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Minutes
PCC Executive Committee Meeting
September 28, 2005
711 Eddy Street, San Francisco
PCC Executive Committee Members Present: Laurie Graham, Chair; Griff Humphrey, Vice Chair; Bruce Oka; Cheryl Damico, Secretary; Jeanne Lynch; Genya Ehrlich; Erma Brim; Michael Gurevich; Jim Gillespie for John Lazar; Byron Yan; Gilda Chico; Willie Mae Parish; Lucky Walker for Hal Mellegard; Jewel McGinnis; Luis Calderon; Sam Alicia Duke; Lisa Rosene; Patricia Lovelock
PCC Executive Committee Members Excused: Vince Behan; Jacy Cohen
Guests: Derik Calhoun, MV Transportation; John Murphy, MV Transportation; Vincent Webster, MV Transportation; Carolyn Devine, Commission on Aging and Adult Services; Russell Green; Michael Kwok; Jon Canapary, Cory, Canapary and Galanis; Frances Clay; Danielle Clark
Paratransit Broker: Kevin McNay
Muni: Annette Williams, Kate Toran
Read and Approve Agenda
Laurie Graham, PCC Executive Committee chair, called the meeting to order at 10:40 a.m. Cheryl Damico read the agenda. The agenda was motioned/seconded/passed (M/S/P) as presented.
Approve minutes of June 29, 2005 meeting
The minutes were amended to include Vince Behan as excused, and under Public Comment, the minutes were updated as follows regarding Bienestar Davis’ comment: She is off work at 65:00 p.m. and sometimes she is not picked up until 6:00 p.m. The minutes were M/S/P as amended.
Comments from the Chair
Laurie Graham stated that Hobart Banks passed away last week and that the meeting would be held in his honor. Jewel McGinnis added that there was a discussion at the Taxi Commission meeting about a gas surcharge, which would impact the paratransit program. Laurie stated that the Taxi Commission can only recommend changes in the fare structure to the Board of Supervisors. Annette added that Stuart Sunshine sent a letter to the Taxi Commission about the potential increase in costs to the paratransit program if the gas surcharge were to go into effect. A $.50 increase would cost approximately $350,000 annually and a $.75 increase would cost approximately $500,000 annually.
Report on the 2005 Paratransit Customer Satisfaction Survey
Jon Canapary, from the independent survey firm Cory, Canapary and Galanis, reported on the 2005 Paratransit Customer Satisfaction Survey, which was focused on the lift van and ADA Access services. The survey focused on ADA Access and Lift Van services because they have tended to score lower on past surveys.
Jon explained that the survey method was chosen to provide unbiased, statistically valid data, collected by an independent research company. Key characteristics of the survey are:
- A total of 412 telephone interviews were conducted, 169 Lift Van users and 140 MV ADA Access users and 103 TransMetro Express ADA Access users
- The survey was administered over the phone by professional interviewers.
- Questions elicited both objective information and subjective rider assessments.
A few of the key objectives of the survey this year are: 1) to specifically compare the ADA Access and Lift Van service to previous years, 2) to allow for comparison between service providers - MV Transportation and TransMetro, and 3) to identify the key strengths of these programs, and to identify the areas which could be improved.
The survey was developed by Cory, Canapary and Galanis and reviewed by Muni staff, SF Paratransit staff and a small committee of PCC representatives. The phone interviews were conducted between June 23 and July 7. The respondents were randomly chosen from the full database of active users. The riders were asked about their most recent trip, and there were bilingual interviewers in Spanish, Russian, Vietnamese and Cantonese. Interviewers were trained to recognize TTY tone and call back using California Relay Service, if necessary.
The Overview Section of the survey results is included at the end of the minutes, and this Overview includes a breakdown of the results by service provider, as requested by PCC members.
