiping the tables, chairs and other kinds of stuff," Andrew said.
The service provides transportation for people with disabilities during regular operating hours, offering door-to-door pickup for riders who cannot use traditional bus routes.
"My son used to work till eight o'clock three days a week. So I put a damper on his work. It put a damper on his club, a social event that he had to go to. And I know from that group, there are lots of kids affected by this," Vargas said.
For individuals with disabilities, maintaining consistent routines is particularly important.
"Any sort of change with special needs is difficult for them. You know. They don't like change. They like structure," Vargas said.
Vargas reached out to Palm Beach County Commissioner Maria Sachs, who has personal experience with the service.
"I've had a daughter named Jessica, who has been developmentally delayed her whole life, and she relies on Palm Tran to get to work and back again," Sachs said.
Sachs explained that funding limitations drove the service cuts.
"We are overwhelmed with demand," Sachs said.
However, the commissioner expressed gratitude to the Vargas family for bringing the issue to her attention and told me the county plans to address the concerns.
"I'm going to work with my colleagues to put a little more in the budget so that we can expand the hours of Palm Tran," Sachs said.
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