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Minutes
PCC Executive Committee Meeting
August 30, 2006
711 Eddy Street, San Francisco
PCC Executive Committee Members Present: Stu Smith, Chair; Jeanne Lynch, Vice Chair; Dee Ann Hendrix, Secretary; Cheryl Damico; John Lazar; Shun Tao; Erma Brim; Michael Gurevich; Genya Ehrlich; Jacy Cohen; Sandra Fancher; Iona Lawhorn; Ruth Lawner; Jewel McGinnis; Patty Clement; Semyon Portnoy; Lisa Rosene; Griff Humphrey; Thomas George-Williams; Byron Yan; Cyntha Petersen; Luis Calderon; Kaye Griffin; Hal Mellegard; Paul Gillespie; Betsy Eddy
PCC Executive Committee Members Excused: Laurie Graham
Guests: Frederick Martin, TME; Nelson Sosa, TME; Heidi Machen, SF Taxi Commission; Wannee Ratanasanguan; Silverio Sanchez, MV Transportation; Leon Schmidt, North and South of Market ADHC
Paratransit Broker: Marc Soto; Tulay Atalay; Kevin McNay
Muni: Annette Williams, Kate Toran
Read and Approve Agenda
Stu Smith, PCC Executive Committee chair, called the meeting to order at 10:40 a.m. Jeanne Lynch read the agenda. The agenda was motioned/seconded/passed (M/S/P) as presented.
Approve minutes of July 19, 2006 meeting
The minutes were M/S/P as presented.
Comments from the Chair
Stu welcomed everyone to the August PCC Executive Committee meeting. He stated that there was a news story about the Paratransit Program and the transition to Trans Metro Express. The story showed some of the problems during the transition period, which were generally acknowledged by Michael Gurevich of Trans Metro. Stu reported that the complaints regarding Trans Metro’s service have decreased dramatically. Marc Soto will provide more specifics on this in his Broker’s Report. Bruce Oka and Stu attended the MTA board meeting, and spoke in support of the Paratransit Program and selection process for new ADA van contracts. Stu thanked Michael Gurevich for taking on the extra service when Medsam pulled out of the contract.
Congratulations to Paul Gillespie, the new President of the Taxi Commission. It’s good news for the Paratransit community that a PCC member is now heading the Taxi Commission. There is a general positive mood about the new direction of the Taxi Commission. On October 24, the Taxi Commission meeting will focus on paratransit issues, so please attend that meeting if you are able.
Since the last PCC meeting, Debbie Macklin, a former member, passed away. Debbie was a generous-spirited and committed PCC member. Debbie experienced and unexpected cerebral aneurism. Stu stated that he would like to hold this meeting in honor of Debbie.
Jeanne Lynch added that Rose Resnick passed away and that the PCC should keep her in mind, too.
Report from the August 9, 2006 PC&O Taxi/Ramp Taxi meeting
John Lazar provided the following report:
• Mayor Gavin Newsom appointed three new commissioners to the San Francisco Taxi Commission. These commissioners are Malcolm Heinickle, Tom Oneto, and Richard Benjamin. Commissioners Paul Gillespie and Min Paek were reappointed. Commissioner Paul Gillespie is the new President of the Taxi Commission.
• Mayor Gavin Newsom reappointed Heidi Machen as the executive director of the Taxi Commission.
• Commissioner Paul Gillespie stated that he is going to devote the August 22nd Taxi Commission meeting to prioritize the issues important to the Taxi Commission and the October 24th meeting to paratransit issues. He explained that he is planning to invite experts, such as Hal Mellegard and John Lazar to the Taxi Commission meetings.
• Commissioner Paul Gillespie stated that the accountability of the permit holders is at the top of his list.
• John commented that some of the ramp medallion holders often move to smaller taxicab companies to avoid picking up wheelchair rides. He stated that he wishes to see a fleet size limitation for ramp taxi medallion transfers between color schemes. He emphasized that the fleet size is an important factor to serve wheelchair riders effectively.
• Commissioner Paul Gillespie recommended the color schemes, not the medallion holders, be decertified if they do not provide wheelchair rides.
• Hal Mellegard stated that the only solution to improve the ramp taxi program is to give incentives.
- Tulay Atalay reported that former Mayor Willie Brown facilitated a debit card mediation session on June 20, 2006. Muni has not received more information since that meeting.
