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| SFMTA home > About Us > Meetings > Paratransit Coordinating Council (PCC) > April 26, 2006, minutes | |
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MinutesPCC Executive Committee Meeting April 26, 2006
711 Eddy Street, San Francisco PCC Executive Committee Members Present: Stu Smith, Chair; Jeanne Lynch, Vice Chair; Dee Ann Hendrix, Secretary; Ruth Lawner; John Lazar; Erma Brim; Bruce Oka; Cheryl Damico; Iona Lawhorn; Jewel McGinnis; Sandra Fancher; Gilda Chico; Paul Gillespie; Vincent Behan; Michael Gurevich; Patricia Lovelock; Kaye Griffin; Ruach Graffis; Jacy Cohen; Genya Ehrlich; Silas Telfor; Lisa Rosene; Luis Calderon; Thomas George-Williams; Betsy Eddy PCC Executive Committee Members Excused: Patty Clement; Laurie Graham; Griff Humphrey Guests: Diane Diep Ngo, Self Help for the Elderly; Michael Kwok, SF Taxi Commission; Feysan Lodde, MV Transportation; John Murphy, MV Transportation; Derik Calhoun, MV Transportation; Elizabeth Grigsby; Russell Green; Martin Smith, SF Taxi Commission; Heidi Machen, SF Taxi Commission; Beth Binegar, Toolworks; Tracy Chesna, Institute on Aging; Scott Blum, Medsam; Opal Denise Guillory Paratransit Broker: Marc Soto; Kevin McNay; Tulay Atalay Muni: Annette Williams, Kate Toran Read and Approve AgendaStu Smith, PCC Executive Committee chair, called the meeting to order at 10:35 a.m. Jeanne Lynch read the agenda. The agenda was motioned/seconded/passed (M/S/P) as presented. Approve minutes of March 29, 2006 meetingThe approval of the minutes was tabled until the May meeting because many people did not get the minutes in advance of the meeting. Kate Toran apologized for the late mailing. She explained that she held the mailing until after the Membership Subcommittee meeting on April 19 so that she could include a report with the agenda packet. The mail system at Muni is not fast enough to allow for that quick of a turn-around. Kate suggested that in the future, subcommittee meetings should be more than two weeks before the PCC meeting if a written report needs to be in the PCC agenda packet. Comments from the ChairStu Smith stated that the past few weeks have been quite eventful for the paratransit program. This will be discussed in greater detail further into the meeting, but Stu acknowledged that to everyone’s surprise, Medsam pulled out of their Lift Van/ADA Access contract with the Broker less than one week into the new service. An emergency meeting of PCC officers was held to discuss this issue, and after some brainstorming, Jeanne Lynch and Stu felt that it would be appropriate to send a letter from the officers to the new Muni Executive Director, Mr. Nathaniel Ford. Unfortunately, Dee Ann Hendrix was not able to attend this meeting because of health reasons. The main point of the letter was that Broker should first try to negotiate to bring MV back into the program as the second provider, since they were next of the list of qualified firms, but that the Paratransit Program could not afford MV’s proposed cost per trip. Jeanne and Stu recommended that the Broker negotiate with MV to see if they were willing to provide the service at Trans Metro’s rates. If that was not possible, then they suggested that Trans Metro provide the full service until the time a second provider could be brought on at a comparable reimbursement rate. Stu wants a full discussion of this, but asked that people hold their comments until it comes up on the agenda. Stu added that the PCC’s fare equity proposal has been approved by the Municipal Transportation Agency Board. It was heard at the MTA Board meeting on April 18. The PCC has been working for many years to equalize fares in the paratransit program across modes. Fare equity is nearing completion. From the MTA, it goes to the Board of Supervisors as part of the Muni budget package. The BoS can either vote the entire budget up or down, but it cannot make changes on specific line items. Stu acknowledged Jeanne, DeeAnn, Bruce and Byron attended the MTA meeting to speak about the fare proposal. Report from the April 5, 2006 PC&O Group Van meetingJacy Cohen, provided the following report:
Report from the Membership SubcommitteeBruce Oka provided the following report:
Because many PCC members did not have a chance to review the Membership report in advance of the PCC meeting, it was decided not to take any action until the next PCC meeting. Paratransit Broker’s ReportMarc Soto acknowledged the death of Arthur Jackson, the President of the SF Taxi Commission. Mr. Jackson was an ally of the paratransit program and he will be greatly missed. Office Re-location:The Broker’s office is on track for the May 1 re-location to 68 12th Street. Notices have been sent to all consumers. Marc provided a tour of the new facility with a small group of PCC members. Those who toured were very satisfied with the layout and design of the new office space. The office will be on two floors now, and it will take some getting used to. John Lazar stated that the Broker’s office should send information about the move to cab companies and van providers so that the drivers can be informed. Transition of ADA Van Service:Marc reviewed factors