Kalyn Heffernan didn’t know her picture was on the side of a bus. She only found out when a friend had sent her pictures on Monday.
“I was just instantly so pissed off,” Heffernan said. She had no idea that the Regional Transportation District was using a portrait of her to promote its services for riders with disabilities, she said.
One reason she was angry: RTD has recently enacted controversial changes to its services for people with disabilities. It raised costs for Access-on-Demand, a flexible transportation service, saying it was a financial necessity.
“I don’t even know how long it’s been on the bus. I don’t know if it’s one bus. I don’t know if it’s multiple buses. I haven’t seen the bus, which is also wild. I ride the bus and live right across from a bus stop,” she said. “So I don’t know how I haven’t seen it, but it’s out there and without my permission, and celebrating and tokenizing disabled people without actually acting on that.”…