Access Advisory Committee to the MBTA Executive Board of Directors Meeting Minutes

 

State Transportation Library, 10 Park Plaza, State Transportation Building, Boston, MA

 

Wednesday, December 19, 2012, 10:00 A.M.to 12:00 Noon

 

Please note:   AACT meetings are public and open to all. They    are      conducted in full compliance with the     Commonwealth of Massachusetts Open Meeting     Law, M.G.L. c.30A, §§ 18-25 (effective July 1,   2010)

                                                                                               

The meeting opened at 10:11 A.M.

Notables 

 

The Membership meeting will meet from 1:00 PM to 3 PM on the fourth Wednesday of the month except when noted.

 

AACT has a page on the Boston Region Metropolitan Planning Organization’s (MPO) website at www.bostonmpo.org; click on AACT. Links can be found there for the following items: agendas, upcoming meetings, past meeting minutes, the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the MBTA and AACT, and the AACT bylaws, the AACT brochure, and ADA regulations. There are also links to the MPO’s newsletter, TRANSreport, the MBTA’s Office for Transportation Access, and the AACT Coordinator.

 

 Comments and questions concerning AACT should be directed to the Acting Interim Chairman James White by contacting the AACT Coordinator, Ms. Janie Guion, at 617-973-7507 (voice); 617-973-7089 (TTY); 617-973-8855 (fax); or at AACT@ctps.org (email).

 

Meeting locations are accessible to people with disabilities and are near public transportation. Upon request (preferably two weeks in advance of the meeting), every effort will be made to provide accommodations such as assistive listening devices, materials in accessible formats and in languages other than English, and interpreters in American Sign Language and other languages. Please contact the MPO staff at 617.973.7100 (voice), 617.973.7089 (TTY), 617.973.8855 (fax), or publicinformation@ctps.org.

 

The Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) fully complies with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and related statutes and regulations in all programs and activities. The MPO does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, English proficiency, income, religious creed, ancestry, disability, age, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or military service. Any person who believes herself/himself or any specific class of persons has been subjected to discrimination prohibited by Title VI or related statutes or regulations may, herself/himself or via a representative, file a written complaint with the MPO. A complaint must be filed no later than 180 calendar days after the date on which the person believes the discrimination occurred. A complaint form and additional information can be obtained by contacting the MPO (see above) or at www.bostonmpo.org.

 

Attendees:

 

Executive Board of Directors:

 

        Acting Interim Chairman James F. White

        Ian Perrault, Rick Morin, Beverly A. Rock, and Mary Ann Murray

 

Public: Allen M. Karon and David Kingsberry

 

MPO Staff/AACT Coordinator: Janie Guion

 

Introductions and Reading of the Agenda

 

All AACT Executive Board of Director members were issued the Summary of Conflict of Interest Law information for review. Each was given a copy of the Acknowledge Receipt, at which time they signed and returned.

 

IC White is thinking that since they are not employees of the MBTA members should be exempt from signing the form. He is seeking more clarification.

 

He stated that AACT is non-profit and he believes that an all-volunteer organization is considered an exception. He also stated that he did not have a problem with complying.

 

Committee Reports

       

MA Murray stated that she attended two meetings of the Regional Transportation Advisory Council. She discussed that Advisory Council voting privileges for some members had been challenged. She is going to monitor the situation so that AACT will be informed.

 

She also commented on the Advisory Council’s addressing a recent study that suggested people in the suburbs should be thinking Green and suggested that public transit be promoted as a way to travel into or around the city.

 

She expressed concern about the MassDOT statewide meeting in the city of Lynn; she felt more information should have come from the representatives. She noted a general theme from the public was the discussion of the increased transit fare and the fact that riders are having problems with knowing how to properly load their Charlie Cards.

 

IC White summarized I. Perrault’s reports from the meetings of the Rider Oversight Committee (ROC) and with Judge Patrick King:

 

There was a report from Scott Hamwey, of the MassDOT Planning Department, regarding a study on the Roxbury, Dorchester and Mattapan areas to convert Key Route Bus Route #28 to a rapid transit route somewhat similar to the Silver Line.