• Laurie Graham distributed a report that was created by Roger Ray based on the data from the SFO exit logs. Laurie Graham explained that the report shows the paid exits from the San Francisco Airport. She noted that, based on the report, the ramp taxi drivers are not staying at the airport that long. She added that, to get a better idea of which drivers are doing only airport rides, more information is needed; e.g. the current exit logs only show the out-time; however both the in-time and out-time data is important. She stated that if the data was digital, Roger could have created more of an in-depth report.
• Tulay Atalay reported that San Francisco paratransit program provided 608,043 taxi trips during the fiscal year 2005-2006. Out of these trips, 34,259 trips were ramp taxi trips. During the fiscal year, 1,218,312 trips were provided by all paratransit modes.
• Kevin McNay summarized the last six months of ramp taxi reports received from the ramp taxi companies and reported that 15 drivers were super drivers and performing most of the wheelchair pick-ups.
• The next PC&O Taxi/Ramp Taxi meeting will be on Wednesday, November 1, 2006, at the Paratransit Broker’s office, Conference Room A, which is located at 68-12th Street in San Francisco.
After John Lazar provided the report, Erma Brim requested that whenever statistics are presented at all subcommittee meetings, the members should receive a copy in writing so that they can follow along with the report. Jewel McGinnis stated that the prior Broker gave statistical reports more often. After some discussion, it was agreed that when reports are provided orally at meetings, committee members should have a hard copy, which can either be mailed out with the agenda packet or provided at the meeting.
Report from the August 23, 2006 PC&O Systemwide meeting
Stu Smith read the following report:
- The PC&O Systemwide Subcommittee met on August 23, 2006
- Dee Ann, PC&O Chair, unable to attend due to health reasons, so Bruce Oka chaired the meeting.
- The group discussed the criteria for calling a PC&O Systemwide meeting. The general consensus of the group was that it would be helpful to establish criteria for calling a PC&O Systemwide meeting. Kate stated that the current amendment to the By-Laws that will be voted on at the PCC Annual Meeting this November state that the PC&O Chair calls Systemwide meetings on an “as needed” basis. This topic will be discussed further at the next Membership Subcommittee meeting, scheduled for September 11, 2006 from 10:30 a.m.– 12:30 p.m.at the Broker’s office.
- The group discussed the new direction of the SF Taxi Commission under the leadership of Paul Gillespie (PCC member). The Taxi Commission recently had a meeting to set goals and objectives for fiscal year 2006-07, and the general mood about the Taxi Commission is much more positive. There will be a specific meeting dedicated to paratransit issues on October 24, 2006. Marc identified three critical paratransit issues to bring up at that meeting:
- ADA training for taxi drivers
- The package of recommendations developed by the Taxi/Ramp Taxi working group
- emergency operations training for disaster response
- Kate added that debit card is also an important topic to highlight.
- The final topic that the group discussed was encouraging paratransit consumers to use the Muni fixed route system by offering free fares. The group had a robust discussion, and raised many aspects of the policy, including any unintended consequences. No policy recommendations were made, because the group wants to analyze the potential financial impacts of this policy, and review other transit agencies that have implemented similar policies. Some items discussed:
- There could be cost savings to the paratransit program if more people used the fixed route rather than paratransit.
- There could be an increase in applications for paratransit which would impact the Broker’s staffing levels and therefore budget.
- ADA Access consumers may be more likely to use Muni than taxi consumers.
- Fully eligible paratransit consumers could also benefit from free fixed route service if they could access the service with a companion or attendant.
- ADA lift van consumers already have the option of getting a free fixed route service if they purchase $10 worth of paratransit service. That group could be surveyed about their fixed route usage. Only about 100 lift van consumers per month currently take advantage of the free discount sticker.
- The Paratransit Customer Satisfaction Survey will be conducted in the fall; there could be a question included about a person’s willingness to use Muni if it were free.
After Stu provided the report, Genya Ehrlich stated that many paratransit riders cannot use Muni and that’s why they use paratransit. Kate replied that many paratransit riders are conditionally eligible, which means that they are able to take some of their trips on the Muni system, and that they are eligible for paratransit trips for only those times when they cannot take Muni. Also, there may be some fully eligible paratransit riders that could use Muni with an attendant or companion, and that they might benefit from the proposed free fixed route service.
