Metro News Release

For immediate release: May 10, 2004

MetroAccess celebrates its 10th anniversary

MetroAccess, the paratransit service, operated by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) in the Washington, DC, metropolitan region, is celebrating its 10th anniversary this month. The shared-ride, general purpose, curb-to-curb paratransit service sponsored by WMATA and its member jurisdictions rolled out on May 16, 1994, as a result of the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA), which requires that public transit agencies provide complementary paratransit service to people with disabilities who are unable to use accessible fixed route service such as Metrobus and Metrorail. MetroAccess provides a vital service to its customers. It is the only ADA-compliant paratransit service operated in the national capital region, and since inception, the number of trips has increased substantially. When launched in FY1995, WMATA operated 46,774 trips at a cost of $3.9 million. In FY2005, WMATA is projected to operate 1.5 million trips with a price tag expected to exceed $50 million. " We know that we providean essential service to the disability community however, while we are proud of our service, we are always striving to improve," said Avon Mackel, Director of MetroAccess Service. There are more than 13,000 people certified eligible to use MetroAccess, and for many of them, MetroAccess is their sole means of transportation" whether it is to places of employment, educational facilities, health care facilities or social and cultural activities. MetroAccess costs WMATA approximately $36 per trip to provide. Except for the fares collected from customers ($2.40 each per trip for customers and their companions), the cost of operating MetroAccess service comes from WMATA’s operating budget which is composed of customer fares and subsidies by the local cities and counties that WMATA serves. Earlier this year, WMATA’s Board of Directors endorsed a report by its Regional Paratransit Task Force, which made three recommendations designed to improve MetroAccess service. The Task Force compiled an inventory of service and funding information to work toward coordination of other regional paratransit services; addressed and made recommendations designed to improve the cost effectiveness of MetroAccess; and identified available coordination options to maximize the overall efficiency of the region’s specialized network of transportation services.

News release issued on May 10, 2004.