 

IC White also discussed Judge Patrick King’s update regarding compliance with the MBTA/Boston Center for Independent Living settlement. He stated that Judge King gave high marks for the MBTA’s compliance. He expressed that he thought that the rating was too generous. He noted that Judge King is well aware of his concerns.

 

Open Discussion

       

MA Murray expressed concern as to whether or not Paradigm is the best company to run THE RIDE Eligibility Center.

 

IC White stated his concern whether a representative will be assigned to attend AACT monthly meetings to answer questions. 

 

R Morin expressed concerns whether or not the In-Person Assessment for THE RIDE Eligibility had begun.

 

IC White is concerned that he has not heard from Mike Lambert.

 

He thanked Larry Haile for giving prior notification to diversions in MBTA service in his monthly report.

 

D. Kingsberry, AACT member, asked to address the AACT Board with his dispute of being overcharged by Joint Venture (JV) and Veterans Transportation for (transfer) rides from the South Shore to Cambridge. He stated how it has been difficult to get a trip history from the vendor. He has tried to address this issue with both the Office for Transportation Access (OTA) and JV but to no avail.

 

He stated that since Oct 11th, he has been double charged for THE RIDE services nineteen times. He stated he thought the problem was corrected until Dec. 18th and today.  He is a member of the Bay State Council for the Blind and they have addressed a letter to OTA since this is a systemic problem involving many other people. He also said that information is not coming in accessible format. He feels that information regarding people’s transactions should be made available on-line.

IC White stated that this is not a new problem. He referred Mr. Kingsberry to OTA for his trip history with THE RIDE. He asked that OTA research accounts to see how many people had been overcharged and refund their money to those accounts. He hoped that OTA would be more proactive and not wait until a complaint is filed.

 

IC White recommended that a letter be sent to the OTA regarding the overcharging of consumers who transfer from one vendor to another. He also recommended that persons having problems with their vendor contact the OTA contract administrator for that vendor.

 

R Morin stated that OTA has been cited by the Federal Transit Administration for not crediting money to accounts the same day.

 

IC White stated that THE RIDE is the only form of transportation at the MBTA that is not updated with a phone “App.” He wonders why THE RIDE is the only service that takes two to three days before money is applied to your account.

 

MA Murray stated she has requested a copy of her trip history several times and only received a copy of her transactions.

 

R Morin: Made a motion that the AACT Executive Board of Directors address a letter to Frank Oglesby, the Deputy Director Paratransit Contract Operations, regarding the continued issue of overcharges to the accounts of consumers. It should say the following: that OTA has been informed of this problem before. The Board feels that OTA is not taking the issue seriously. The Board is recommending that OTA resolve this issue quickly. The Board is also proposing that OTA continue THE RIDE service to consumers who may have a pending complaint of overcharges until the issue is resolved. The AACT Executive Board of Directors will file a complaint with the Federal Transit Administration if the problem is not corrected.

The motion passed with one abstention.

 

R Morin introduced a priority list of recommendations to be reviewed by the AACT Board for their further comments. He is also recommending that a subcommittee be formed to expand on the list.

 

The AACT Board discussed the Charlie Card store at Downtown Crossing stating that there is a lack of signage, knowledgeable platform staff, courtesy from store staff, and limited seating for persons with disabilities.

 

Announcements

A System-Wide Accessibility (SWA) new Orientation Training Program’s first class is January 3; all classes will be held once a month, on the first Thursday.

 

On Monday, January 12 and Thursday, February 14, the Charlestown Garage Recertification Training will be conducted from 7 AM to 3 PM.

 

Please contact Larry Haile for both trainings at 617-222-4258 voice; 617-222-5045 TTY, or by email at lhaile@mbta.com.

 

Meeting Adjourned at 12 Noon