ALL ABOARD, RIDERS SAY; WHEELCHAIRS, HELPER DOGS WELCOMED ONTO BUSES.

Byline: Greg Botonis Staff Writer

Activists have joined Antelope Valley Transit Authority officials in demonstrating that people who use wheelchairs and helper dogs can get around the Antelope Valley in AVTA buses.

Guide dogs and other trained helper animals may ride any of AVTA's 66 intracity and commuter buses, Dial-A-Ride vans and service vans, which are all equipped with wheelchair lifts.

``The whole concept is to open this valley up to all the equipment we have,'' said Raedell Simons, a senior citizen activist. ``All we ask is for people to use it. Don't stay home and watch the boob tube until you're annihilated. Get out of the house. Disabled or senior, do something - anything.''

During a demonstration Friday at the Antelope Valley Mall, 29-year-old Lela Anderson rode the wheelchair lift onto a bus with her 7-month-old son, Anders, on her lap. Her helper dog, Solomon, also boarded the bus.

``The need for these services is always growing,'' said Bill Budlong, executive director of AVTA. ``What we are concerned with is that people who honestly need a service animal are welcomed along with their babies. Disabled people are not restricted to Dial-a-Ride. They are welcome on all our vehicles.''

Anderson said she rides AVTA commuter buses to California State University, Northridge, where she is working for a degree in speech therapy.

Anderson said she has found AVTA officials willing to help.

Once, she said, she called Dial-A-Ride to get van service and take along her baby and Solomon, a golden retriever. At first, the dispatcher thought only senior citizens and disabled people were allowed in Dial-A-Ride vans, not their babies or helper dogs.

``She asked someone and found out it was OK, so I was able to ride,'' Anderson said. ``The AVTA is always so open. If you need something, they accommodate your needs. That was a very big issue for me because if I can't take my baby, I can't go.''

For the disabled and for men and women 64 and older, there is no charge to ride the bus between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. Monday through Friday. At other times, they can ride for 50 cents, half the regular fare.

The disabled and those 64 or older also can get a one-month pass for unlimited rides for $10 for unlimited rides, one-third the regular price for adults.

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Photo: Lela Anderson, with her baby in her lap, and Patty Shaw ride in wheelchairs on an Antelope Valley bus.

Jeff Goldwater/Staff Photographer