GREATER HARTFORD TRANSIT DISTRICT
ADA PARTICIPATION GROUP FORUM
Wednesday September 16, 2009

Attendees: Michelle Johnson, Peggy Johnson, Beverly Jackson, Yvonne Loteczka, Michael Carrier, Lydia Mele, Irma Nieves, Jose Garcia, Paul Copp, Barbara Bellot-CTTransit, Pat Williams-GHTD, DJ Gonzalez-GHTD, Valerie Ellis-GHTD, Manny Gonzalez-First Transit, Vicki Shotland-GHTD, and Karyn Bennett-First Transit.

The forum began at 5:05 pm.

Noted below are the statistics for July and August

Operations:
Total passenger trips for the month of July were 23,063, No Shows 762 (3%), Cancellations 7,134 (30%). August passengers trips were 22,222, No shows 716 (3%), Cancellations 6,096 (27%)

Assessments:
In July, 135 ADA applications were received; 101 were new, 34 were re-certifications, and 98 ADA eligibilities were completed. Out of the 98 completed ADA eligibilities, 52 received a specific approval condition, 3 were denied, and 43 were withdrawn. In August, 130 ADA applications were received; 97 were new, 33 were re-certifications, and 95 ADA eligibilities were completed. Out of the 95 completed ADA eligibilities, 68 received a specific approval condition, 4 were denied, and 23 were withdrawn.

Customer Service:
In July, 47 comments were received from passengers; 21% were compliments, 74% were driver, dispatch, reservationists and/or scheduling complaints, 4% were mechanical and/or related to safety, 0% other. In August, 56 comments were received from passengers; 23% were compliments, 75% were driver, dispatch, reservationists and/or scheduling complaints, 0% were mechanical and/or related to safety, 1% other.

Ms. Williams addressed Ms. Jackson’s concerns informing her that she had been given the list of riders who regularly attend the monthly Wednesday meeting. The scheduling department will work with the group coordinator to efficiently reserve the upcoming trip on September 23rd and all monthly trips thereafter.

DJ Gonzalez addressed the issue of the wheelchair lift where some passengers have stated that it has a steep drop. Mr. Gonzalez informed the attendees that he met with the lift manufacturer (Braun) to review the concern about the bump/incline on the lifts. They advised him of changes that can be made to alleviate this problem. One vehicle (#741) was recently retrofitted to see if this modification works.

He mentioned that if this trial is successful, the District will look at the possibility of retrofitting the remainder of the fleet. It is important to note that all lifts, as well as other equipment on the vehicles are required to adhere to federal safety standards and guidelines.

Michael Carrier’s concern regarding improving e-mail reservations has been addressed with the scheduling department. 

Ms. Shotland noted that the GHTD mirrors CTTransit schedules in accordance with starting and ending times.

Staff also brought forth the following issues at the meeting:

The progress of the AVL/GPS implementation for the vehicles is moving along. Installation is anticipated to be in early spring 2010.

The GHTD is proposing a change to the current thirty-minute window time frame. The current window time is fifteen (15) minutes before and fifteen (15) minutes after the scheduled pick up time. However; the changes to the window time will include a shorter time frame before the scheduled pick-up, but with more time after. (For example; five (5) minutes before and twenty (20) minutes after.) Once the new policy is finalized riders will be communicated with and provided with sufficient notice to prepare for the changes. The District would like to make the transition as seamless as possible and be proactive in preparing the riders for the change so that they are affected with minimal inconvenience.

The next ADA forum is scheduled for Thursday, November 12, 2009 at 5:00 pm at Union Station. You must make a reservation for transportation to and from the meeting by calling 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.