Accessibility activist Dennis Billups shares his story in our first Faces of Muni spotlight.
This week, we launched Faces of Muni, a special video series featuring people with disabilities who ride Muni and paratransit.
The campaign is part of our work to celebrate the 35th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) that's coming up in July. The ADA opened doors for people with disabilities to get around on their own terms. In Faces of Muni, we hear from community members doing exactly this.
Learn more about this new series and steps we're taking to make our system more accessible. And hear how you can celebrate with us as we approach the anniversary of the ADA.
Faces of Muni: Celebrating riders with disabilities
The Faces of Muni series launched on June 11 and will run through the rest of the year. Every month, we will feature two community members in video and photo stories. You can find these spotlights on our Instagram, Facebook and our ADA35 project webpage.
In video interviews, riders with disabilities reflect on:
- How they use Muni or paratransit to get around San Francisco
- What the Americans with Disabilities Act means to them
- Why accessible travel matters
We are moved by their stories, and proud to see how Muni and paratransit helps them get where they need to go. These services are critical to San Francisco, as one in four city residents is either 65 or has a disability.
Starting the series with activist Dennis Billups
Meet Dennis Billups, lifelong activist for disability rights.
In our first Faces of Muni spotlight, we feature Dennis Billups. He's a San Francisco native and lifelong disability rights activist.
Billups was part of the historic “504 sit-in" that helped pave the way for the Americans with Disabilities Act. He also joined the Black Panthers, where he learned valuable lessons on community organizing. Billups went on to apply those skills as he sought to advance disability rights.
We hope Dennis’ story and other Faces of Muni spotlights will inspire important conversations around accessibility. On Dennis’ story and others throughout the year, we encourage you to share why accessible transportation matters to you. You can share a comment on posts or tag us with “#MuniMatters.”
Working year-round to make our system more accessible
Our teams work year-round to improve accessibility across the SFMTA. Recently, we released the results of our Accessibility Needs Survey. These findings will help us understand and act on the community’s top accessibility priorities.
We ran the survey for four months and received 1,379 responses after working hard to make our outreach accessible. Among the diverse group of survey takers:
- 64% identify as having a disability
- 36% are 65 years or older
- 34% speak a language other than English
- 29% make under $50,000/year
Their top priorities included:
- Quick improvements
- Affordable fares
- Reliability
- Flexible paratransit
For a full picture of the needs we heard and our next steps, you can read our Top Priorities from Our Accessibility Needs Survey blog.
Connect with us as we celebrate the ADA
We hope you'll join us in person as we ring in this big milestone for the ADA.
We encourage you to connect with us as we celebrate this major anniversary for the ADA.
Today, we will be tabling at the Chinatown Night Market from 5 to 9 p.m. Stop by to learn more about our Accessibility Needs Survey. We’ll also share how you can subscribe to elevator alerts and access discount fares.
And mark your calendars for July 26. We will be hosting a community celebration in Golden Gate Park. The event will take place at the Music Concourse, 1 Bowl Drive from 12 - 4 p.m. We'll be tabling alongside some amazing community partners and fellow city agencies. There will be helpful resources on accessible transportation in San Francisco, activities and fun giveaways. We hope you’ll join us!
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