DC Metro and People with Disabilities

Nothing False About This MetroAccess Complaint
WashingtonPost, Wednesday, February 8, 2006; A18

To the Editor:
Outgoing Metro Chief Executive Richard A. White told his board of directors that some complaints about MetroAccess service were fabricated, according to a Jan. 27 Metro article. He cited Robert Coward's account of how a MetroAccess reservation operator could not locate an address for Ronald Reagan National Airport.

Mr. Coward is an Air Force veteran and one of two veterans featured this month in Paralyzed Veterans of America's PN magazine. The article is in a section called "Black Valor & American Independence." Mr. Coward was paralyzed in 1992 at age 41 after being struck by a D.C. police car involved in a high-speed chase. Today he operates a nonprofit organization in the District that helps individuals with disabilities coordinate their care. He has extensive experience assisting others with disabilities in navigating transportation systems, including services under MetroAccess.

And about MetroAccess service: I recently received a call at work from a "dispatcher in training," asking if I could provide her with directions to the home of a former employee. I used Mapquest's Web site to direct her to the person's home, an address that MetroAccess had on file. I asked for the name of the trainee's supervisor, but she said that she did not know it. Finally, she connected me to an extension where the phone rang unanswered for 15 minutes.

Having had this experience with MetroAccess just one day before Mr. White claimed his MetroAccess service was a victim of "fabrications," I'm comfortable saying that I believe Mr. Coward.

MICHAEL J. COOPER
Executive Director
ENDependence Center of Northern Virginia Inc.
Arlington

MetroAccess Still Broken, Disabled Say

By Lyndsey Layton and Lena H. Sun
Washington Post Staff Writers
Wednesday, January 25, 2006; B01

Scores of disabled MetroAccess riders say they continue to struggle with poor service, casting doubt on claims by Metro that things are getting better.

Metro officials said yesterday that phone lines are fixed, fewer riders are being stranded and trouble is easing. MV Transportation, which began providing MetroAccess service this month under a four-year, $210 million contract with Metro, said most rides were on time Monday.

MV executives blamed faulty data from the previous contractor, LogistiCare Inc., for some of the mishaps that have befallen frail and sick riders across the region. But several riders trace their trouble to MV's faulty scheduling software, weak communication and poor record-keeping.

They tell tales of bureaucratic bungling, in which confirmed reservations for rides suddenly disappeared from the database. Others talk about trip patterns that defy common sense, when they ride for hours because the drivers must collect others in far-flung locations and cannot stop to let them off even if they are going past their destinations.

"It's getting worse. There are no signs of getting better," said Veronica Payne, 60, a College Park resident who has hip and spinal problems and uses a cane.

Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) has requested a meeting with MV and MetroAccess. "Everybody dropped the ball," Van Hollen said, adding that LogistiCare, MV and WMATA share responsibility.

MV Transportation executives said part of the difficulty stems from the difference between what the company is required to provide and what riders expect.

Under LogistiCare, drivers would call passengers to let them know they were en route and enter buildings to assist customers to the vehicle, even though they weren't required to do so. But MV has instructed drivers not to leave their vehicles. They also have told drivers not to call passengers, according to MV's chief executive, Jon Monson.

Metro's new contract requires vehicles to carry more than one rider, which lengthens travel times. Although he acknowledged that "errors are occurring," Monson said his company is being unfairly tarred. "Somehow, we're being the bad guys," he said.

Metro spokeswoman Lisa Farbstein said the agency crafted the contract to "provide more cost-effective service for us."

Under the Americans With Disabilities Act, all transit systems must provide equivalent service for people who are physically unable to ride a regular subway or bus system. About 16,000 people across the Washington region are registered to use MetroAccess.

Metro replaced LogistiCare with MV after The Washington Post reported that MetroAccess service was poorly managed and that Metro handed out performance bonuses to LogistiCare based on questionable data.

Advocates for the disabled, who filed a federal lawsuit last year claiming that MetroAccess does not meet the ADA requirements, said yesterday that they will seek a preliminary injunction to force quick remedies. "These MetroAccess riders' jobs, health and their very lives are on the line," said attorney Elaine Gardner. She said she has evidence that MetroAccess violated federal law by keeping passengers on vehicles for long periods.

Veronica Payne's trip on Monday befitted a Franz Kafka novel. She was picked up by MetroAccess at 5:49 p.m. in Anacostia and was to be taken to the Shoppers Warehouse grocery near her home in College Park. She also had reserved a return MetroAccess trip at 7 p.m.

After Payne boarded, the driver's schedule sent him to downtown Washington to pick up a woman on Rhode Island Avenue NW and take her to Silver Spring before driving Payne to College Park. By 6:50 p.m., it was clear that Payne would not reach the supermarket by 7 p.m., so the driver and Payne informed a MetroAccess dispatcher.

When they arrived at the supermarket at 7:30 p.m., Payne called MetroAccess to arrange a ride home and was told that because she was not there at 7 p.m., she had been labeled a "no-show." If riders accumulate no-shows, they face suspension from the program.

