Service for Disabled Is Troubled

In late 2003, Metro's auditor general began looking into allegations that some customers and drivers were booking fake trips. The probe broadened when the auditor began questioning the accuracy of LogistiCare's computer database, which contains pickup and drop-off times compiled from drivers' daily logs and was the basis for the company's on-time performance bonuses.

LogistiCare voluntarily provided information, including paper records, to Metro. Metro police said they subsequently executed a search warrant for the company's computer server. White said the grand jury is looking into allegations "that the data has been altered." But he would not release documents from Metro's investigation, nor would he say who or how many people were the focus of the allegations.

LogistiCare spokesman Ed Domansky said the company would have turned over its computer server without a search warrant if it had been asked. White's comments about the grand jury's focus came as a surprise to the company, Domansky said. "We're not aware of any company employees being approached or questioned by Metro about this subject or being subpoenaed by a grand jury or appearing before a grand jury," he said.

Roesle said no one at LogistiCare falsified data. But employees occasionally changed the electronic records to correct erroneous information, she said. "We did legitimate data cleanup," she said.

The only person charged with fraud in connection with Metro's investigation has been a Virginia cabdriver, Omar Aiman. He pleaded guilty in December to bilking $946 from Metro and $720 from LogistiCare by charging for rides he never provided. Metro police later discovered that he was ferrying MetroAccess riders for a different taxi company. He has since been barred from the program.

Metro Transit Police Capt. Michael Daly said police tried to pursue some of the fraud cases brought to their attention, but he added that they are difficult to prove. He said his department did not appreciate the scope of the MetroAccess problem until after the auditor detailed his findings in late 2004.

"Before that, we didn't even understand how the program worked, who bills who, who's the victim," Daly said. "Someone defrauding MetroAccess out of a ride might have slipped through the cracks if a detective has, say, a robbery he's working on."

Taxis are particularly susceptible to fraud because fewer checks are in place to keep the drivers honest and on time. In 2001, the Federal Transit Administration recommended that Metro substantially reduce its use of taxis, saying that would cut down on the potential for abuse as well as late trips.

But the agency's reliance on them has increased. Cabs provide roughly 30 percent of MetroAccess rides, compared with about 20 percent in 2001.

Inadequate Controls

The transit agency has one powerful tool that could help prevent MetroAccess fraud -- but hasn't used it effectively.

When LogistiCare began managing the service in 2000, Metro told the company it wanted global positioning devices on its vans and sedans. The equipment electronically tracks each vehicle's location for dispatchers and managers. Metro also asked for a card system that would electronically log the time, location and passenger's identity when a customer got in the vehicle and swiped a card through a reader. The agency paid $528,000 to LogistiCare toward the cost of the equipment.

But Metro initially didn't set a deadline, and LogistiCare took two years to find and install a system. The program has been hampered by technological problems and drivers who disable the equipment. And numerous riders said they've never been asked to use the swipe card system.

For Scott Hobbs, who has a nerve disorder, a more reliable system could have made all the difference.

Hobbs, 37, loved his job as a campus chaplain at Gallaudet University in Northeast Washington. "I am a minister. It is my calling," he said. But his disorder left him unable to walk in 1999, and he had to rely on MetroAccess to get to work. His ride was late so often, he was forced to quit in 2003, said Hobbs, who is a plaintiff in the suit against Metro.

The worst part was waiting for his ride home from the university, which could be hours late or not come at all, Hobbs said. Because he is also deaf, he would have to wheel himself back into his office and contact his wife, who would call to inquire about his tardy ride. "I would start praying that I would get home somehow," he said.

Now, Hobbs largely spends his days in his College Park home, his travel limited to the Internet. "I have been feeling very disappointed that there seems to be nothing I can do to fix the problem," he said. "When I started using MetroAccess, I thought I would be able to go anywhere. But the reality is that I spend most of my days at home."

Staff researcher Bobbye Pratt contributed to this report.