PORT ARTHUR, Texas — A Port Arthur woman who is legally blind is fighting for her right to use public transit.
Melissa Jackson relies on the paratransit bus to get around and has used the service since 2018. Now, Port Arthur's Transit Department says her home is out of limits for the bus.
On Monday, she took her fight to Port Arthur City Council.
Jackson says the paratransit bus is the only way she has been able to regain her independence after being diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa, a rare eye disease.
"I need the paratransit so I can still be Melissa Jackson," she said. "With my guide dog, he doesn't make me feel like I'm disabled. The cane makes me feel like I'm disabled."
Beginning Jan. 1, 2024, Jackson no longer qualified for the paratransit bus due to the "3/4th mile rule," which is the distance off a set bus route drivers can go to pick up those with disabilities.
This rule place Jackson's address right outside the boundary.
"The 3/4th mile thing they have with the ADA, but the city can override that cause I have been doing my research," Jackson said.
While at a city council meeting Monday, Jackson shared her concerns with the council and transit director.
"This is not a policy change, what occurred was we went through our database and we were basically cleaning up clerical errors," said Transit Director Ivan Mitchell. "So, unfortunately there were some mistakes made where some individuals were given access to the service based upon the boundary."
No resolution was made during the council meeting, but Port Arthur Mayor Thurman Bartie says the city should be able to find a solution within a month.
"So what we do as a city is we go back and we move our routes back so then when we move the three quarters of a mile to include them," said Councilman Harold Doucet.
"I gotta keep fighting because if I stop advocating for myself the solution will never get fixed," Jackson said.