CODI Committee Meeting – Transportation -March 22, 2010

CODI Committee Meeting – Transportation -March 22, 2010

Attendance: Horace Graham, Denise Valkema, Joe Mora, Vilma Valdes, Ernie Martinez, Ilene Hyams, Maude Gonzalez, and Marcos Ortega

Horace Graham from Miami-Dade Transit explained a letter that went out to the security companies that are used to provide security officers at the Metro-Rail reminding them that their job is one of security and not helping passengers to the rail platform and into the rail cars. There is a serious liability risk to the County if a person with a disability is escorted upstairs and into a car and when they disembark at their destination, there is no one to help them downstairs. In addition, it makes a security guard leave his post. Of course, if a guard can provide some customer service they are encouraged to do so without putting a person in jeopardy or being too far from their post so they can’t see what is happening on the ground floor. He also said that all new security guards will have ADA training and this training will be on-going. If a complaint is received and valid, the security officer will go for retraining; if another valid complaint is received that officer will be reassigned by the company to a position outside the County.

Joe Mora from Consumer Services gave the committee some background on an incident that occurred on Miami Beach. A person who is blind and uses a service animal was taped by Channel 10 trying to hail a taxi. It was reported that 15 taxis went by him. He said there was an incident at the airport where a person with a service animal was refused a ride. Not only was the driver given a citation from Consumer Service; they also received a ticket, which is a misdemeanor, from the police. Consumer Services will now notify the police when they do a citation at the airport. The misdemeanor carries a $500 fine and 60 days in jail. The Consumer Service gives civil citations which can be a $250 fine for refusal. After three refusals in a 12 month period, a driver could have their license suspended or revoked for 6 months. Consumer Service does extensive training on service animals and explains the Federal, State, and County laws pertaining to service animals, it was brought up that certain groups of people feel dog are unclean or they are afraid of large dogs. Mr. Mora reported that the Director of Consumer services is writing a letter to all the Passenger Service companies reminding them of service animal requirements. He also said that they will be doing secret shopping. Much discussion followed. It was recommended by the committee to ask the County to increase the dollar fine and to have the first offense carry a suspension. Discussion was: 1st refusal: $500 fine with a 2 month suspension, 2nd refusal $750 fine with a 4 month suspension, 3rd refusal with a $1000 fine and a year suspension. This will not be a 12 month but a 24 month period. If a driver has been shown to have a pattern of refusals in any 6 year period, Consumer Services has the right to revoke their license. Mr. Mora also wanted the committee to know that inspection staff and drivers of wheelchair accessible taxis have had training on the 4 point securement. Now, whenever these taxis are brought in for inspection, they must show the inspectors that the 4 point securement system is working and that they know how to use it. Consumer Service will also use secret shoppers to access wheelchair accessible trips. It was mentioned in the meeting that CODI would like Consumer Services to be sure that a driver of a wheelchair accessible taxi is not turning on the meter until the taxi leaves the curb. Also mentioned was the rudeness of some of the dispatchers. Mr. Mora said that Consumer Service doesn’t regulate the dispatchers or office staff of companies but felt that if people called in complaints they could make the companies aware of the problem.

Maude Gonzales from Transit addressed concerns of the committee about announcements on the Metrorail and Metro-mover and the identification of the Brickell & Omni Loop on the Metro-mover. Ms. Gonzalez said that Transit is working on a public address system and it is in the procurement process. It was also mentioned that inside announcements were not being made on some of the Metrorail and Metro-mover trains. She said that she will do secret shopping on both systems. She reported that she will be sending the ADA Office the quarterly report on the secret shopping for announcements on the busses. There are three facilities where buses are kept and the Coral Way facility has consistently had the best inside announcement rating of their busses. At the next meeting, the report will be anglicized; it was suggested a letter of recognition might be sent. Ms. Valkema asked Mr. Martinez if he would be available to go with her and Mr. Rackard to asses some bus trips.

Ilene Hyams went over some of the changes that come out of the County Commission meeting when they discussed the para-transit RFP. She said that there will be two separate evaluations. First a selection committee will assess the technical aspects of the proposals and give points based on several criteria. They will then look at the points to see if there is a cutoff point separating the best proposal from the average or below average proposal. Technical Criteria: Experience and key personnel 150 points, financial capacity 150 points, equipment and facility 100 points, Service plan and capacity 100 points, program and plans 100 points.
Then the proposals with the most points will be assessed by the cost. The least expensive of the most qualified will be picked. Some of the items she pointed out were:
• Proposer will be responsible for call center with no subcontracting
• Proposer shall purchase, install and maintain AVL/GPS Equipment and Mobile Data terminals
• Performance standards were slightly reduced from 90% for on-time performance to 80%
• For each week where the average Hold Time per queue and hour of operation is greater than 2 minutes, the liquid damages will be $750 per week up from $100 per week
• Only one PCA is allowed per customer. No fare shall be collected from the PCA. Proposer shall no bill or get paid for said trip by PCA County will not deduct fare for PCAs from the selected Proposer’s trip rate
• No Show window is clarified- in no event, shall a Customer be designated as a No-Show if the Chauffeur fails to arrive within the service window or fails to comply with the notification and authorization requirement within this paragraph –
• Proposer shall provide Road Supervisors to monitor trips
• Proposer to notify County if a driver provides 25% of Customer’s monthly trips.. may include in random phone audits.
• County prefers implementation of a fare replacement program that uses the County’s EASY Card
• 30 days prior to expiration or upon termination …the selected proposer shall transfer ownership of the toll-free number and TTY number for STS calls to the County.