A March 5 article about problems with MetroAccess service did not make it clear that Scott McDaniel, a MetroAccess rider, is an employee of Service Sources Inc., which operates the Woodmont Center in Arlington County. The article also misstated the nature of his disabilities. McDaniel is legally blind, and although he has other disabilities, he and his parents say he is not mentally disabled.
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What Disabled Riders Endure
Here's a glimpse of what getting around is like for some of the region's most vulnerable.
Nancy Hartgrove
'They keep making . . . mistakes.'
Nancy Hartgrove, 58, who has emphysema, watched as the dial on her oxygen tank pointed to empty. She tried to conserve her breath by growing still as she waited for her MetroAccess ride home from National Geographic in the District. It was scheduled for 5:15 p.m., but 6 p.m. was now approaching.
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Tuesday had begun this way: At 7:19 a.m., Hartgrove received an automated call to let her know that a MetroAccess vehicle was outside.
Thirty seconds later, as she was shouldering her oxygen tank and walking out of her Silver Spring apartment, a dispatcher called to tell her the van was waiting.
Her driver first had to drop off another passenger in Silver Spring, in the opposite direction from the District. By the time they turned around and reached National Geographic, she was 17 minutes late to her job in the advertising department.
The supply of oxygen in the small tank Hartgrove uses while commuting dwindled during the delay. When she's at work or home, she uses larger tanks.
"We should not have been in the same vehicle together," she said, referring to the Silver Spring-bound passenger. MV employees "keep making the same mistakes over and over again."
She called MV Transportation to complain and learned that a Barwood cab would be picking her up in the afternoon. MV has been increasing its reliance on taxis and leased vehicles in recent weeks to improve its performance.
Hartgrove was at National Geographic's 17th Street entrance a little before 5 p.m. At 5:27, she called Barwood, and the dispatcher said a cab had been there at 5 and left. The dispatcher said another cab would be sent. Hartgrove noticed that her oxygen tank was empty, drained from the extra 50 minutes she spent riding or waiting for MetroAccess.
At 5:49, still no sign of a cab. Hartgrove called again and was put on hold. At 5:56, the cab arrived, and she was home by 6:35, where she breathed a sigh of relief thanks to a fresh tank of oxygen.
Rajiv Shah
'You have to work the system.'
It was a happy surprise for Rajiv Shah. The white MetroAccess van pulled up to his Fairfax County townhouse at 5:51 a.m., just a few minutes after his scheduled time of 5:45 and well within the 30-minute window allowed under Metro's rules. If a vehicle arrives anytime from 15 minutes before the scheduled pickup to 15 minutes after, it is considered on time.
Things don't always go so well for Shah, who is blind. He had wondered whether the van would be an hour late, as it was the morning before. After 10 years of using the service, Shah, a 33-year-old accessibility specialist with the Department of Education, was ready for anything.
