[tabi] A summary of TCB's meeting with Dial-A-Ride Personnel
- From: "Sila Miller" <silam@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <tabi@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Fri, 15 Nov 2013 22:19:52 -0500
Hello TABI and other interested parties,
Yesterday, TCB was pleased to have Ivan Maldonado , Quintus Douglas, and Andrea
Rosser from Dial-A-Ride at our meeting. For those interested but unable to
attend, the below is a summary of information provided and questions and
answers covered during our discussion.
Thank you, Andrea, Quintus and Ivan for sharing information with us and for
working as partners to make our system better.
· Ivan Maldonado is the Director of StarMetro and may be contacted or
copied with problems, concerns, and compliments at Ivan.maldonado@xxxxxxxxxx
· Quintus Douglas supervises Dial-A-Ride (DAR) and may be contacted at
Quintus.douglas@xxxxxxxxxx
· Andrea Rosser is the Mobility Coordinator and mainly works with
community coordinated transportation (Cecily Rose and Big Bend) related issues
and concerns. She and her assistants will personally assist patrons to learn
how to ride the fixed route system, make transfers and plan trips. She may be
reached at Andrea.rosser@xxxxxxxxxx
1. Q. How can TCB partner with DAR to request additional funding to hire
more drivers and/or purchase additional vans?
A. Apply for a Federal Transit Administration Grant. Communicate with City
Commissioners during budget planning sessions. There are plans for purchase of
three natural gas vehicles to add to the DAR fleet. Should be on the road by
April, 2014.
2. Q. What other cities are using the new Mobile Data Terminal (MDT) system?
How long did it take them to get the system running smoothly?
A. 12 other cities. Takes approximately 6 - 9 months to iron out kinks.
Talley's system has been in place for approximately four months. It is expected
to vastly improve by February 2014. PassWeb equals screen reader compatibility.
In future, patrons will be able to schedule and cancel trips and check on
existing trips electronically.
The current situation with DAR is putting undue stress on drivers, not only
being overbooked, but causing them to back-track. Drivers are encouraged not to
"disobey" the MDT so that problems can be identified. Quintus is working
closely with this system and drivers.
3. Q. Why are patrons still being told they can't check on a ride until
after 30 minutes?
A. Unsure. Telephone recording software should put a stop to this. MDT
software allows dispatchers to know, within a few minutes of when the driver
should arrive. Possible future plans for an IVR auto call system to advise
patrons of what time to be ready.
4. Q. When will the telephone recording software be installed?
A. By the end of 2013. Unsure how or who will monitor employees.
5. Q. Until then, is there any kind of accountability for those working in
the call center and dispatch who are repeatedly dishonest, rude, and careless?
A. Quintus works with them. In some situations, patrons have and can be sent
tokens as a type of compensation.
6. Why wasn't there more pre-planning for the increased DAR ridership
StarMetro personnel knew decentralization (NOVA 2010) would cause?
A. Quintus asked for 15% increase for Dial-A-Ride. Was only allowed 10%.
7. Q. What are the penalties for having customers on the bus over the
allowed time (one hour)?
A. Nothing in place at this time. MDT allows Quintus to monitor drivers in
real time, offer additional training, and if driver is running late, move
patrons to different manifests.
8. Q. Why do other city's Para transits have a 30 minute window, yet
Tallahassee's is longer?
A. Other cities don't deal with money/patrons pre-pay. Some other cities use
smaller vehicles to serve furthest areas. Tallahassee unique. (trees)
9. Q. Are there fines or any kind of action being taken because of the
abnormalities occurring?
A. In certain situations, patrons have and can be sent tokens as a type of
compensation.
10. Q. If patrons need to change their trips home due to
work demands, will DAR be able to accommodate them as we were previously told?
A. Commuter services of North Florida will issue an emergency voucher for
participants. To qualify for this service, folks must use StarMetro
transportation (includes fixed route and DAR) at least three days per week).
Andrea will send a link.
Tidbits
· Four years ago, DAR provided 54,000 trips annually. They now provide
90,000.
· Future plans to tighten up qualification process. However. DAR assures
that patrons who use fixed route system, when they can will not automatically
be disqualified.
· DAR recently changed their phone tree because folks were having trouble
getting through.
· The electric buses are being used on the Canopy route and have resulted
in saving approximately 3,000 gallons of fuel.
· Changes are in store for the Red Hills and Tall Timbers routes for
folks traveling to Southwood. Shuttles are planned to augment the approximately
4 a.m. and 4 p.m. regular runs.
· There will be a resulting change to Ride Guides. They are downloadable.
· Plan to have at least 50% of bus stops equipped with either seats or
shelters.
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