Carolyn Devine asked if there are targeted objectives or goals for the study. Jon responded that after the initial benchmark survey is conducted, if there is 4% improvement in the responses that is seen as significant improvement in the tracking surveys. Annette added that in the new RFP for lift van and ADA Access contracts there are goals for on-time reliability (93%), which is a high standard for paratransit. Also, a 90% satisfaction rate in transit is very high. Between 80-90% is generally a good range.
Byron Yan stated that he was called and asked to participate in the survey and that the specific trips he was asked about were good and MV was on time but on other days they were not on time. And sometimes they can be on time for the pick up but the time on the van was too long. Jon Canapary stated that they survey includes questions both for the specific ride and the service in general so the consumer has a chance to give information on both. Russell Green stated that he thinks that MV is doing a great job. Jon Canapary stated that in the paratransit survey in the East Bay includes the question, “did you get to your appointment on time?” Erma Brim stated that ride time is always important. Michael Kwok stated that the survey results overall are not good.
Danielle Clark stated that she was called in August about the paratransit service but the caller would not give their name. Jon stated that it was not his staff because the survey had already been conducted by then. Confidentiality is vital and the phone numbers are not available to staff after the survey is finalized. Jon stated that he can guarantee that it wasn’t his staff that called.
Report on the Paratransit Working Group
Kate Toran stated that the Transportation Authority (TA) set up a Select Committee on Paratransit, which is comprised on TA Board members Michaela Alioto-Pier, Chris Daly, Bevan Dufty and Jake McGoldrick, ex officio. The purpose of the Select Committee is to work with Muni to develop recommendations regarding a long-term financial strategy for meeting the anticipated need for paratransit. The Paratransit Working Group (PWG) was set up to advise the Select Committee on Paratransit. The PWG is comprised of city agency representatives, paratransit consumers and other stakeholders, and is staffed by a consultant. The TA is anticipating that the PWG will meet 4 to 6 times over the next 6 months. The first meeting of the PWG was held on September 19, and a lot of data was presented so that all members would be on the same page. The agenda packet is available on the TA’s website at www.sfcta.org, which includes the background data.
Issues that were flagged by the PWG at the end of the meeting to further pursue are:
- Fare increases/equalization
- Extend or make permanent the taxi medallion offset, which is currently set to expire on December 31, 2005
- Improve travel training and education
- Participate in state and national efforts to coordinate transit with Medicaid and other government programs
- Post-trip eligibility assessment/education
The next meeting is tentatively scheduled for November 21 from 1:00 – 3:00 p.m. at 100 Van Ness, 25th floor.
Report from the September 7, 2005 PC&O Lift Van/ADA Access meeting
Cheryl Damico provided the following report:
Dialysis service representatives stated that the month of August was a bad month for dialysis patients in terms of service quality. Patients were often picked up late and then they were taken around the city for hours before being dropped off. It was noted that service quality improves for a time but then it falls behind.
Kate Toran handed out the August secret rider report, which she had prepared with details. Kate also presented an updated draft of the secret rider survey form for the group to review. The group discussed the new form and then M/S/P the motion to approve the form as presented and forward it to the PCC Executive Committee for approval there.
Contractor Report:
MVT:
A. Derik explained that MVT has had some internal issues such as driver turnover. He stated that MVT had to release some of the drivers and hire new ones. Derik also reported that he had appointed Selviero Sanchez as his new Operations Manager, who will also coordinate with MVT’s dispatching. Mr. Sanchez also has experience with Fixed Route Services. Mr. Sanchez works with Vincent Webster, MVT’s Safety and Training Manager.
B. Meeting with dialysis: Derik stated that he had met with Pat York of Potrero Hill Dialysis. The two addressed issues regarding complaints from clients who are “Will-Call” and are not ready to be picked up at their specific pick up time.
C. Passenger Advisory Committee: Derik explained that he meets with those who come to his facility from other divisions and compares their services. He works as a team and look for ideas and ways to improve the service.
D. Dialysis clients are increasing significantly; therefore we need an updated list of clients from each dialysis center.