related to the transition, such as the service level split between the two new providers, Trans Metro and Medsam. Since Trans Metro agreed to recognize TWU, it was anticipated that a larger number of MV drivers would transfer to Trans Metro. To ensure an appropriate level for work for the unionized drivers, Trans Metro was given 70% of the service for the first six months of the contract instead of the original 50%. Medsam was given 30% of the service. Both companies agreed to this 70/30 split. There are approximately 800-900 Lift Van and ADA Access trips each weekday. On April 1st and 2nd, both Trans Metro and Medsam provided all the service. On April 3, Medsam sent back a number of trips that they were not able to service. These overflow trips were sent to Yellow and Luxor. Marc thanked Yellow, Luxor and DeSoto for their help. Concerns were raised about using taxi for back-up service because not all paratransit consumers are familiar with taxi and taxi drivers expect riders to pay with scrip. After the first few days, Trans Metro began acquiring additional vehicles and hired more drivers to handle the additional service that Medsam was not able to provide. On April 5, Medam submitted a 90 day termination notice to the Broker, stating economic reasons and the way the riders were divided between the two companies. Marc acknowledged that Medsam had written an open letter to the community about their reasons for withdrawing from the contract. Marc did not receive a copy of the letter from Medsam, but he was given a copy and had reviewed it. Marc expressed disappointment in Medsam’s withdrawal, and was hopeful that matters could be resolved but since they were not, he would like the termination to be finalized in a structured way. Marc described the geographical split of the riders. To provide opportunities for multi-loading, to ensure that the trip demand generated would not exceed 30% for Medsam, and to keep it simple for the riders, the Broker began assigning lift van riders to Medsam based on 6 zip codes. Medsam was also assigned all active ADA Access riders with standing orders at MV. Trans Metro was allowed to keep the active riders ADA Access standing rides that they had been previously servicing, and the remaining ADA Access riders were assigned to either provider based on the same zip codes as lift van riders. Medsam is receiving approximately 300 requests for trips per weekday, and Trans Metro receives about 500-600. After receiving Medsam’s termination notice, the reviewed options for redistributing the riders assigned to Medsam. Marc acknowledged that there have been a number of phone problems with Trans Metro. Most of the phone problems were fixed by April 17. Since that time, the number of phone-related complaints has decreased. Trans Metro has taken on extra demand which contributed to some service quality issues. The Broker’s staff has been working 7 days a week to help with the transition. There have been 51 formal complaints – 48 regarding Trans Metro and 7 regarding Medsam. The Broker’s staff also handled 150-200 calls about problems that were resolved on the spot. Marc reported that in accordance with the procurement process, the Broker went to MV after Medsam provided their termination notice. Marc thanked MV for entering into contract discussions with him. The service costs proposed by MV in its proposal were significantly higher than those under their previous contract with the Broker – ADA Access, 80% higher and Lift Van, 49% higher. Marc further explained that because the paratransit program has a budget to live within, and as such he offered MV the work Medsam had been doing at the rates Trans Metro is receiving. MV declined the Broker’s offer. Since Trans Metro has been providing 83% of the service, and it was decided that the remaining service should be transferred to Trans Metro. The twelve City-owned mini-vans that Medsam had been using were transferred to Trans Metro. These twelve vans had been operated by MV until the last day of their contract. The vans were then transferred to Medsam. Marc had informed the providers of the condition of the vehicles, and Mesdam received inspection reports prior to the April 1 transition. Transition specialists from Veolia will work with Trans Metro in the next 30 days to provide additional support as they transition into providing the remaining 17% of the service that Medsam had been doing. Gilda Chico asked if Medsam will continue to provide Group Van service. Marc responded affirmatively. They terminated only their Lift Van/ADA Access contract. John Murphy asked if Trans Metro reduced their rates based on providing 100% of the service. He added that MV would have done the full service for a lower rate. Derik Calhoun handed out a letter written to the Municipal Transportation Agency’s General Manager by MV’s legal counsel. John Murphy stated that Trans Metro failed a CHP inspection and that the case has been referred to the District Attorney. Marc responded that he has been in discussions with CHP, and they have not reported this information to him. Derik Calhoun stated that Paratransit riders were supposed to have choice. Marc acknowledged that given the current, unforeseen