Paratransit Broker Report
Marc Soto provided the following report:
• FY05-06 Service Level Statistics: Marc read the statistics that were enclosed with the agenda packet. He pointed out that expenditures were up slightly from the prior fiscal year. He attributed the increase to higher rates in new ADA van provider contract and Broker office relocation costs. The formal complaint statistics for ADA Access and Lift Van increased from FY04-05 to FY05-06. There was a spike in formal complaints in April, May and June, related to the transition in service providers. The PCC Chair asked Marc to report on accidents and incidents. Marc reported that there were 21 incidents/accidents reported in FY05-06. Of those 21, 16 were classified as non-reportable and 5 were reportable. The Broker is not required to report incidents to the federal government. There was a question about the federal definitions, and below are the definitions discussed at a previous PCC meeting:
The federal definition of a major accident is:
Major accident:
Existence of one or more of the following:
• A fatality other than a suicide
• Injuries requiring immediate medical attention away from the scene for two or more persons
• Property damage equal to or exceeding $25,000
• An evacuation due to life safety reasons
• A collision at a grade crossing
• A mainline derailment
• A collision with person(s) on a rail right-of-way (ROW) resulting in injuries that require immediate medical attention away from the scene for one or more persons
• A collision between a rail transit vehicle and another rail transit vehicle or a transit non-revenue vehicle resulting in injuries that require immediate medical attention away from the scene for one or more persons.
Non-Major accident:
Existence of one or more of the following conditions:
• Injuries requiring immediate medical attention away from the scene for one person
• Property damage equal to or exceeding $7,500 (less than $25,000)
• All non-arson fires not qualifying as Major Incidents
Marc added that during April, May and June there were a number of reported incidents of drivers not adequately securing wheelchairs prior to transport. As a result, TME has adopted a zero tolerance policy on tie-down and safety related issues.
Status of ADA Van Transition: Marc reported that a meeting was held with city-wide dialysis centers on August 24th to discuss their paratransit service. Cheryl Damico moderated the meeting, and she reported that there was a good turn-out; in addition to Trans Metro & Broker staff, approximately 8 dialysis center representatives attended. The dialysis centers noted that there has been some improvement with TME’s service, but that there are specific areas where work is still needed. The dialysis centers agreed that everyone was interested in seeing Trans Metro succeed in this venture. The centers agreed that they were interested in working to identify specific problems and solutions. A review of the “hot issues” included:
1. Training – a review of the required training program and discussion;
2. Scheduling – travel time, standing orders missing from daily trip records and driver manifests;
3. Telephone Call Center – no answers of the call groups early and late in the evening so callers can get assistance with trips scheduled or information regarding trips scheduled;
4. Communications – it was reported that TME staff are not returning phone calls in any kind of timely manner;
5. Complaint responses – TME is not providing meaningful information to complainants regarding their respective complaints;
6. Safety/Securement – while it is generally agreed that fewer complaints are being received regarding proper passenger securement, there are still some concerns with semantics of securements (e.g., steps taken to properly secure a rider including ensuring that wheelchair brakes are locked, etc.);
7. Fleet – the status of the fleet and the deployment of the 20 new buses was discussed;
8. Importance of formal complaint process – it was discussed that the Broker’s office needs to continue to hear the formal complaints regarding service from either the riders or the social service workers; and,
9. There was general concern raised about certain drivers being scary and that some riders were fearful of certain drivers.
These were the key issues that were discussed and some specific solutions were raised. It was clear to the group that Trans Metro needs to continue to fine-tune its processes so that fewer problems will occur. The role of the Broker with regard to monitoring was also discussed.
Four agencies volunteered to form a task force that will work directly with TME and Broker to carve solutions for problems and the next general meeting of the dialysis centers will be held November 30th to discuss progress.
Marc added that he is committed and obligated to ensure that TME meets the obligations of their contract, and he will continue to work with them to address compliance matters. Marc is meeting with TME daily to make sure that they have all the proper processes in place to provide accident reports, provide progressive discipline for drivers, and to ensure proper maintenance. TME complaints have been reduced to about 45 per month at this point.
Hal Mellegard asked about the proper procedures for reporting injuries. Marc responded that taxi is different than the van service because it is not an ADA service. Taxi riders generally follow “civilian procedures.” Marc will get the forms to the cab companies.
