[Ohio-talk] Paratransit-Project Mobility Question
Kaiti Shelton
kaiti.shelton at gmail.com
Mon Sep 9 14:37:15 UTC 2013
Hi Colleen and all,
I have since checked the manual that I received at the certification
appointment and as I thought I am up on my policies for the service.
Dayton's service is door-to-door, so why they did not buzz my apartment
puzzles me. Thankfully, my trip was purely casual and was not time
sensitive and I planned well, although I would have preferred to get home
closer to the time I scheduled rather than an hour and a half later. I am
planning on using subscription services for things like practicum sites in
the future but in this case I could not use subscription as it is an
infrequent trip. From re-reading the manual I think I did all I could do; I
had my phone at hand well before I was supposed to, (30 minutes rather than
10 minutes before the scheduled trip), I was within my priviledges f the
service to wait inside rather than on the curb, and I provided all the
information they would need to get in contact with me or let me know they
were there. I'm hoping the appeals process goes quickly and easily since
there really doesn' seem to be anything that I did wrong at least now based
on what I've read in the manual and what I've been told by the staff at
various times.
Deborah, Access in Cincinnati seems to have much more rules than Project
Mobility, or ones that are more strict. For example, Access requires that
you wait at least 2 hours between a departure and return trip, but in Dayton
it's only an hour which is much more reasonable for things like grocery
trips and such. I know there is another transportation network in
Cincinnati although the acronym for it escapes me. Have you tried that one
at all?
Kaiti Shelton
University of Dayton---2016
Music Therapy Major, Psychology Minor, Clarinet
Advocates for Sexual Assault Prevention (ASAP), Vice president
Ohio Association of Blind Students, Secretary
NFB Community Service Group, Service Project Committee Chair
Sigma Alpha Iota-Delta Sigma, Usher Coordinator
UD Music Therapy Club
-----Original Message-----
From: Ohio-talk [mailto:ohio-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of COLLEEN
ROTH
Sent: Monday, September 09, 2013 8:48 AM
To: ohio-talk at nfbnet.org
Subject: Re: [Ohio-talk] Paratransit-Project Mobility Question
Hi Kaiti,
Sometimes people are listed as curb-to-curb and not door-to-door on these
s"ervices.
Sometimes the driver will ask the Dispatcher to call the person on their
cell phone because they really do not want drivers to do that while driving.
In Toledo they do not put everything on the Manifest for a driver even when
you give it to them.
I understand why you didn't want to wait outside for Paratransit in the dark
and alone.
I always plan ahead so that I allow extra time for appointments just in case
of a glitch.
Sometimes cellphone signals do not work well in a building.
I would definitely appeal the no-shows on your record.
I would also make sure you are door-to-door.
Some drivers do not go up to a building to ring buzzers if someone is not
outside.
You really do need to appeal your no-shows.
Sometimes you get them no matter how careful you are when using Paratransit.
In Toledo we have to allow for one hour on the bus.
This plus a 15-minute window before and after the pickup time.
If I have to go somewhere and my appointment is at 11 a.m. I schedule my
pickup 9-30 a.m.
If I were you I would try to get the Rules and Regs for Dayton Paratransit.
Colleen Roth
----- Original Message -----
From: Kaiti Shelton <kaiti.shelton at gmail.com>
To: "NFB of Ohio Announcement and Discussion List" ohio-talk at nfbnet.org
Date: Monday, September 9, 2013 2:16 am
Subject: [Ohio-talk] Paratransit-Project Mobility Question
>
>
> Hi all,
>
>
>
> I am a brand new paratransit user and took my first trip with the
> Dayton Area Project Mobility this weekend. Unfortunately, it was not
> quite the experience I had thought it would be, so I'm wondering if
> there is anything I can do to make the situation better in the future.
>
>
>
> I remember having a conversation with some of the other
> teachers/volunteers at Bell about how sometimes paratransit services
> will mess up something on the paperwork and give the person wanting to
> use the service a no-show even if it was not their fault. I knew this
> would undoubtedly happen to me at some point, but I didn't anticipate
> it happening on my first trip. I scheduled a departure trip for
> Saturday night. Naturally, because standing outside would have meant
> waiting alone in the dark on a college campus, I chose to stay inside
> and wait for a call on my cell phone or for the driver to buzz my
> apartment, both numbers are on file with RTA as I was sure to list
> them on all paperwork and check that they were on file when I was
> giving information at my certification appointment. I kept my cell
> phone near by and checked it often to make sure I didn't miss
> anything. When the bus had not come 20 minutes after my scheduled
> pick up time I called dispatch as instructed. I was informed that the
> driver tried to call my number and got a man who said he had
> misdialed. The RTA people maintained that they had dialed my number
> correctly though, including my 513 area code, and that the no-show was
> valid. I don't know why they did not buzz the apartment if they were
> at the residential building as that would have worked as well, or why
> they wouldn't take what the man they spoke to seriously and try to
> call again, (In case of a slipped finger), but they did not take the
> five extra seconds to do either. I managed to guilt the dispatcher
> into at least sending the driver again as I saw me waiting inside
> under those conditions to be very reasonable, and she reluctantly did so.
When she called me back to let me know the driver was back at my apartment
building the call came through just fine. So, obviously the driver or
whoever called
> the first time just misdialed per human error.
>
>
>
> Had this been the only no-show on my record I would have probably let
> it slide and waited for it to go away on its own, but a similar
> situation happened on the return trip. I waited inside the place I
> had traveled to for a while, but after I had not heard from the driver
> for the ten minutes prior to my scheduled time I figured I would be
> proactive and wait outside so I could avoid the situation happening
> again. Again, I waited till the full time window had passed and
> called dispatch. The dispatcher I spoke to first tried to claim there
> was no number on fial for me, but then successfully read back my cell
> number over the phone. Then he tried to tell me the drivers would not
> call customers, but changed his story when I said the driver last
> night apparently tried to do so and the driver I spoke to on the way
> to my certification appointment informed me that they could do that or
> buzz my apartment to let me know they were waiting. Only then did he
> say, "Well, you're right, they really should have called you." Then
> he said the real reason the driver didn't show was because he couldn't
> find the building where I was, but then again if they were really at a
> loss for directions I don't know why they wouldn't call for
> clarification. I ended up giving more detailed instructions complete with
landmarks over the phone at that point, but it was a situation that could
have been easily avoided.
>
>
>
> I understand that the paratransit system is in wide use and has to
> keep moving, but it seems to me like they're not doing a very good job
> of following their own policies for effectively communicating with
> their customers. I tried to be as clear as I could with them and
> follow the instructions I was given, but it seems there is a
> disconnect somewhere in their paperwork. I'm wondering if there is
> anything I can do to make this sort of thing not happen in the future
> and have a more pleasant experience using my area paratransit. I plan
> to appeal both no-shows, but if I can avoid the hassle of getting them
> in the first place in the future that would be best. Any advice would
> be appreciated as I was hoping to use them to reliably get to and from
practicum sites next semester.
>
>
>
> Kaiti Shelton
>
> University of Dayton---2016
>
> Music Therapy Major, Psychology Minor, Clarinet
>
> Advocates for Sexual Assault Prevention (ASAP), Vice president
>
> Ohio Association of Blind Students, Secretary
>
> NFB Community Service Group, Service Project Committee Chair
>
> Sigma Alpha Iota-Delta Sigma, Usher Coordinator
>
> UD Music Therapy Club
>
>
>
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