2006 March

March 2006


Having seen the number of Riders that had descended on the February meeting of the Elderly & Disabled Committee MetroAccess Subcommittee, it wasn’t much of a surprise to see the attendance level at this, the first public forum specifically held to address the situation with MetroAccess since the transition in mid-January.

What was surprising however was the number of representatives of organizations that were present, and that participated.  Even more surprising was that, given the Rider’s Advisory Council is new and unproven, many brought along not only complaints, but also practical suggestions based on their experiences.  It’s a sign of the trust the riders are more likely to put in a rider-based organization over working through the established WMATA-controlled avenues.

The MetroAccess Clients Care Group of the Washington Metropolitan Area has scheduled a public meeting to address the various transportation problems that we encounter every day in the hands of the new MetroAccess System management Company, The MV Transportation, Inc.

The meeting will commence at 11:00AM with the introduction of our government officials and expected guest speakers such as: Congressman Chris Van Hollen or, his representative — Ms Karen McManus; Metro General Manager — Mr. Dan Tangherlini; Director of MetroAcces Mr. Christian Kent and; MV Transportation CEO — Mr. John Munson.
Among the topics of discussion are:

Public Forums on MetroAccess Service Set for March 13th
Let the MetroAccess Riders Speak

The Metro Riders’ Advisory Council and the Elderly and Disabled Committee are sponsoring two forums for MetroAccess riders on Monday, March 13th. The forums are being held to let customers voice their concerns about MetroAccess service. MetroAccess is provided to people with disabilities for whom Metrobus and Metrorail are not accessible. MetroAccess riders deserve the opportunity to make their voice heard and they also deserve significant, sustainable improvements in service.

According to a brief article in the Washington Post, the MetroAccess call center was briefly evacuated yesterday, leaving telephone lines unstaffed for about 15 minutes, after a fire alarm was pulled in the Silver Spring office building.

The false alarm went off about 1:45 p.m., according to Metro. It seems that MV’s employees didn’t leave until they were told to by Fire officials at around 2pm, returning quarter of an hour later after the alarm had been determined to be a false one.

In the first Washington Post article about MetroAccess for this month, we are told that MV Transportation has a “grace period” written into their contract - they’re not going to face penalties for the level of service provided until after April 15th, giving them in effect four months to get things sorted out from the date they took over.

The pressure from local governments, as well as Congressman Van Hollen (D-MD) is continuing to be applied, with Monttgomery County Councilmember Steven A. Silverman (D-At Large) joining the calls for things to improve.

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