John L. Shermyen, the company's founder and chief executive, said that proof of LogistiCare's success is in the growing number of trips requested. A 2002 customer survey commissioned by Metro showed that most passengers were satisfied with MetroAccess, and company officials noted that only a fraction of trips elicit complaints.
"We feel that the true measure of a program is ridership," Shermyen said.
A small portion of MetroAccess passengers -- 500 to 1,500 out of more than 100,000 trips a month -- have "egregious, ugly trips," but that is partly Metro's fault, Shermyen said. The agency didn't buy enough vehicles to keep up with demand, he said, and has not cracked down aggressively enough on passengers who repeatedly reserve rides and then fail to show up, throwing off schedules. LogistiCare's contract prohibited the company from meeting with disabled riders to air problems and figure out solutions, Shermyen said.
"Considering what we had to put up with, we did a damn good job," said Jo Roesle, LogistiCare's former customer relations manager.
Metro Chief Executive Richard A. White said he has taken a number of steps to correct the problems with MetroAccess. He said a 2003 policy to suspend no-show customers has succeeded in reducing the problem. He recently added language to LogistiCare's contract aimed at improving service and has stopped paying the company bonuses, he said. He also beefed up Metro's fraud detection capabilities, adding six auditors and two police detectives. White would not say how much Metro estimates it has lost to fraud.
Any suggestion that Metro doesn't take allegations of fraud seriously is wrong, White said, noting that the agency's own review led to the ongoing grand jury investigation.
Costly Service
While cities across the country offer transportation to the disabled to comply with federal law, MetroAccess is a generous program that goes well beyond the requirements.
The service is provided by a fleet of customized vans and sedans -- recognizable by their red-and-blue striping and the MetroAccess logo. When all 176 MetroAccess vehicles are in use, LogistiCare hires taxis to handle the overflow.
LogistiCare employees take telephone reservations and dispatch drivers who pick up and deliver curb-to-curb within any jurisdiction that pays for Metro service. The drivers submit logs that detail each trip, with arrival and departure times, and LogistiCare bills Metro for the rides. Riders qualify for the service by submitting to a physical examination that shows they cannot use Metrobus or the subway.
Ed Walker, 73, who is blind, said his only complaint is with riders who don't show up and make others on the route late. "I'm grateful for MetroAccess," said Walker, who depends on the service to travel between Bethesda and American University for his job hosting a radio show on WAMU. "From talking to my friends in other cities, this system works pretty good," he said.
Providing the transportation is expensive: MetroAccess is Metro's most heavily subsidized service. The agency pays LogistiCare $23.22 for each MetroAccess trip, and the passenger pays $2.50. Metro underwrites the service with tax dollars and revenue from bus and rail fares.
MetroAccess's annual budget of $51.7 million has nearly tripled since 2000, when fares were cut and demand began to skyrocket. The service provides more than five times the number of rides each month as it did in 2000.
