DC ParaTransit Info

DC ParaTransit Info had been invited independantly by Mr Christian T. Kent, Director of MetroAccess Services for WMATA, and Mrs Nikki Frenney, Director of Communications for MV Transportation, to visit the new control center at Silver Springs, so that we could see the operation in action, as well as bring some of the questions we had about the service’s operations.

We took advantage of this offer and visited the control center on February 20th 2006, where we were given an unexpected level of access both to some of the top executives of MV Transportation and the control center itself.

Posted: 2 years, 2 months ago | No Comments
Categories: General | Tags: | By: miika.    Print This Post

A press release on the WMATA website reads:

About 16,000 people in the Washington region are registered for MetroAccess, which has more than doubled in use and more than tripled in cost over the last several years.

Now if a person were to hear that statement it would definitely give them pause. This statement is followed by numbers which in no way bear the statement out.

It cost $12.5 million to provide 477,160 passenger trips in fiscal 1999, compared to $42 million and 1.2 million passenger trips in fiscal 2005.

Let’s look at this for a minute.

Posted: 2 years, 2 months ago | No Comments
Categories: General | Tags: | By: Patrick.    Print This Post

The magic 8-Ball, that wondrous device by which MetroAccess dispatchers throughout the ages have been able to foretell the time of arrival of a rider’s transport when the aforementioned rider, quite irate, is on the phone with them.  We thought it lost, gone forever when the contractors changed, but lo!  It has returned!

It’s a bygone of the Logisticare days, the seemingly random numbers we would be given over the phone as to how long away our overdue pick-ups were, and one we thought we were well shot of, but unfortunately it’s beginning to look like Reservationists and Dispatchers under MV are reinstating the practice by themselves.

Posted: 2 years, 2 months ago | No Comments
Categories: General | Tags: | By: miika.    Print This Post

DC ParaTransit Info was present during the DC Council Budget meeting on February 22nd 2006, both to report and to offer testimony.

To be honest, there was nothing really came out that was earth shattering, although both Councilmembers Schwartz and Graham had many questions to ask the WMATA representatives, including the newly-appointed Interim General Manager Mr Dan Tangherlini, as well as the Board Chairman Mrs Gladys Mack.

At one stage a little piece of verbal misdirection, whether intentional or accidental, managed to derail a question by Councilmember Schwartz on the subject of complaint numbers.  This wasn’t followed up on because of a comment by Mrs Pamela Wilkins, Acting Assistant General Manager of Customer Contract Services who oversees the service, made, that “MetroAccess riders have the number memorized”.

Posted: 2 years, 2 months ago | No Comments
Categories: General , In The Media , WMATA | Tags: | By: miika.    Print This Post

In light of the apparent new openness of WMATA with regards to MetroAccess issues, DC ParaTransit Info has sent WMATA’s Media Relations one of the more pressing questions that has come up.

We’re trying to gather some more information for our testimony to the Budget meeting this evening, and were wondering if WMATA could clarify something for us.

The FTA ParaTransit Guidance, posted at http://www.fta.dot.gov/14531_17514_ENG_HTML.htm states

Posted: 2 years, 2 months ago | No Comments
Categories: General , WMATA | Tags: | By: miika.    Print This Post

Hemal Jhaveri wrote an insightful commentary on MetroAccess today in the DCist Opinionist column. He raised a very good point:

In their euphoria about the “new kid on the block,” Metro made one glaring oversight: In a building with multiple entrances such as my office, how is a totally blind individual going to ask an auto-alert system about the location of his/her vehicle? By wading through 20 minutes of telephone hold time till an unsympathetic, live dispatcher appears? By that time, my ride may have already left, and I might have to opt to drive myself home.

Posted: 2 years, 2 months ago | No Comments
Categories: General | Tags: | By: miika.    Print This Post

One of WMATA’s common responses to criticism recently has been to claim that they are providing “shared rides”.  DC ParaTransit Info performed a small experiment today to test that concept out.

Pat and Kathi are both MetroAccess users, and both use powered wheelchairs.  Two separate trips were booked for today, leaving Pat’s work in Rockville Maryland at the same time, going to the same destination near College Park Maryland (home).  A PCA was booked as travelling with Kathi.

Posted: 2 years, 3 months ago | No Comments
Categories: General , WMATA | Tags: | By: miika.    Print This Post

Whilst reading WMATA’s old press releases earlier, we came across something interesting in one dated December 28th 2005, under the subject of “What’s in store for Metro in 2006?“.  The section that caught our eye is towards the bottom, in “2006 MetroAccess Highlights”:

A free trip voucher will be provided to any Metroaccess passenger who has experienced a missed or excessively late trip.

We’ve asked MetroAccess for clarification of this, specifically:

• What constitutes an “Excessively late trip”?
• Who decides if a trip is “Excessively late”?
• Who issues such a voucher?

Posted: 2 years, 3 months ago | No Comments
Categories: General , WMATA | Tags: | By: miika.    Print This Post

Has anyone else received a mailing from WMATA recently? They come with pre-printed address stickers on them. I’m wondering if this was not the promised revised rider’s guide mentioned on WMATA’s web site here

Plans are in place for MetroAccess riders to receive a copy of the MetroAccess Rider’s Guide in the mail to ensure that they know the guidelines for the service as required under the ADA and clarifies what customers can expect.

If it is the eagerly awaited Rider’s Guide, then I hope that the copy that we received is not a sign of what we can expect - the envelope was completely empty …

Posted: 2 years, 3 months ago | No Comments
Categories: General , WMATA | Tags: | By: miika.    Print This Post

WMATA seems to have taken on board at least one issue raised at the Advisory Committee meeting, and have added new content to their web site regarding the timing issues of that meeting raised in a previous article here.  The following information has been added:

The MetroAccess subcommittee of the Elderly & Disabled Transportation Advisory Committee meets on the first Monday of every month at 4pm just prior to the meeting of the E&D committee that starts at 5:30pm. The MetroAccess subcommittee addresses issues that are specifically related to the MetroAccess service. These meetings are are open to the public, and time is devoted in each meeting for public comment on any aspect of the service. All are welcome to attend.

Posted: 2 years, 3 months ago | No Comments
Categories: General , WMATA | Tags: | By: miika.    Print This Post