10
Park Plaza, Suite 2150, Boston, MA. 02116-3968
Voice:
617-973-7100, Fax: 617-973-8855, TDD: 671-973-7089, E-mail: AACT@ctps.org
AACT Meeting Minutes
Wednesday, October 24, 2012
The
AACT Executive Board meeting will meet from 10:00 AM to Noon and the Membership
meeting will meet from 1:00 PM to 3 PM on the fourth Wednesday of the month
except when noted; the AACT meetings will meet the second Wednesday, November
14 same time and location.
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 AACT Coordinator, Ms. Janie Guion, at 617-973-7507
(voice); 617-973-7089 (TDD); 617-973-8855 (fax); or at AACT@ctps.org (email).
The AACT meetings are conducted in accessible
locations, and materials can be provided in accessible formats and in languages
other than English. If you would like accessibility or language accommodation,
please contact Ms. Guion at the information above.
The
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.
Members
needing service information or wanting to inquire about MBTA services should do
so through the MBTA Marketing and Communications Department at 617-222-3200 or 800-392-6100, TTY 617-222-5146,
Monday through Friday 6:30 AM to 8:00 PM and Sat/Sun from 7:30 AM to 6:00 PM, or the MBTA
website at www.mbta.com/customer_support/feedback/.
You may contact THE RIDE at the
Office for Transportation Access, Monday-Friday, 8:30 AM to 5 PM, to ask for a
trip/fare history of trips you have taken. You may also file a complaint here
if you feel you have been overcharged. Please telephone 617-222-5123 (Voice), 617-222-6119
(fax) or 1-800-533-6282 (voice, toll-free), 617-222-5415 (TTY) or email
theride@mbta.com
Your checks for MBTA THE RIDE
travel should include your account ID number and should be addressed to:
MBTA
Office for
Transportation Access
10 Park Plaza
Suite
5000
Boston, MA 02116
Please
sign in at all meetings.
Announcements
are always welcome. Please be prepared to give as many details as possible:
date, time, location, contact person, and phone number. A written notice is
appreciated.
Ian
Perrault, Kathryn Piccard, James White, Richard Mahoney, Cheryl Ravalli, Angela
Manerson, Marilyn MacNab, Mary Dennesen, Mary Ann Murray, Nancy Miller, Deanne
Sisco, Katie Starks, Reginald Clark, Allen Karon, Rev. Ellen Frith, and Penny Shaw
Daniel
Amstutz, David Fargen, and Janie Guion
Frank
Oglesby, Paul Fitzgerald, Larry Haile, Tim Davis, Martha Glover, Kim D., Alex
Murkinson, Mike Hulak, Carol Joyce-Harrington, and Philip Balcom
John Tuttle – Veterans
Transportation, LLC
Jackie
Dunlop – Greater Lynn Senior Services
Victor
Herrera - The Joint Venture of Thompson Transit and YCN, LLC
Other
Ann
Hartstein – Executive Office of Elder Affairs (EOEA)
Myra
Berloff and Kathy Devin – Massachusetts Office on Disability (MOD)
Theadora
Fisher-Health and Human Services
Acting-Interim Chairman James White called the
meeting to order at 1:05 PM
Members,
friends and guests introduced themselves
Acting-Interim
Chairman (IC) White reported on a wide array of items. Here are a few highlights
with the report attached:
·
Private
vehicles continue to block the Charles Street entrance blocking the bus stop.
He plans to contact Chief MacMillan of the MBTA
·
He
discussed that consumers are sometimes being overcharged for Premium Service (PS)areas
and are not being refunded;
Vendor
staff have stated they have no authority to make refunds; he has discussed the refund issue with the Office for Transportation Access (OTA)
He
then asked for questions.
M. MacNab stated she is
being overcharged for PS and that the dispatchers need to have more authority
to issue a credit without any delay.
M. Hulak said that OTA is aware of the issue. He stated
that he would be more than willing to investigate. He noted that OTA now has
safeguards in place so overcharging would not occur. He asked that riders who
feel they have been overcharged make a complaint with OTA to investigate.
K. Piccard stated that she has received calls from many
people who now think that all fares are five dollars. She is certain that they
have not filed any complaints.
M. Hulak stated that OTA has done quite a bit of outreach
to advise people of the increased fares. He asked members to let them know of
persons who did not get the mailing about the fare hike or have the person call
his office. He said they have had flyers dropped in the seats and everyone was sent
mail about the change.
J. White asked that when all the updates are complete, he
would like to have OTA create a monthly report that would show which areas were
overcharged with PS and refund the money to their accounts.
M. Hulak said it is not that simple; but he is open to discussion.
M.
Dennesen asked how she would know if she was
being overcharged.
M. Hulak stated that she should contact OTA and they would
provide her with a trip/fare history to review.
