MetroAccess to Get Cash Boost

Extra Million Will Increase Rides, Improve Direction-Finding

At the District's National Rehabilitation Hospital, Jacqueline Petty prepares to board a MetroAccess vehicle that will take her home. Petty said that on many occasions, the service's vans have arrived late or have not arrived at all. (By Lucian Perkins -- The Washington Post)

Metro directors yesterday approved giving more than $1 million to the contractor operating the MetroAccess service for the region's disabled, because the transit authority had underestimated the number of vehicles needed to meet the demand during busy afternoon hours.

The funding, an addition to the four-year, $204 million contract awarded last fall, was approved unanimously and without discussion.

The money will provide 77 MetroAccess vehicles with navigation units tied to the Global Positioning System and with computers, cameras and radios. Fifty-five of the vehicles are in use but do not have the equipment. The remaining 22 vehicles would be added to the fleet, bringing its total to 332 fully equipped vehicles.

Two more dispatchers also will be hired, thanks to the additional money.

After MV Transportation took over the contract Jan. 15, the public transportation system that provides rides for about 16,000 disabled and elderly residents received a record number of complaints about rides failing to show up or being late, travel routes that defied common sense, poor communication, rude telephone reservationists and drivers getting lost.

Some riders say service has improved in recent weeks, but others at a forum on MetroAccess service Monday night expressed anger and frustration.

"The stress of having to deal with MV is really taking a toll on our health," said Deborah Gutterman, a rider who uses a wheelchair. She and about two dozen others who spoke drew frequent applause and shouts of agreement from others in attendance.

MV officials said they are aware that service needs to be better but point to continuing improvements in performance.

The transit authority said in a statement yesterday that preliminary data show MV's on-time performance has been near or above the goal of 93.5 percent in recent weeks. Wednesday's on-time performance was 95.4 percent.

Two months ago, Metro board members turned down a similar funding request for MV after grilling Metro managers and MV's top executive.

Several board members said in interviews after yesterday's meeting that it has become clear to them that MetroAccess service is not meeting rider demand.

Without the additional vehicles, Metro managers say, the only way to meet demand, especially during the evening rush, would be to increase taxi use, at an additional cost of about $2.2 million a year.

On an average weekday, MetroAccess provides about 4,300 trips.

"It's patently obvious that dependability of service is one of our biggest issues," said T. Dana Kauffman, who co-chairs the board's ad hoc committee on MetroAccess and attended Monday night's forum. The additional vehicles are needed, he said, to provide "quality, reliable service."

Jim Graham, who represents the District on the board, said he voted for the additional funding because "we are in a crisis that we desperately need to respond to." But, he added, he will be seeking accountability from Metro staffers about why demand for service was underestimated during the contract process.

Dan Tangherlini, Metro's interim general manager, said a special team formed last month to investigate excessively late and missed trips has helped to reduce the number of such trips. On Monday, he said, Metro staffers will begin auditing MV's preliminary performance data. Many riders have complained that MV's statistics do not reflect reality.

In other business yesterday, Tangherlini singled out Metrobus driver Ron Majors, 59, for praise, leading the board and staff in a standing ovation for his role in calming passengers during a potentially dangerous disturbance on the No. 70 bus route from Southwest Washington to Silver Spring last Friday.

During the morning rush, two men in the back of the bus began arguing, and one threatened to attack the other with a hammer, said Majors, who has been a bus operator for 26 years. In the end, no attack took place, police responded quickly, and the bus was delayed for only five minutes, Majors said.