Problems with dispatching and criticisms about the Handivan not showing up were aired by disabled students in a two hour meeting last week.

The meeting, attended by about 20 people, proved necessary and constructive because of the direct communication between Handivan and its riders, said Todd Allen, Student Association Mass Transit Board chairman.

The dispatching problem revolved around the priority Handivan calls were given by the University Police who voluntarily dispatch for the service. Allen said the calls were given lower priority than emergency calls.

However, he said UPs were not to blame. “It is not fault of their own. They have other responsibilities to maintain,” he said.

One option discussed was having volunteers, including disabled students, to act as dispatchers for the van, said Susan Haas, last year’s chairman of the mass transit board Adapted Transit System subcommittee.

The volunteers would not require money the mass transit budget could not afford, especially with the current gas prices, Haas said.

“I don’t think there will be money because of the crisis in the gulf. They are running out of money now,” she said referring to the military build up in the Persian Gulf which has sent gas prices skyrocketing.

Haas said she offered to volunteer dispatching herself.

iders also complained about a driver not being available to work during a shift, Allen said. There were repeated complaints, but nothing was done to resolve the problem, he said.

“I was assured it would be taken care of, but it obviously never was,” Allen said.

Gary Jones, a soon-to-be mass transit board member, said a complaint that instigated the meeting came from a rider who missed a dinner date because the van did not show up.

The Adapted Transportation Systems subcommittee will consider the problem and propose solutions to the mass transit board, committee chairman Pat Sanchez said.