An in-depth look at the grades awarded by S.M.A.R.T to Metro in June 2024 and the factors that contributed to their failing report.

March Grade: F | June Grade: F
According to the ADA, paratransit companies are not allowed to have operational patterns or practices that significantly limit the availability of service, including a substantial number of:
Significantly untimely pickups (out of “pickup window”)
Trip denials or missed trips
Trips with excessive trip length (compared to fixed route modes)
Telephone busy signals or long hold times
Metro continues to deny thousands of rides to people with the disabilities each month. Despite several changes to the telephone system during the past three months, the telephone scheduling system is not reliable, and long hold times are experienced. Some experience early or late pickups and excessively long trips. To secure transportation, people with disabilities may have to accept trip times that mean they arrive or depart from their employment sites or doctor’s offices before they open or after they close.
Meaningfully Engage with People with Disabilities
March Grade: D | June Grade: C
Progress noted:
Re-formation of the ADA Advisory Committee has started, and our suggestions are being considered.
Communication has improved – stakeholder letters, advance announcement of a troubleshooting plan when phone service was changed, etc.
Metro executives admit that service is not as it should be. A public apology was posted when public comments were misplaced before the April Board meeting
Several outreach meetings were held with the public in April and in May
Metro did not implement “next day reservations only” due to public pushback
The Board of Commissioners says they will take public comments in June
Progress still needed: Thorough outreach before public events; consultation with customers of many identities throughout every stage of every process (planning, implementation, evaluation, etc.); Metro executives should visit personally with the many regional organizations serving/employing people with disabilities; the Board of Commissioners must meet with Metro customers, including those using paratransit.
Keeping Promises
March Grade: Three Incompletes | June Grade: D, Incomplete, C-minus
Promise # 1 – Improved Phones: Metro has carried out multiple steps on the promised schedule (adding a phone tree, instituting call backs, changing carriers, adding lines). Unfortunately scheduling by phone is still time-consuming and the system frequently goes down.
Promise # 2 – Updating Software: Metro has joined a purchasing collaborative and done research, but the date of implementation is still projected to be late 2024 or early 2025.
Promise # 3 – Contracting with an ADA Consultant: S.M.A.R.T. suggested that Metro seek expertise in running a modern and efficient system. Instead, they contracted with an ADA consultant, Jess Segovia. We were encouraged by Segovia’s January 25 listening session with S.M.A.R.T. We found his April 11 report on a virtual community open house to be shallow and to gloss over the problems we experience.
Progress still needed: The phones need to work consistently, and booking trips should not be so time consuming. Online options desired. Interactive Voice Recognition (IVR) is needed for those who cannot push buttons (“press or say three…”). Software should be capable of managing a robust, efficient urban transit system. Segovia’s full report should be released publicly. (We have been told that it will be.) Metro (or municipalities served by Metro) should bring in expertise from cities with excellent paratransit.
March Grade: D+ | June Grade: D+
Some S.M.A.R.T. members noted small improvements, but, overall, our customer experience is neither better, nor worse. Here are problems that were cited over the past three months that must be solved to see a grade improvement:
van comfort
inconsistency in how drivers are implementing their training such as proper sighted guide techniques and other disability sensitivity issues
cannot hear announcements to know which train or bus is arriving
not enough time to pay
bus stops are few and far between; many have no seats and do not offer shelter
while some drivers are courteous and professional, others are not consistently so; some drive too fast; some listen to the radio and ignore customer needs; etc.
scheduling rides should not take so much of our precious time
On September 14, 2023, FTA issued a letter that stated: “Given technological advances over the past three decades, it is often possible to schedule and provide real time paratransit services.” Bi-State Development has provided a paratransit plan to S.M.A.R.T. that is dated June 1, 1992. We hear an expressed commitment to moving Metro forward. A paratransit plan that reflects those three decades of progress is much needed. So is a commitment to professionalism, culture change, and urgency related to improvement – across every level of staffing at Metro.
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