F. Leonardo Alvarez has been appointed as Maintenance Manager with MVT.
John Murphy also mentioned that MV drivers have volunteered to provide services for the victims of hurricane Katrina.
After Cheryl provided the report, Kate noted that the updated, draft Secret Rider survey form was attached to the PCC agenda packet for the review by committee members. Kate stated that at this point, the Secret Rider program is very small and does have any ADA Access riders. The Secret Rider program had more riders when it was first developed, and at that point there was one ADA Access rider. But interest waned, and it’s hard for individuals to make a commitment to consistently filling out surveys. But Kate stated that with the updated survey form it would be a good time to conduct more outreach and work to get more Secret Riders, particularly TransMetro Express riders. Jewel suggested that the PCC News and Notes include an article asking for more participants on the Secret Rider program. Griff moved that the PCC Executive Committee accept the Secret Rider survey form as presented. The motion was M/S/P.
Update on the Debit Card
Kate Toran gave a brief report on the debit card project. Muni made a presentation at the September 13 Taxi Commission meeting about the debit card project, providing general background and addressing some of the recent questions and complaints that have arisen in the past few months. The Taxi Commission was supportive of the debit card project, and asked that Muni and the vendor continue to work with the taxi industry on this project.
Report from the Membership Subcommittee
Kate reported that the Membership Subcommittee met to discuss the Annual Meeting and the PCC Appreciation Luncheon. Kate announced that the Appreciation Luncheon would be held on October 19, and she passed out invitations to PCC members. The Annual Meeting will be held on November 19 at 711 Eddy Street, and Kate announced that the following seats will be up for re-election:
Affiliated Elderly Alicia Duke
Patty Clement
Jacy Cohen
Janet Gillen
Unaffiliated Elderly Dorothy Kerr
Jewel McGinnis
Genya Ehrlich
Affiliated Disabled Gilda Chico
Byron Yan
Unaffiliated Disabled Dee Ann Hendrix
VACANCY
Minority Representative Ivan Pierce
Non-Profit Provider Cookie King
Tara Housman
VACANCY
VACANCY
For-Profit Provider Hal Mellegard
Michael Gurevich
Seymon Portnoy
Kate announced that she is starting to work on the PCC News and Notes and PCC members should let her know if they would like to write something for the newsletter.
Paratransit Broker’s Report
Kevin McNay gave the following report:
Lift Van/ADA Access RFP: The RFP responses are due on October 7, 2005. There has been a delay because of a legal question which has been raised. The original due date was September 15, so the process is about three weeks behind.
New Office Location:
The landlord at 1449 Webster Street has made a new offer which Marc is reviewing and comparing the terms of the offer to the offer he has from the landlord at 95 12th Street. The Broker will keep the community updated.
Complaints:
There has been an increase in complaints since the beginning of September, and the Broker has received 7 complaints from the Mayor’s Office on Disability.
ATC:
National Express, ATC’s parent company, sold ATC to Connex in September. Connex is a division of Veolia Transportation which is an international company with headquarters in Paris, France. The corporate headquarters in the U.S. are based in Silver Spring, Maryland.
Public Comment:
Jewel McGinnis stated that she has been hearing some complaints about taxi drivers not serving blind customers well. Jewel asked that an update on training and escorting techniques be put on the agenda.
Jim Gillespie stated that Luxor is taking more than their share of ramped taxi requests and that they are not able to fulfill all the calls for service. For example, on one day, Luxor received 62 calls for ramp taxi service and could only fulfill 48 requests.
Michael Kwok stated that he has heard complaints from drivers because of geocoding issues. Michael listened to the tape from the PC&O meeting and Marc Soto had indicated that the geocoding is working.
Jeanne Lynch announced that tonight at 6:00 p.m. there is an item on the SFCTA agenda regarding the pedestrian safety master plan. The meeting will be held at 100 Van Ness, 25th floor.
The next PCC meeting will be held on
Wednesday, October 26, 2005
10:30 am – 12:30 pm
at 711 Eddy Street.
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