Payne's original driver waited and took her home, defying orders from the dispatcher to first pick up another passenger in Laurel, Payne said. When she called MetroAccess to say that she had secured a ride home, she was told that the 7 p.m. pickup ride at the supermarket had never actually been scheduled -- despite the fact that MetroAccess gave Payne a confirmation number.

"This is just craziness," Payne said.

Another rider, Robert Coward, was unable to reserve a ride Thursday to Reagan National Airport because the MetroAccess operator could not locate an address for the airport. "That blew my mind," said Coward, a resident of the District. After 20 minutes on hold, he was told that he would get a call back from MetroAccess. He never did.

Coward, who uses a wheelchair, took the subway to the airport, leaving five hours before his flight. To get from his East Capitol Street home to the Benning Road Station, he strapped his four bags to his motorized wheelchair and dragged them on the sidewalk.

Study Raps DC Metro on Service
for People with Disabilities

By Lyndsey Layton and Lena H. Sun
Washington Post

The first comprehensive study of MetroAccess found the transportation system for the disabled does not meet the needs of its riders, is focused on cutting costs at the expense of good service, fails to adequately communicate with passengers and compares poorly with similar services in other major cities.

The study, to be released today by the National Capital Region Transportation Planning Board, identifies shortcomings in the way MetroAccess is designed, managed and operated by Metro. Across the region, 16,000 disabled riders who are physically unable to ride the subway or regular bus depend on MetroAccess. They tend to be female, African American, older than 60 and poor.

And they are not well served by MetroAccess, according to the 109-page study. Takoma Park Mayor Kathy Porter -- who chaired the study panel of elected leaders, transportation providers, Metro staff members and disabled riders -- said the region can do better.

"It is difficult to run any kind of transit system in a very urbanized area," Porter said. "But there are examples around the country where transit systems have done a better job than MetroAccess. . . . MetroAccess has a lot of improvements to make."

The study makes 20 recommendations for improving MetroAccess, including five high-priority changes that are relatively simple and inexpensive and could be done within six months, said Wendy Klancher, a transportation planner and co-author of the study.

The high-priority items are: giving out better information to riders, improving the complaint process, creating a user group to advise Metro officials on policy and practice, providing same-day service and submitting to an independent review of MetroAccess by January 2007.

MetroAccess service has long been the target of complaints, and a group of disabled riders filed a lawsuit last year contending that the service is so poor it violates federal law. But when Metro switched service providers Jan. 15, the transition from Logisticare Inc. to MV Transportation made previous service problems pale in comparison.

In the first three weeks under the new contractor, Metro received record numbers of complaints from riders, thousands of whom said they were stranded, picked up late or mistreated by drivers or reservationists. MV executives have blamed poor data from Logisticare, the learning curve of new drivers and reservationists and telephone problems.

The study being released today identifies structural problems that persist despite the change in contractors, Porter said. "We were looking at long-term structural problems," she said. "The transition has exacerbated underlying problems in the system."

The study found that MetroAccess was inferior to similar services provided in Baltimore, Philadelphia and New York.

One of Metro's most-expensive programs, MetroAccess costs taxpayers about $50 million a year. The authors of the study suggest that MetroAccess is an inflexible system that fails to meet the needs of users in part because Metro managers are focused on cutting costs. MV Transportation was the low bidder for the current contract, undercutting the next-highest bidder by about 20 percent.

For example, Metro's contract with MV Transportation calls for curb-to-curb service, which means MV is responsible only for picking up passengers at the curb and delivering them to the curb outside a doctor's office, place of employment or other destination.

The problem with the policy is that many riders need assistance to get from their doors to the MetroAccess vehicle. In the weeks since MV started providing MetroAccess service, blind riders have complained that they would have no idea that a van had arrived because the driver would not get out. The van would idle for the required 10-minute wait and leave, stranding the unsuspecting passenger. Other riders have said they need assistance to reach the curb.

In recent days, Metro initiated a telephone system that sends an automated call to riders when a van approaches. Metro managers said a door-to-door policy would add to the program's cost.

The study also found reliability problems, noting that MetroAccess riders are often picked up late and their trips last too long. There is no same-day service. Passengers have to reserve a ride at least a day in advance, which robs disabled riders of the flexibility that most travelers enjoy, the study says.

Communication is another problem area, Porter said. MetroAccess officials need to speak with and listen to riders, investigate complaints and report findings of those investigations to the riders, she said.

Nikki Frenney, a spokeswoman for MV Transportation, has said repeatedly that the company has been frustrated by weak communication between MetroAccess and its riders.

When the company was awarded the contract last fall, executives asked Metro how the agency was going to prepare riders for changes in service, she said. "That never really happened," Frenney said.

In response to the huge number of complaints, Metro set up a weekly telephone conference to enable riders to speak directly with MetroAccess officials.

But Metro has not publicized the telephone number because managers are worried that the phone system would be overwhelmed, Metro spokeswoman Candace Smith said.

© 2006 The Washington Post Company