DC ParaTransit Info

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:

Posted: 2 years, 4 months ago | No Comments
Categories: Press Releases , WMATA | Tags: | By: miika.    Print This Post

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.

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Categories: Press Releases , WMATA | Tags: | By: miika.    Print This Post

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.

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Categories: In The Media , WMATA | Tags: | By: miika.    Print This Post

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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Categories: In The Media , WMATA | Tags: | By: miika.    Print This Post

Dear Fellow MetroAccess Rider,

I have depended on MetroAccess for 11 years. I live in the District of Columbia and I know firsthand what you face to get from home to work, the doctor or grocery store.

Please join your fellow riders and me at a special Public Forum for MetroAccess Riders to focus on finding solutions for MetroAccess customers’ needs.

Monday, March 13, 2006 3-5 p.m. and 7-9 p.m.*
Metro Headquarters Lobby Level
600 Fifth Street NW, Washington DC

By Metrorail: Judiciary Sq or Gallery Pl-Chinatown station
By Metrobus: D1, D3, D6, P6, 70, 71, 80 or X2

Posted: 2 years, 4 months ago | No Comments
Categories: Press Releases , WMATA | Tags: | By: miika.    Print This Post

DC ParaTransit Info has been asked why we don’t trust the statistics WMATA publishes on their web site.  Outside of WMATA’s exclusion of complaints filed in the most logical place for riders to complain to, the simple fact is, their numbers literally don’t add up.

We know that WMATA disclaims their figures as being preliminary, but even their preliminary figures don’t add up, even allowing for rounding errors.  We ran basic math on their published figures, and easily found these discrepancies in the stated on-time performance total, based on the total statistics WMATA is making public:

Posted: 2 years, 4 months ago | No Comments
Categories: WMATA | Tags: | By: miika.    Print This Post

WMATA released the news today that 1,154 MetroAccess riders so far have signed up for the Free Ride program that we wrote about recently.

The press release also notes that the number of people who have signed up for the Free Metro system orientations, run through WMATA’s Office of ADA Programs, has jumped to 23, and that both Columbia Lighthouse for the Blind and Services for the Visually Impaired are working in partnership with Metro in helping people learn how to use the system safely and effectively.

Whilst both of these things are good news, we have some issues with the press release.

Posted: 2 years, 5 months ago | No Comments
Categories: Press Releases , WMATA | Tags: | By: miika.    Print This Post

Buried at the bottom of the Post’s article today about WMATA’s changes to the bus routes is a note that WMATA is to pilot giving MetroAccess drivers cell phones to use to contact riders directly when necessary.

This move, coupled with MV Transportation’s returning rider’s phone numbers to the manifests a few weeks ago, is a positive step towards giving the drivers (and the riders) back some of the tools that enable the service to run more efficiently, allowing direct driver-to-rider contact to help locate them in those impossible-to-find-on-the-map places.

Posted: 2 years, 5 months ago | No Comments
Categories: In The Media , WMATA | 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, 5 months ago | No Comments
Categories: General , In The Media , WMATA | Tags: | By: miika.    Print This Post

Metro announced today the remaining members of the new ad hoc committee created to review MetroAccess service.  Metro announced last week it was creating the Ad Hoc MetroAccess Advisory Committee as part of its efforts to improve the service.

The newly named committee members include: MetroAccess riders Penny Reeder of Maryland and Ann Pimley of Virginia; Harold Snider, chair of the Montgomery County Commission for People with Disabilities; John R. Hudson, Program Manager of the Disability Services Planning and Development Department for Fairfax County; and Takoma Park Mayor Kathy Porter, who also was the lead author of the Transportation Planning Board’s recent report on MetroAccess service.

Posted: 2 years, 5 months ago | No Comments
Categories: Press Releases , WMATA | Tags: | By: miika.    Print This Post