GREATER HARTFORD TRANSIT DISTRICT
ADA PARTICIPATION GROUP FORUM
Thursday, July 15, 2010

Attendees: Beverly Jackson, Michelle Johnson, Peggy Johnson, Bill Saloman, Janet Wallans, Abram Aviles-GHTD, Linda DeLallo-FT, Erik Rousseau–FT, Pat Williams-GHTD, Vicki Shotland-GHTD, Peter Dole-FT, Shedrick Robinson-FT

The forum began at 5pm.

Noted below are the statistics for May and June

Operations:
Total passengers trips for the month of May were 24,441, No Shows 1,403 (6%), cancellations 6,048 (25%). June passenger’s trips were 24,643, No shows 1,472 (6%), cancellations 5,997 (24%)

Assessments:
In May 105 ADA applications were received; 83 were new, 22 recertified and 83 ADA eligibilities were completed. Out of the 83 completed ADA eligibilities, 25 unconditional, 17 conditional, 16 temporary, 3 denied and 22 were withdrawn. In June 135 ADA applications were received; 117 were new, 18 recertified and 106 ADA eligibilities were completed. Out of the 106 completed ADA eligibilities, 33 unconditional, 19 conditional, 20 temporary, 2 denied and 32 were withdrawn.

Customer Service:
In May 73 comments were received from passengers; 28% were compliments, 60% were driver, dispatch, reservationists and/or scheduling complaints, 5% was mechanical and/or related to safety, 7% other. In June 61, comments were received from passengers; 44% were compliments, 49% were driver, dispatch, reservationists and/or scheduling complaints, 0% was mechanical and/or related to safety, 7% other.

GHTD General Comments:
Pat Williams noted that flyers for the upcoming disability convention on August 28, 2010, will be posted on all vehicles.

Vicki Shotland communicated the following:

• The no show policy is almost complete with a tentative date for the roll-out to be effective on September 1, 2010.
• Over the course of the next few months, GHTD estimates that there will be another twenty (20) vehicles replaced in the fleet.

First Transit introduced new employee Shedrick Robinson. Mr. Robinson is the Call Center Manager and one of his major responsibilities is to ensure that all calls received in the dispatch and reservation departments are handled accurately and proficiently. Mr. Robinson can be reached at (860) 247-0050 x120 or shedrick.robinson@firstgroup.com.

Linda DeLallo spoke positively about the AVL software. She said that current issues are being worked out and in the near future drivers will no longer need to carry manifests. Ms. DeLallo also spoke about the software enhancement to Info Manager, a software program that is currently used by the dispatch department. The enhanced software will allow the dispatchers to view the location of vehicles on a television screen so that they can determine which buses are running late or are delayed in traffic.

Finally Ms. DeLallo stated that over the course of the next few months the telephone system will be updated with IVR software. The IVR system will notify riders as to how long it will be until their vehicle arrives to pick them up.

First Transit staff and Ms. Williams have visited various sites (Senior Centers, Developmental Workshops, and Dialysis Centers) to educate them about the ADA Paratransit program.

Participant Comments:
Comment:	Beverly Jackson The service picked up Ms. Jackson in Hartford and also had another passenger pick up in a different Hartford location. This was an extremely hot day, and when the driver arrived at the second pickup he performed door-to-door, but was away from the vehicle for an undetermined length of time. The driver had turned off the vehicle’s engine which created a very uncomfortable situation for Ms. Jackson who was left without air conditioning. After the long wait the rider was marked as a no show, but Ms. Jackson would like to know why she was left on a hot vehicle for a lengthy period of time and would like the situation investigated.
Response:	Ms. DeLallo explained that CT state law requires that the vehicle not idle for more than three minutes. However, there are weather related circumstances based on high and low temperatures that make for some allowances in the idling law. First Transit staff will investigate to make sure the driver did not spend too much time waiting for the other passenger, and if the amount of time Ms. Jackson spent on the vehicle without air conditioning was excessive.
Comment:	Bill Saloman On July 8th, Mr. Saloman’s scheduled pickup was 8:45am-9:15am. Dispatch called him at 8:01am and advised him that his ride would be there ten minutes. Mr. Saloman did not understand why dispatch called him so early. Another situation occurred on July 15th, Mr. Saloman was late being picked from work and explained to the driver that he had to be home on time because he had another scheduled ride. The driver was able to accommodate Mr. Saloman and transported him home before the other rider on the vehicle.
Response:	First Transit inadvertently called Mr. Saloman versus the rider who they were actually trying to contact. Also First Transit will investigate why Mr. Saloman was picked up late on 7/15.
Comment:	Janet Wallans Ms. Wallans would like drivers to have direct contact with each other over the radio. On one occasion, Ms. Wallans informed a driver with specific instructions on where to drop her off at in West Hartford. She then asked the driver to relay the instructions to another driver who was picking her up at the same location. This could not be done and Ms. Wallans telephoned the dispatcher with the information. The dispatcher was not able to speak with the driver and the driver rode around for a while before he was able to find the pickup location.
Response:	First Transit commented that it is necessary for all calls to be routed through the dispatch department. This procedure allows for a more effective communication process and less room for error. Ms. Williams did forward Ms. Wallans other concern to the customer service department and First Transit will investigate and respond back to Ms. Wallans.
Response:	Peggy Johnson Ms. Johnson suggested that the District consider allowing free rides to the ADA forum. She believes that the cost keeps many people away because they cannot afford the round trip fare.
Comment:	Ms. Shotland noted that CTDoT subsidizes the ADA service, but she will consider the request and discuss with District staff for review and comment. In addition, Ms. Shotland stated that the District has an extensive and very inclusive distribution list to get people to come to the forum. For example; the notice is sent to dialysis centers, workshops, senior centers, member towns, and also posted on the ADA fleet vehicles.
Lydia Mele could not attend the forum, but did submit the below concerns.
Comment:	Ms. Mele was told by the reservation department when scheduling multiple trips in one day, that there has to be a least one hour between each trip. The GPS system does not allow drivers to communicate with the dispatcher over the radio and new drivers are not aware of the pickup procedures at Ms. Mele’s residence. Ms. Mele has contacted dispatch with specific directions for an address in Newington, but this information was not forwarded to the driver. Therefore, the driver was lost and Ms. Mele had to wait over an hour to be picked up at this address.
Response:	First Transit will investigate all of Ms. Mele’s concerns and respond to her directly.

The next ADA forum is scheduled for Wednesday, September 15, 2010 at 5:00 pm at Union Station. You must make a reservation for transportation to and from the meeting by calling (860) 724-5340 and select #1. All riders are required to pay the standard ADA Paratransit rate of $2.50 each way.

As time is limited; all attendees are required to sign up to discuss issues at the forum with Pat Williams, and provide the topic for discussion at least 48-hours in advance with the last opportunity to register fifteen (15) minutes prior to the start of the forum.

Please remember that in order for everyone to have a chance to participate you need to keep your initial questions and discussions to five (5) minutes a piece so that we can accommodate all other participants. Follow-up comments should also be kept to five (5) minutes also.