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Grievances Spike After MetroAccess Transition
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MV spokeswoman Nikki Frenney said she was unaware that the automated alerts were being triggered incorrectly and said it was a "kink" that the company would work out.
Another rider, Snider, the disability advocate, is blind and said he has spent many recent afternoons waiting outside his Silver Spring office for his MetroAccess ride. Drivers have told him they are not allowed to leave their vehicles, so he walks up and down the street, tapping his white cane to attract their attention, or asks a pedestrian for help.
"It makes me furious," Snider said. "It's embarrassing and insulting."
Kent, the MetroAccess director, said in an e-mail that drivers are required to "announce their arrival and/or approach the person, so long as they remain within the vicinity and eyesight of the vehicle." In all cases, he said, they are required to escort customers from the curb to the vehicle.
"That message has not been conveyed by MV to its drivers," Snider said.
More than 200 of MV's drivers are new and have been given extensive training, including in map-reading, Frenney said.
When MV took over, some subcontractors with experienced drivers were not kept. Also, drivers are no longer paid per trip, but by the hour, said Inez Evans, an MV vice president. The minimum pay is $11.75 an hour, she said. Riders say they are furious about the lack of response to complaints. In the first few weeks under MV, complaints flooded Metro's customer service line daily but were passed on to MV only once a week, creating a huge backlog, MV officials said.
Starting Jan. 31, Metro began passing complaints to MV within a day, and MV said those are investigated within five days. But for riders who complained before Jan. 31, the contractor has been given up to two weeks to respond.
Snider, who said he has filed about eight complaints about MV's service, said he has not received a telephone call or letter.
