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Data Errors Blamed for Poor Metro Van Service
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White told the Metro directors yesterday the account was not true, because MV's database includes an address for the airport. But Monson told a reporter it is possible that the database had the airport address but that the reservationist erred, information that he did not mention to the Metro board.
"I have no reason to lie about that. I was just trying to get to the airport," Coward said yesterday. "That really upsets me. They're trying to cover up for the abysmal service they're providing by blaming the riders."
Robert Smith, who represents Maryland on the Metro board, said he doubted that problems with MetroAccess were widespread.
But Jim Graham, who represents the District on the board, said that he had been "bombarded" by e-mails and telephone calls from disabled riders and that Smith and others were failing to appreciate the severity of the situation. "This is a crisis for a number of people," Graham said.
One of those stranded riders was an MV employee.
William White, 59, took telephone calls from angry riders wanting to know the whereabouts of their MetroAccess rides. White, who uses a wheelchair and rides MetroAccess, said he was stranded for more than three hours in the middle of the night Saturday.
White had reserved and confirmed his trip from a Springfield restaurant to his home in Northeast Washington. But the MetroAccess ride that was supposed to pick him up at 2 a.m. never materialized. He called MV but couldn't reach anyone, he said. At 4 a.m., he reached his MV supervisor on his private cell phone. The supervisor arranged for him to be picked up about 5:40 a.m.
After that, White said, he could no longer work for the company. He turned in his employee badge yesterday. "How can I do my job if I don't have any faith in the company?" he said. "I got left out there all night long."
MV executive Ryan Larsen apologized to him.
"But I never received an explanation as to why the ride didn't show up," White said. "I would like to know what happened to my ride."
