Times of county rides improve
On-time performance by the for-profit First Transit improved to 92 percent, up from a low of 55 percent in early August, but the effort to make shared-ride paratransit service more responsive to Washington County residents with disabilities continues.
Tri-County Access, the private company that contracts with Washington County Transportation Authority primarily in the Mon Valley, logged 96 percent on-time performance during the same time period, according to Sheila Gombita, executive director of WCTA, which extended its contracts with First Transit and Tri-County Access through April 30, 2015. It expects to advertise for proposals in January.
Daniel Kleinmann, Tri-County Patriots for Independent Living’s moderator for the transit meetings, said his agency Saturday held “sensitivity training” for paratransit drivers so they could learn more about the obstacles and difficulties disabled passengers encounter.
“You guys are the drivers of improvement,” Kleinmann told the 25 or so people attending a meeting Monday afternoon at TRIPIL.
The implementation of a new software program to consolidate trips resulted in trying times for stranded passengers, but Tim Mullen, district manager for First Transit, said hiring eight to 10 new drivers since problems came to light in August contributed to the better rating.
Gombita said Washington County, with three transit providers, is the most fragmented market in this part of the state, if not in Pennsylvania as a whole.
In addition to the county transportation authority, the other two entities are the Mid-Mon Valley Transportation Authority and Washington City Transit. Mid-Mon Valley declined, at this time, to join with its companion agencies, but city transit and WCTA are discussing the topic.
When TRIPIL’s Accessible Transportation Task Force next meets at 12:30 p.m. Dec. 2, the agency plans to invite a representative from Washington City Transit to participate because of issues raised at Monday’s gathering.
Kyla Gray said she found Washington City Transit’s brochure for its Hospital Hopper, Mall Park Hopper and Shopper Hopper schedules confusing and she therefore hasn’t used the service.
Lisa Foltz of Washington, whose plight focused attention on transit woes in August when a wheelchair-accessible bus had to be brought more than 30 miles from Donora because she was stranded and unable to make a three-block trip, said she also complained about city transit, which she has used in good weather, and was threatened with having her paratransit disability status pulled.
The city’s four newest buses have the ability to “kneel” to allow those with walkers, crutches or wheelchairs to board, but ADA complementary paratransit, such as the Washington Rides program, is only for those who, due to a mental or physical disability, are certified by a physician as unable to use the city’s fixed-route bus service, according to Joe Thomas, director of Washington City Transit.
“It’s not some sort of retaliatory threat,” Thomas said when contacted after the meeting. “No one really should be using both.”
A page on www.WashingtonCityTransit.org explains service for the disabled under the heading “ADA” for Americans with Disabilities Act complementary paratransit service.
Foltz also said she’d like to see Washington Rides institute a pre-paid card system that would keep riders and drivers from having to carry cash, but others at the meeting disagreed.
“First Transit’s got enough extra expenses,” said Chris Nimal. “It would pass the fees onto the passengers.”
Gray said she’d like to see a zone system so she could easily determine fares.
Tracy Wishnok of Bellmead Apartments in Washington said she has epilepsy and is, therefore, unable to drive.
“Just because we’re disabled doesn’t mean we don’t pay taxes,” she said.
Several attendees said they’d like to see a “will-call” system put in place for those who know when they need to arrive, for example, at a doctor’s office for an appointment but have no idea when they might be ready to depart.
“Shared-ride does not meet all the needs of all of the people all the time,” Gombita said, adding she’d study the possible expansion of will-call service.