The
AACT Meeting Minutes for September 26th were presented and approved.
There
was an update from Ann Hartstein, Secretary of the Executive Office of Elder
Affairs (EOEA), and Myra Berloff, Director of the Massachusetts Office on
Disability (MOD) who had visited AACT on August 22 to discuss the impending
study of the MBTA fare increase impact upon persons with
disabilities and the elderly.
They have returned to AACT thank everyone who gave input on
what information and questions should be included in the survey. They said they
both felt that with the information received from the survey they will get an
accurate picture of how increased fares have impacted riders.
They are urging members who are selected to take part in
the survey and to return the survey to them promptly. Additionally, if members know
of someone who has been selected, that person should be encouraged to complete
and return the survey in a timely fashion.
· Individuals who are randomly selected for the survey will receive a
postcard from MOD by U.S. mail. The postcard will ask the recipient to call MOD
and provide the randomly generated number from the postcard. This random number
will not identify the person responding to the survey. It is necessary only for
MOD/EOEA to know that the response being collected is part of the random
scientific sample. Respondents should write or speak freely.
· There will be no way to identify who is giving the information
· Participants will be randomly selected by computer
· Postcards will be mailed from a clearing house, not the MBTA, but they
will be addressed from MOD
· There will be a choice of three ways to complete the survey
-On-line – with one of two types of
surveys
-By telephone – MOD will have call
takers on hand to take answers for the survey
-Written – participants must call and
request the written survey; once they receive the postcard they are
asked to return it ASAP
· There will be sub-sampling of persons in nursing homes and other groups;
these surveys will not be included in the randomly chosen group.
They then answered questions.
K.
Piccard said that the person taking the information by telephone
should explain the reason behind the code number.
M.
Berloff stated that the script has not been written for the person
taking the call. The call taker will take your answers but cannot prompt responses
in any way.
P.
Shaw asked what percent of THE RIDE consumers would be randomly
selected for the survey.
M.
Berloff stated that they have limited the survey to people who have
taken THE RIDE at least four times in a year; that number is 28,000. She stated
that of this number they will be sending out 5,000 postcards in the mail asking
people to participate in the survey. She also stated that THE RIDE users will
be notified that survey is on the way by flyer seat drop. The flyers will be
yellow and contain details on the survey.
M.
MacNab recommended that Ms. Berloff and Ms. Hartstein contact a
graduate student whom she knows personally. The young lady has started a
newsletter that could be far-- reaching in notifying consumers that a survey on
the fare increase impact of THE RIDE will be going out to selected users of THE
RIDE. She also asked that the consumers
be reminded of the need to return the survey immediately.
M.
Hartstein asked that Ms. MacNab a member of AACT was asked to
forward the link for the newsletter for her review.
P.
Shaw stated that she is very concerned about the HIPPA Act being
violated in some way.
IC
White asked whether the survey would take into account the
geographic locations of those hardest impacted.
M.
Berloff said the survey is random and will only identify the areas
by the questions asked.
M.
Manerson asked what results they were looking to achieve through
the survey.
A.
Hartstein stated that the survey will be a detailed look at how people
who take THE RIDE are impacted by the fare increases. She said the plan is to
make recommendations to the legislature.
K.
Piccard stated that she hopes that the survey will have room to
let people write comments freely
A.
Hartstein/M. Berloff stated that the survey is designed to let people speak
freely. They also said that there is no way to link people to the answers that
they give.
M.A.
Murray asked if the survey would take into account other forms of
transportation that others may take.
A.
Hartstein stated that the survey does address that issue. She stated
that she had been in discussion with agencies such as the Council on Aging.
IC
White thanked both Ms. Hartstein and Berloff for their
presentation.
A.
Hartstein thanked the membership for the opportunity to speak.
Larry
Haile, SWA Coordinator, presented his report.
·
He
announced that an Orientation Training was held on Thursday, October 4 with a
variety of participants and guests. SWA received amazing feedback. He stated
that the feedback received will help revise the program so that the end result
will be something everyone can be proud of. He indicated that the training will
help customers who want to learn more about the MBTA system.
He then asked for questions.
M. A. Murray asked if he could explain
the goal of the training.
L. Haile said SWA plans to polish
up the training based on the feedback received so that it will be mutually
beneficial and informative for the customer.
K. Piccard asked if he would be
working with the public school system to train school age students.
L. Haile stated that one of the
things envisioned for the future will be to train personnel from other agencies
so that they may train their own consumers. It is possible that this training
may include school systems.
M.A. Murray asked how many people
attended the training.
L. Haile indicated he did not have specific
numbers but several agencies did attend.
K. Piccard noted
that Easter Seals Project ACTION states that there are different kinds of
trainings for persons with different kinds of disabilities. She asked if the training
took into account a person’s ability.
