Metro News Release

For immediate release: February 21, 2006

MetroAccess to Establish a Critical Trip Management Team

A MetroAccess critical trip management team is being created to investigate the causes of missed and extremely late paratransit trips and significantly reduce those problems within two weeks of being established.

In its continuing effort to improve paratransit services, Metro and its service provider MV Transportation is establishing the critical trip management team to address the number of missed/extremely late trips, reduce complaints from these incidents, to ensure there are no repeat occurrences, and to reach out to riders who have concerns about MetroAccess.

The team will be comprised of seven people, including a team leader, manager, an experienced driver, and a trainer who are familiar with the region and who can ensure a thorough investigation of the root causes of missed and extremely late trips. Two people already have been assigned to the team and have begun customer contact and trip investigation. MetroAccess expects to have the entire critical trip management team in place in the next two weeks.

The critical trip management team is being established to reduce by 50 percent the number of missed trips and excessively late trips two weeks after the team is fully implemented.

All riders experiencing missed or extremely late trips will be contacted directly by team members to obtain the rider’s perspective, to validate pickup locations and times, and to follow up with those riders after corrections have been implemented. Street supervisors are also being dispatched to photograph troublesome locations and establish alternate pickup points as needed to improve the drivers’ ability to properly perform trips.

MV is also hiring two part-time passenger advocates, to work directly with both interest groups and individual customers on service quality, safety and driver sensitivity issues.

News release issued on February 21, 2006.