Cash, Cars and Calling on Metro

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A Feb. 10 editorial took Metro to task for the tough transition MetroAccess riders have had adjusting to the new paratransit service provider, MV Transportation. We continue to work with MV to improve service.

The editorial said that Metro did not provide enough lines for its call center. Additional phone lines were installed and tested in December. Unfortunately, it was not until we began to use the lines in February that we discovered that the phone company had not properly configured them; it took five days to rectify the problem.

The editorial also said that "blind passengers and others waiting inside buildings do not know if a vehicle has arrived" to pick them up. Not so. Shortly

after MV Transportation began providing service, we developed a program that allows the

MetroAccess driver to press a switch that triggers an automated call to the customer letting the person know that MetroAccess has arrived. This ensures that nobody has to wait outside in the cold, regardless of whether he or she is visually impaired.

LISA FARBSTEIN

Acting Director of Media Relations

Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority

Washington