[Ohio-talk] Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority (RTA)

Mon Nov 18 21:48:03 UTC 2013

This is good.  Dayton has a good system but you have to work with them.
>From the way some level of expectations are with some of our Daytonians,
perhaps they need to relocate to Cleveland so they can be spoiled a bit more
than they do in Dayton.  (Smile)

-----Original Message-----
From: Ohio-talk [mailto:ohio-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Cheryl
Fields
Sent: Saturday, November 16, 2013 7:47 PM
To: NFB of Ohio Announcement and Discussion List
Subject: Re: [Ohio-talk] Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority (RTA)

Suzanne,
I am sure your meeting will go smoothly. I have very few complaints, no
system is perfect, and we are blessed in Cleveland to have one of the best
paratransit systems in the country. However I do realize that when it goes
bad it is really bad for us, been there too. My best friend lives in
Columbia, south carolina and what they call paratransit is a joke! I was
told that Detroit and Washington DC have corner to corner service. I have
used Mainstream in columbus and there is no comparison to our service. Once
when using mainstream I was left at my location, after I called and was told
that they would try to find me a ride, I called someone to pick me up and
made it to my Mother's house, 3 hours later Mainstream called to say they
were sending a bus to pick me up. Another time I was asked off of the bus
for not having the correct change, smiles, I am notorious for this andthe
drivers are used to me doing this, yes I need to stop, it is a minor problem
in Cleveland we always work it out, however in columbus it was a
unforgivable sin and the driver escorted me off of the vehicle, walk of
shame. Oh well, I will still use the service because it is all they have and
when I need it it is there, sooner or later.
smiles This is why I love our service and appreciate it, there's no place
like home. Our RTA drivers are like family to me and it is the contract
drivers I have the most issues with. The regular RTA drivers go above and
beyond the call of duty, carrying heavy packages, allowing us to bring more
than 3 shopping bags onto the bus, stopping to allow folks to use the rest
room, waiting more than 5 mins., when we are fully aware of when the bus
will arrive, waiting for those that are on dialysis so they won't have to
wait on another bus, making sure I have on my boots after one of those
freaky snow storms. Once a driver smelled gas in my building and saved all
of our lives, thank god for her! Allowing some of us to travel with baby
seats and another person without notifying scheduleing, dropping folks off
at other destinations they did not schedule for, taking diabetics to the
fast food drive through line to get food so they won't go into a coma,
passengers knowingly riding on expired bus passes, hanging up on certain
schedulers because you would rather talk with someone else, talking to
drivers like they are your personal chauffaur, providing us with those
miracle rides when we call at 3 o'clock pm the day before we need to be
somewhere at 9 o'clock the next morning, the list goes on and on. I have
wittnessed enough abuse on our part, the blind, to know how the majority of
drivers, schedulers, and dispatch make allowances for us going above and
beyond the call of duty. While RTA continues to provide quality service for
us, we should work together with them toward improvements, making a good
thing become even better!
 So, these are my concerns:

1. Training, the contract drivers should have training with sighted guide,
pushing and pulling will result in a accident one day and creates a hostile
atmosphere. I have tried to use humor to make them listen, but it rarely
works andwhen I become serious and firm they become offended.
Politeness will go a long way, some of the contract drivers ar rude.
My building can be difficult to locate, these drivers will not llisten and
want to tell me where I live. Just last night I gave the driver instructions
and he decided I did not know what I was talking about, so he finally asked
me and I told him again and he says, that does not seem right, and I
remained silent. He found it but was surprised that it was where I said it
was. Once I rode on the bus in circles because the driver would not listen,
he then accused me of causing him to be late for his next pick up, well you
know what I said to that! Some vehicles are equiped with gps and others are
not, maybe this could be uniform, the contract drivers are often unable to
take the proper routes to destinations, spending long periods of time trying
to figure it out. Some of this may be personality, don't know.

2. Scheduling, this year the process is really bad. There has been a
increase in ridership, however some simple things can be emplemented to
accomadate this increase. Stop having 3 buses pick up 3 people going to the
same destination that live in the same neighborhood, this is so wasteful and
time consuming for others that are waiting for rides. Having someone that
lives west, board a bus full of east siders, ride all over the east side
before taking them home. This seems to be the new normal, drivers are
frustrated with this and we are too.

3. Vehicles, it would be beneficial for RTA to become pro-active with
contract companies when choosing vehicles. Some of the vans are dangerous
and awkward to navagate. Knowing how to exit the van is important to me and
some drivers will not show you where the door handleand locks are, they feel
like you don't need to know, however some of us have other issues they are
not aware of. When it is time for RTA to purchase new vehicles, maybe they
can look at the ones with the lower bottom step, curb height, it would be a
lot easier to board and exit the vehicle.

4. Is RTA considering a new fare system, cards similar to laundry cards that
are used in apartment buildings. This is expensive, but would be really
convenient, especially if it was part of our identification card.The driver
could verify id  and collect the fare with one swipe.

Finally, nfb should have representation on the Citizens Council, this would
provide us a constant voice, and maybe we could hold a town hall meeting for
paratransit riders. I have attended other RTA town hall meetings and
paratransit riders rarely show up in numbers, so we are rarely heard.

I know this is long, but you know me, smiles, that's all folks!
Make this a great day, be good to yourself and a blessing to others!
Cheryl Fields

On 11/15/13, Suzanne Turner <sturner at clevelandsightcenter.org> wrote:
> Good Afternoon,
>
> I wanted to inform you all that I have a meeting scheduled with Joe 
> Calabrese who is the CEO and General Manager of RTA and the Deputy 
> General manager of Operations, Mike York along with  Oliver Draper who 
> is the Manager of para-Transit in Cuyahoga County about the issues 
> regarding services.
>
> I am requesting all to email me any issues that you would like for me 
> to discuss. I have many concerns and I am sure you do as well.
>
> My meeting is December 2, 2013 at 8:30 AM.
>
> Although you may not reside locally, I am sure some issues are 
> universal in your immediate area.  I will do my best to advocate in your
behalf as well.
> I will bring the issues to their attention and let them know that this 
> is State wide.  Therefore, during the many State wide transportation 
> meetings, they would have heard these issues along the way.
>
> Thanks!
>
>
> Suzanne Turner, BSW, MPA
> Employment Coordinator and Benefit Specialist
>
> Cleveland Sight Center
> 216-791-8118 (main)
> 216-658-7350 (direct)
> 216-791-1101 (fax)
> sturner at ClevelandSightCenter.org 
> <mailto:sturner at ClevelandSightCenter.org>
>
> 1909 East 101st Street
> P.O. Box 1988
> Cleveland, Ohio  44106-0188
>
> Our Empowerment Park construction is complete! The ribbon was cut on 
> October 17th and we have been awarded the UCI "Building the Circle" 
> award. Come view the video here<http://youtu.be/OrJZzUfA_tc>.
>
> Our Mission: To empower people with vision loss to realize their full 
> potential, and to shape the community's vision of that potential.
>
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--
Peace

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