circumstances, there is not rider choice at the current time. Derik stated that MV terminated a bus aide with a DUI on his license and he is now working at Trans Metro. Silas Telfor stated at the PCC meeting in February, Stu threatened him with jail and he doesn’t need to be threatened. Silas read a list of questions for the Broker. (This list of questions is included at the end of the minutes, with the Broker’s responses.) Elizabeth Grigsby stated that she does not like to be in the Trans Metro vans and she’s worried about the brakes. She added that the drivers drive too fast and talk on their cell phones. Opal Denise Guillory stated that she is disgusted with Trans Metro and the whole system. She called Medsam for a pick up on April 15. Trans Metro showed up in a rental car, and subsequently there was an accident. Ms. Guillory ended up in the hospital and she’s scared to ride with Trans Metro because they’re not properly trained. Thomas George-Williams stated that the change in contracts was a union-busting activity. Jacy Cohen stated that Stu Smith is doing a good job and that it’s hard to run such a large meeting and use parliamentary procedures. She added that parliamentary procedure was necessary so that all speakers could be heard in a respectful manner. Scott Blum stated that Sam Portnoy had surgery yesterday and that he could not attend the meeting but he wanted to provide a background about why Medsam pulled out of the contract. Scott apologized to the community for pulling out. The implementation period was brief; they had two weeks before service started to hire and train 20 drivers. Medsam procured 10 new vans and received 12 City-owned vehicles. It was Medsam’s philosophy that the key to getting off to a good start would be to know the passengers. Medsam received an Excel spreadsheet with thousands of lines of data 2-3 weeks before the start of the contract. Most of the data was incorrect. Also, according to Scott, the geographic split was problematic. Medsam had the expectation that they would know their passenger base, and they expected a certain number of passengers per day. Scott added that Medsam is not a union-buster, their intention in not recognizing the union was to have more control over who they hire. Medsam’s had a low bid because of their lack of overhead costs and their strong routing capability. Medsam backed out of the service early because they’ve estimated that they were losing $25,000 per week to operate. The twelve vehicles from MV were in poor condition. Medsam’s drivers were burning out immediately and they started to quit. Luis Calderon stated that he is disappointed in Medsam, but not surprised. Many lift van consumers had stated that these companies do not know what they’re doing. Lift van is different, and lift van users know how difficult the service is and how difficult the riders can be. There won’t be any changes in the number of complaints. Luis stated that the consumers want a choice and that choice would be MV. Michael Kwok stated that he is supporting good service for paratransit users. Michael wants it on the record that the community can ask for Marc’s job if there’s a problem with the transition. Michael asked who pays for the back-up taxi service. Michael also asked for the last two contracts with MV. Marc Soto responded that he made arrangements with the taxi companies to pay for the trips. Consumers do not have to pay for the trips. Sometimes the message did not get through to the drivers and in those cases, consumers who paid for their taxi trip have been reimbursed by the Broker’s office if they made a complaint. Lisa Rosene asked if there has been any discussion of opening up the RFP process. Marc stated that there have been discussions on this topic within his company, but the main goal at this point is to stabilize the service. Pat Lovelock stated that she has gone to the hearings over the past few months and that these same problems were happening with MV. There were serious accidents with MV. Pat added that she wants choice, but if the cost is too high, it will affect everyone. Feysan Lodde stated that paratransit lift van service is hard and that there will always be problems. MV’s prices were higher not because MV wants more money, but because gas prices went up and because of the amount of liquidated damages. MV’s prices were to give MV state of the art service. MV brought the union on in order to give better wages. According to Feysan, MV is the best paratransit company in the nation. MV went to Mayor Gavin Newsom and to the Supervisors about this contract. Byron Yan stated that there are some good days and some bad days with the new service providers. In closing, Marc stated that Trans Metro has been providing approximately 160 addition trips per day that they did not anticipate. All van companies under contract with the Broker must comply with insurance, training, substance abuse requirements. The trip data that was sent over to Medsam was also sent to Trans Metro. The data was maintained by MV, and if there were incorrect data, it came directly from MV. Choice is still important, but the additional cost to the budget at MV’s proposed rates would be $1M - $3M annually.
