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S2E11 - All Aboard

S2E11 - All Aboard

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 Read transcriptEpisode Notes Meet Ron Brooks: Ron Brooks is a graduate of Indiana University and a 30-year veteran of the public transit industry where he is focused on making bus, rail, paratransit, and other services accessible and equitable for everyone, including people with disabilities. Ron is the founder and CEO of Accessible Avenue, and he is the Senior Director for Policy and Stakeholder Engagement for UZURV, a Transportation Network Company adapted to meet the needs of people with disabilities. Ron is a frequent presenter and author on topics related to public transit accessibility, including accessible public involvement, digital accessibility, wayfinding to, from and within transit networks, autonomous vehicle accessibility, and strategies for modernizing ADA paratransit. He is a co-author of the book, “All Aboard – Conducting Accessible Community Involvement for Public Transit.” In his off time, Ron is a committed advocate within the blind/low-vision and disability communities where he serves on a number of Boards and committees for several non-profit community-based organizations. In 2023, Ron began serving as the Co-Chairperson of the Aging and Vision Loss National Coalition’s Transportation Working Group, which has been working to educate AVLNC member organizations and other blind/low-vision community constituents on public transportation accessibility issues and advocacy priorities. Impactful quote: In his book, “4000 Weeks: Time Management for Mortals,” Oliver Burkeman points out that the average person will live for 4,000 weeks (about eighty years). There’s not enough time in eighty years to do everything that society, our bosses, our friends, our families, and we, demand of ourselves. It’s necessary to recognize this and let a lot of things go. The only real question is: “Which things do we give up?” Ron’s Company Web site: https://accessibleavenue.net/all-aboard Ron’s LinkedIn page: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ron-brooks-066b174/ Book page on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/All-Aboard-Conducting-Accessible-Involvement/dp/B0DFMQY9LX/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1UKTAVTWC6273&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.SqC1uWLbFsdiSCnBFVQcMg.9rLL56TSCyIGPvYKc1Gk3ZMa0cemZB5NBb6QsSW28Vs&dib_tag=se&keywords=all+aboard+conducting+accessible+community+involvement+for+public+transit&qid=1737061080&sprefix=all+aboard+conducting+accessible+community+involvement+for+public+transit%2Caps%2C127&sr=8-1 Free Course: Gearing Up for Transit: Options and Advocacy Skills for People who are Blind, or have Low Vision: https://nrtc.catalog.instructure.com/courses/gearing-up-for-transit UZURV website: https://www.uzurv.com Press Release About His Book: Media Contact: Ron Brooks, CEO | Accessible Avenue Connect@AccessibleAvenue.net (602) 616-1171 Book Launch: A Guide to Making Public Outreach Accessible for Everyone Including People with Disabilities. Written for the Transit Industry by Transit Industry Veteran, this Practical and Informative Guide has Lessons for Any Industry PHOENIX, Ariz., Aug. 30, 2024 – Ron Brooks lost his eyesight while playing a pick-up basketball game with friends when he was fourteen years old. Now, as a 30-year veteran of the public transit industry, Ron is a sought-after expert for his work to make public transportation more accessible and inclusive for everyone. Drawing on both his professional and lived experience, Ron teamed up with Kristen Joyner, one of the transit industry’s foremost experts in the areas of event planning, marketing, and training, to author a brand-new book, “All Aboard: Conducting Accessible Community Involvement for Public Transit.” When a transit authority or public agency designs, builds, launches, or makes significant changes to its public transit services or the infrastructure that supports it, there’s a requirement to communicate with the public in order to obtain comments. And while many public agencies do a good job with most aspects of community outreach and engagement, people with disabilities (who depend on public transit at much higher rates than other members of the public) are often left out of the process. In their book, Ron and Kristen, with help from contributing authors, Michelle Witman and Mary Liz McNamara, explain how different types of disabilities can impact a person’s ability to participate in traditional public outreach activities. The book lays out simple steps public agencies and transit authorities can take to ensure that their in-person and virtual meetings, presentations, reports, and other documents, and even their ongoing communication strategies can be made more accessible. And while many of the book’s recommendations can be implemented for little or no cost, they can make community outreach and involvement easier and more effective for virtually everyone. In her foreword to the book, April Rai, CEO of the Conference of Minority Transportation Officials, points out: “Implementing an ...

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