L. Haile said that Easter Seals Project ACTION states that it
depends on each person’s ability and what they need to learn. Persons who need
a more intensive training should sign on for a class in the “Travel Training
Program” instead.
Frank Oglesby, MBTA Deputy
Director of Paratransit Operations – OTA, THE RIDE
Mr. Oglesby distributed the September/October
2012 reports for THE RIDE and had no further updates.
He
then asked for questions.
K. Piccard
requested that a written report be made each month that would indicate how many
active and inactive certified riders have money in their accounts.
M.
Hulak indicated that it would not be an
easy task since accounts often change daily.
But he suggested that a formal request be made through the Acting IC
White.
K. Piccard made the following motion:
That OTA give a picture every month as part of its monthly report of
on-going numbers in one or two categories of people who are certified THE RIDE
users; this should not just be limited to those who are newly certified. The
motion was passed unanimously.
IC White asked that Ms. Piccard provide a detailed
request for the report.
K. Piccard stated that she would leave it up to OTA to
decide. She stated that the membership would like additional information in one
or two categories about the ridership on a monthly basis and not just those who
are newly certified.
M. Hulak asked if she was looking for registered as
opposed to active users. He explained that this would not be that difficult.
IC White asked if the inactive status would be an
account that has not been active for six months.
M. Hulak stated that it could be anything including someone
who was deceased.
M.
Hulak stated that a
person is still active until THE RIDE is notified by a family member that the
person is now deceased. He noted that the person will then be removed from THE
RIDE list. THE RIDE system has not been purged in about eight years.
IC White asked
if people who are not recertified under the new program will be removed from
the system with Paradigm.
M. Hulak he stated no. These accounts would remain inactive.
Penny asked about the ridership figures for THE RIDE.
IC
White stated that it
was announced earlier that there were no accurate figures due to problems with
software for THE RIDE Program this month.
IC White thanked Mr. Oglesby
for his comments.
Jackie Dunlop, Director of Transportation, presented no written
report.
She was
available for questions.
IC
White asked if the GLSS ridership has improved.
J. Dunlop stated that the ridership
had increased slightly.
IC
White asked if GLSS was still maintaining their workforce.
J.
Dunlop said yes.
M.
A. Murray stated that a few days ago on THE RIDE vehicle she
noticed that there were no flyers pertaining to the upcoming AACT monthly
meeting. She also noted that a flyer for the August meeting was in a vehicle.
J.
Dunlop appeared very surprised.
N.
Miller asked why they still had the older Dodge vans,
which are very rickety. She noted that other companies were no longer using
that model.
J.
Dunlop stated that the vehicles are going to be used until
they can be replaced. She stated that there was no timetable for replacements.
IC
White explained that that model is still being used by other
vendors.
IC
White asked when the MBTA would be purchasing new vehicles.
M.
Hulak stated that yes, the MBTA is in the process of
purchasing new vans. They are working closely with MassDOT for the purchase. He
was unable to be specific about the date of arrival.
IC
White thanked Ms. Dunlop for her comments.
Victor Herrera, General Manager for the
Joint Venture, presented no
written report.
He was
available for questions.
N.
Miller asked that problems regarding the computer software
or other problems be discussed.
M.
Hulak said that this is not just a Joint Venture issue;
all the vendors are experiencing some difficulty. He stated that OTA is working
very closely with their software vendor StrataGen to clear up problems.
D.
Sisco stated that she needed guidance for travel to
MetroWest.
Kim
from OTA offered to assist her with her plans.
IC White asked if JV
had rehired any of the drivers that were laid off.
V. Herrera said layoff
of drivers had nothing do with lack of service.
IC
White thanked Mr. Herrera for his comments.
John
Tuttle, Operations Manager, presented no written report.
He
was available for questions.
IC White asked how the
fare increase was affecting VT.
J. Tuttle stated that
VT did experience a decline at the start of the PS. He stated that the company
is gradually returning to its normal ridership of 3,000 trips per day; the
number at present is 2,900 trips per day. He stated that the weather would be a
deciding factor.
K. Piccard said that
there are a couple of ways to look at the recovery of the numbers after they dropped
with the fare change on July 1st. 1) Are the numbers getting
back to where they were before the change? 2) Are the numbers getting back to
the rate of increase and the trajectory of what the numbers would be had there
been no change? She believes that both numbers should be kept in mind.
J. Tuttle explained he was
unable to answer that, but did say that VT is still very busy and they have not
laid off any drivers. And the impact has not been as great for them as it has
been for other vendors.
IC White thanked Mr. Tuttle for his comments.
L. Haile
stated that is not true. Operators are trained to pick up persons at the official
bus stop.
Announcements
IC White stated that
the Bus Recertification training class at the Charlestown garage will take
place on October 30 and November 13. Those
who wish to participate should telephone 617-222-5454 to register.
The meeting ended at 3:05 pm.