ADA Access StandardsAnnette Williams stated that there are some proposed to modifications to the ADA accessibility standards. Most of the proposed modifications pertain to fixed route service, but some pertain to paratransit. Transit properties are reviewing the proposed changes and commenting. The most far-reaching proposed change would be the requirement for transit agencies to provide reasonable modifications to their paratransit service if requested. Many transit agencies have concerns because case-by-case modifications could be difficult to implement operationally. Paratransit is already conceived of as the accommodation to the fixed route service, and modifying further could be challenging. The Municipal Transportation Agency will sign on with other transit agencies in expressing concerns regarding this provision. Bruce stated that reasonable would need to be defined because there are many definitions, and that’s a problem. Pat stated that the modification would have to be related to a person’s disability. Public CommentDee Ann stated that she made an appointment to get a new ID and the Broker’s staff person did not inform her of the address change. Jewel congratulated Martin Smith on his appointment to President of the SF Taxi Commission. Michael Kwok stated that a taxi meter rate increase is under discussion at the Taxi Commission. Heidi Machen, the Executive Director of the Taxi Commission, stated that Supervisor Fiona Ma is proposing a $1.00 surcharge on all taxi trips, which would increase the flag drop to $3.85. The Controller had recommended increasing the flag drop to $3.05. Jeanne Lynch stated that a representative from the Mayor’s office should attend the PCC meetings. Many important issues are discussed by the PCC. There is currently a discussion of the proposed closure of Golden Gate Park to cars on Saturdays. This would mean that many disabled people wouldn’t be able to use the park. She reported that the Mayor appointed the Executive Director of the Bike Coalition to the MTA Board. Jeanne stated that bikes need to be accountable and pay their fair share. Bikes should be registered and licensed. Heidi Machen agreed that the Mayor’s office should have a representative at the PCC. The Saturday closure of the Golden Gate Park is under discussion, and Rec and Park will have an accessible shuttle every 15-20 minutes to ensure that the disabled community has access. John Lazar stated that he is on an advisory committee to build an ADA-accessible vehicle for taxi. This new vehicle should be available mid-2007. The ground transportation industry is suffering from rising costs; drivers and companies are hurting. John added that he was upset at the Taxi Commission for allowing a ramp taxi vehicle to operate in a company with only one vehicle. John would like to write a letter to the Taxi Commission. Luxor and Yellow do about 90% of the ramp taxi service but only have 40% of the fleet. There should be fleet size minimums to operate ramp taxis. Bruce Oka agreed that a representative from the Mayor’s office should attend. Bruce moved that the PCC request that the Mayor send a representative to the Executive Committee meetings. This was seconded and passed. Erma Brim stated that she was on the corner of 22nd and Mission and 5 taxis went by a disabled woman with an oxygen tank, but a Luxor cab turned around to pick her up. Ruach stated that there should be one phone number to call for ramped taxis, and that would solve the fleet size problem.
Paul Gillespie stated that John’s proposal for a letter should be discussed at the upcoming PC&O Taxi/Ramp Taxi meeting. Byron Yan stated that on April 18, the MTA Board passed the lift van fare increase. Byron is concerned because some persons with disabilities will not be able to use the service if the fares are too high.
The next PCC meeting will be held on |
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