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Has MATA been meeting their reporting obligations to the FTA? |
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Telephone Capacity (1) MATA reports that they have a new phone system that puts callers in a central queue of all incoming calls. MATA reports that this new system gives evidence of the hold times and "call backs" made when reservations change. We have reason to believe that riders may be placed on hold with no chance of ever reaching a MATA agent. All the time customers are on hold they repeatedly hear the message: "We apologize for the delay all representatives are still busy. Please remain on the line and your call will be answered as soon as possible." Yet senior MATA officials have said that some calls on the new system have no chance of being answered. The calls do not ring an agent although the caller believes their call "… will be answered as soon as possible." This anomaly is seemingly not captured and recorded by the phone system. It is unclear how long MATA executive staff has known about this system failure. Riders report many times being on hold for more than 45 minutes since the new phone system has been installed. Currently the Barrier Free Memphis Society is surveying hold times and will have hard data next month. Clearly, such a breakdown in service would not be tolerated on the fixed-route. (2) The system will often give callers to (901) 722-7171, the main reservation number, a busy signal. There is no queue and no service in this instance, yet it is doubtful that this complete lack of service is reported to the FTA. Reservation Process MATA explains a process from their office perspective that will allow newly approved applicants to use the paratransit system but they do not explain how this is conveyed to the customer. They do not explain how approval will be granted or denied in 21 days either. An unknown rider posted this letter on the website on August 3. It is difficult to tell how pervasive this problem is because new riders have little information about peers and making complaints. Eligibility (1) In MATA's undated Report around the August 15th board meeting, MATA said they should fill the new position of ADA Certification Specialist in 30 - 45 days. To date the ADA Advisory Committee has no knowledge of a selection for that position (roughly 118 days). (2) No new Rider's Guide has been published. The August 15th MATA report to the FTA misleadingly says "The revised Riders's [sic] Guide has been published and distributed to the public." It was this very Rider's Guide that citizens complained about at the public forum called by Congressman Ford. "It is the responsibility of you MATAplus driver," states the revised guide; "to that mobility devices are properly secured prior to transporting you (p. 26)." The guide is trash. Vehicle Inspections (1) Riders have experienced lift failures on the new Blue Bird buses. At these times, the surprise of the operator leads many customers to believe that the lifts are rarely inspected or "cycled" at the beginning of a shift. (2) The wrong bus is dispatched. Some MATAplus vehicles are not accessible to customers who use wheelchairs. If the rider cannot transfer, this requires MATA to send a second vehicle and reroute the schedules of other customers. Some customers feel forced to transfer out of their wheelchair by the operator who they depend on to call for a second bus. The initiative of Congressman Ford (1) The Congressman suggested that the ADA Advisory Committee include a diversity of community resources including the Airport Authority and citizens groups. At the last meeting, however, only groups bidding on MATA's travel training bid were present. Important members of our community have never been invited to be part of the initiative. (2) The ADA Advisory Committee has been used by MATA to meet reporting requirements. Minutes of an August 14 meeting were intentionally produced to meet reporting times (The MATA Board Meeting on August 15) and are misleading in their scope. Tim Wheat invited all the non-MATA attendees to the meeting. Most riders and community members were ignored. (3) The ADA Advisory Committee has been limited in scope by MATA. The Minutes are titled "MATAplus / ADA Compliance Meeting." MATA representatives at the last meeting were Willie Lewis, the MATA ADA Compliance Officer or Assistant Director of MATAplus (Depending on his weekly title change) and Alison Burton who showed up an hour late to discuss the MATA travel-training bid. (4) The Specialized Transportation Advisory Committee is used by MATA as a rubber stamp. MATA claimed that the revised Rider's Guide was reviewed by the STAC although not one member was given an advance copy or made written comments about the document. - Tim Wheat |
The Memphis Center for Independent Living
1633 Madison Avenue,
Memphis, TN 38104
(901) 726-6404 v/tty (901) 726-6521 fax
mcil@mcil.org
MCIL is a United Way of the Mid-South member Agency
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