[Colorado-Talk] Fwd: Official Complaint

Wed May 31 19:32:44 UTC 2023

Hello Curtis

I’ve used Hop Skip Drive for about a year now. I love the reliability and low cost. With that said, apparently I was sent a paper print document last December, 2022, stating their cancelation policies in the mail. I do not remember receiving this. Thus, after I canceled three round trips within a four-month period, I was put on suspension for 30 days. Sometimes, life happens, and unforeseen cancelations have to happen i.e. a death in the family. We shouldn’t have to be penalized for family emergencies. I was unaware of this policy change. Email documents of change in policies would be helpful for blind folks.

Also, I’d like to see the $400 monthly limit be raised to at least $500 per month. I can hardly get in needed appointments per month, and with their new policies trips can’t be very long in order to utilize needed trips. I’m left to prioritize which trips are more important and/or which doctor I should schedule now or later. School kids get to ride back and forth from Centennial to Westminster five days a week, adults and seniors should have the same opportunities.

What should I do with my thoughts?

From: Colorado-Talk <colorado-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of Dale Holden via Colorado-Talk
Sent: Wednesday, May 31, 2023 12:27 PM
To: Colorado Talk <Colorado-Talk at nfbnet.org>
Cc: Dale Holden <dalelholden at me.com>
Subject: [Colorado-Talk] Fwd: Official Complaint

For anyone that is using transportation through the Denver regional council of governments Dr. cog. Please be aware of the information below. If you have any extended inquiries on this, you can give either myself or I presume Curtis Chong a call at our home phones. This is only to alert people if you encounter any problems.
Sent from my iPhone

Begin forwarded message:
From: Curtis Chong <chong.curtis at gmail.com<mailto:chong.curtis at gmail.com>>
Date: May 26, 2023 at 11:34:28 AM MDT
To: Jessica Beecham <jbbeecham at gmail.com<mailto:jbbeecham at gmail.com>>, Dan Burke <dburke at cocenter.org<mailto:dburke at cocenter.org>>, Dale Holden <dalelholden at me.com<mailto:dalelholden at me.com>>, Paul Sandoval <blindtechtraining at gmail.com<mailto:blindtechtraining at gmail.com>>
Subject: Official Complaint

Greetings all:

See below and attached an official complaint I have submitted today to Malorie Miller from the DRCOG Area Agency on Aging.

I chose to narrow this to avoid the discussion of moral turpitude☺.

Warm regards,

Curtis Chong

From: Curtis Chong <chong.curtis at gmail.com<mailto:chong.curtis at gmail.com>>
Sent: Friday, May 26, 2023 11:29 AM
To: 'Malorie Miller' <mmiller at drcog.org<mailto:mmiller at drcog.org>>
Subject: Official Complaint
Importance: High

Greetings and salutations:

As a long-time user of Choice Services transportation—in particular, Uber transportation—I wish to file an official complaint regarding the Choice Services policy preventing Uber transportation funds from being used for trips to and from the Denver International Airport and places of employment, referred to in your policy document (copy attached) as “work.” I also wish to lodge a complaint objecting to the nontransparent way in which a significant policy change in Choice Services was communicated to program participants earlier this year.

No Uber Transportation To The Airport And Work

The most recent Choice Services transportation program policy provides, in relevant part:

“•         Carepool, HopSkipDrive and Uber cannot be used for transport to bars, casinos, dispensaries, liquor stores, Denver International Airport, work or dialysis.”

At the beginning of each month, Choice Services program participants who receive funding for Uber transportation are currently allocated $400 to be used for this purpose; the program reserves the right to change this amount at any time. During each month, when Uber transportation is being set up, program participants can learn how much the trip is going to cost before taking the trip. In addition, they can also determine immediately how much remains of the $400 allocated to them at the beginning of the month. This is true even if a particular trip relates to work or the airport. In addition, should the funds be exhausted, the program participant has a secondary payment method in place to handle costs not covered by Choice Services.

When I raised this issue, I was told that,

“Our funding designates that we provide services to those who demonstrate the greatest need. Due to the cost and nature of personal trips to the airport, this is not a good use of our limited funds.”

I would argue that the option of whether or not to use Choice Services funds for a specific trip should be left to the program participant—not to the Choice Services program. This is especially true for program participants in the Choice Services Uber transportation program who, as I just pointed out, have immediate information about the Choice Services funds they can use for Uber transportation. The funds for each month are allocated at the beginning of the month. Consequently, denying program participants Uber transportation to or from the airport does not save the program any of its limited funds.

The denial of Uber transportation funds to go to or from a place of employment seems to me to be particularly injurious to the senior population—especially, seniors like me who happen to be blind. It is fairly well known these days that seniors today have found it increasingly necessary to hold a job simply to survive financially. True, using the funds to go back and forth to work, five days a week, would certainly drain the Uber funding more quickly. But for seniors who cannot or do not drive, transportation to or from a place of employment using Uber represents an efficient, effective, and necessary choice given the inefficiencies involved with public transportation as it now operates in Denver. Yes, the Access-on-Demand service is now available from the Denver Regional Transportation District (where paratransit customers have Uber/Lyft trips subsidized up to 60 trips per month, $25 per trip). However,  blind and able-bodied seniors like me, who can use the bus and light rail, might not want to sign up to receive paratransit services, and it is uncertain if we would even qualify.

Policy Change Buried In An Annual Transportation Survey Communication

On March 3, 2023, the Area Agency on Aging distributed an email under the subject heading of “Transportation Services Survey.” A copy of that email is attached.

The second sentence of the email read, “Attached is a copy of the policies and procedures for the program for your review.”

It did not mention that a policy change of some significance to program participants was contained in the policy document. Because of the subject line, I felt encouraged to fill out what was for me a very nonvisually-accessible survey form. However, there was nothing in the email even hinting that there had been a significant change in policy. So, as most people would have done, I naturally assumed that the attached policy was routine and did not read it.

Whether the policy change was deliberately obfuscated by the subject line or not, the fact remains that the policy document did contain some significant changes which program participants should have been encouraged to review. It would have been far more transparent if program participants had been sent a second email, separate from the survey email, informing them about significant policy changes which they should review.

What I Am Seeking

  1.  I am asking for a change in Choice Services policy which does not prohibit the use of Uber funds for transportation to or from the Denver International Airport and other places where a program participant is working. At the very least, this should be applied to the blind and other program participants who cannot drive.
  2.  Finally, When policy changes do occur, I ask that Choice Services program participants be sent a communication which specifically calls their attention to any changes that have been made to policy. I also ask that electronic copies be provided immediately to program participants like me who find it more efficient to read electronic communications as opposed to a paper document sent in the mail.

I thank you for your kind attention to this email. I can be reached by telephone at 303-745-0473 and by conventional mail at the following address:

14152 East Linvale Place
Unit 201
Aurora, Colorado 80014

Yours sincerely,
[cid:image001.gif at 01D993C4.5F34F700]

Curtis Chong

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