• Vehicle Procurement: TME currently has 21 ramp-equipped minivans that were formerly ramp taxis operated by Yellow and Luxor. One vehicle was in an accident and cannot be fixed. TME will continue to operate the best of the 20 ramp-equipped vans until the 20 new cutaway vans are deployed. The 20 new vehicles are in the process of being delivered and should be ready for service soon. Veolia Transportation developed a vehicle maintenance plan for these 20 vehicles and has included it as part of the vehicle lease agreement with TME. At this point, TME will inspect the new vehicles and then sign the maintenance agreement.
John Lazar stated that the FY05-06 taxi trips decreased from FY04-05 but that taxi is the cheapest mode. He also pointed out that the lift van and ADA Access trips both increased. Marc responded that since January 2002, all new ambulatory paratransit riders are enrolled into the ADA Access service. There are 4 exceptions to the freeze: (1) individuals 80 or older; (2) wheelchair users; (3) dialysis clients; (4) individuals who take over 20 trips a month for a period of 6 months. Annette added that there is also a pilot program to offer taxi service to paratransit riders who were first enrolled after the freeze went into effect and who have taken at least 24 trips per year. Paul Gillespie added that a 10 year review of the paratransit taxi trips would be helpful to put the taxi costs into context.
Ruth Lawner stated that she’s concerned about TME’s “Where’s My Ride” line. Marc responded that the Broker’s office is focusing on phone issues at TME. There is a technician currently at TME, working to resolve the outstanding issues. Generally, the “where’s my ride” calls take longer because the staff needs to find the driver, who may be helping clients and not immediately available, before obtaining an ETA. At this point, 90% of the drivers’ cell phones are equipped with GPS/AVL (automatic vehicle locator) systems.
Jacy Cohen stated that the formal complaints for Group Van are very low. Often staff work out the complaints informally, and the formal complaint figure doesn’t reflect the amount of work that agency staff does. Marc agreed, and added that the Annual Customer Satisfaction survey should also help capture service quality information that may not be reflected in the formal complaint statistics. Jacy stated that the quality of the group van service has declined since the lift van/ADA Access transition. A serious issue occurred on a TME van last week and Jacy had to call several times to get an incident report. Also, a new driver was sent out onto the same route that had the incident, but she was not informed of a potentially dangerous situation. Michael Gurevich stated that TME needs to send responses as soon as possible. Unfortunately TME has been overwhelmed with the need to respond, and they want to spend the time to investigate and fully describe what happened instead of sending an inadequate response. The Group Van Coordinator needed to communicate with the driver to make sure that the afternoon driver was aware of the situation.
Stu asked Marc to give a report on the resolution of the matter at the next PCC meeting.
Thomas stated that the taxi complaint statistics are too low, and that he hears more complaints as a driver.
Wannee stated that she lives in the Sunset district, near the zoo. She usually has to wait for one or two hours when she calls a taxi. If she’s at the grocery store, taxis won’t come. She stated that one TME driver would not let her sign the manifest and that the driver had her friend on board and she told the dispatch nobody else was on the van. Fred Martin stated that that employee no longer works for TME.
Announcements
Stu Smith stated that he sent a letter to the Broker about scheduling and routing and that he would like Marc to provide a response at the next meeting.
Luis Calderon announced that the annual “Where’s There’s a Will There’s a Way” conference on community living for older adults and people with disabilities will be held on Thursday, September 28th at St. Mary’s Cathedral starting with registration at 9:00 a.m.
John Lazar stated that Luxor will be holding a driver’s appreciation barbeque on September 17th from 11:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. at Stern Grove and he invited PCC members to attend.
Byron Yan stated that TME service is getting worse. Yesterday he waited 1.5 hours for the van to arrive. Sunday he called and was put on hold for ½ hour.
Jeanne Lynch stated that she has volunteered to serve on the Appeals Panel, but that every time she gets a call it’s for a time that conflicts with another meeting.
Kate Toran announced that a small group will meet on Friday, September 8th from 10:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. at the Broker’s office to discuss the Paratransit Customer Satisfaction Survey. Also, the Membership Subcommittee will meet on Monday, September 11th from 10:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.at the Broker’s office to discuss potential By-Laws amendments and the upcoming PCC Annual Meeting.
The next PCC meeting will be held on Wednesday, September 27, 2006, 10:30 am – 12:30 pm at 711 Eddy Street.
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