Chatham Area Transit (CAT) Savannah, GA ADA Complementary Paratransit Service Compliance Review December 7–10, 2009 Summary of Observations Prepared for Federal Transit Administration Office of Civil Rights Washington, DC Prepared by Planners Collaborative, Inc. with TranSystems Corporation Final Report: November 7, 2012 CAT – ADA Complementary Paratransit Service Review Final Report CONTENTS 1 Purpose of the Review ................................................................................................................ 1 2 Overview .......................................................................................................................................... 3 2.1 Pre-Review ............................................................................................................................................ 3 2.2 On-Site Review ..................................................................................................................................... 4 3 Background .................................................................................................................................... 7 3.1 Description of Fixed Route Service .............................................................................................. 7 3.2 Description of ADA Complementary Paratransit Service .................................................... 8 3.3 CAT’s Complementary Paratransit Performance Policies and Standards ..................... 8 3.4 Consumer Comments ........................................................................................................................ 9 3.5 Requirement to Update CAT Paratransit Plan ......................................................................... 9 4 Summary of Findings ................................................................................................................ 13 4.1 ADA Complementary Paratransit Service Criteria .............................................................. 13 4.2 ADA Complementary Paratransit Eligibility Process ......................................................... 14 4.3 Telephone Access ............................................................................................................................ 16 4.4 Trip Reservations and Scheduling ............................................................................................ 17 4.5 Service Performance ...................................................................................................................... 19 4.6 Resources ........................................................................................................................................... 21 5 ADA Complementary Paratransit Service Criteria ......................................................... 23 5.1 Consumer Interviews ..................................................................................................................... 23 5.2 Type of Service ................................................................................................................................. 23 5.3 Service Area ....................................................................................................................................... 24 5.4 Days and Hours of Service ............................................................................................................ 24 5.5 Fares ..................................................................................................................................................... 25 5.6 Trip Purposes ................................................................................................................................... 26 5.7 Coordination with Adjacent Service Providers .................................................................... 26 5.8 Complaint Handling Process ....................................................................................................... 26 5.9 Findings ............................................................................................................................................... 28 5.10 Recommendations .......................................................................................................................... 29 6 ADA Complementary Paratransit Eligibility ..................................................................... 31 6.1 Consumer Comments ..................................................................................................................... 31 6.2 Overview of the Eligibility Determination Process and Materials ................................ 31 6.1 Reported Determination Outcomes.......................................................................................... 36 6.2 Process Observations and Reviews of Recent Determinations ...................................... 36 6.3 No-Show/Suspension Policy ........................................................................................................ 39 6.4 Findings ............................................................................................................................................... 40 6.5 Recommendations .......................................................................................................................... 43 7 Telephone Access ....................................................................................................................... 45 7.1 Consumer Comments ..................................................................................................................... 45 7.2 Phone Service Standards and Performance Monitoring ................................................... 45 7.3 Phone System Design ..................................................................................................................... 45 7.4 Reservations and Dispatch Staffing .......................................................................................... 46 7.5 Observations of the Call-Handling Process ............................................................................ 46 Page 1 CAT – ADA Complementary Paratransit Service Review Final Report 7.6 Telephone Performance Reports............................................................................................... 46 7.7 Findings ............................................................................................................................................... 46 7.8 Recommendations .......................................................................................................................... 47 8 Reservations Process ................................................................................................................ 49 8.1 Response Time Service Criterion for ADA Complementary Paratransit ..................... 49 8.2 Consumer Comments ..................................................................................................................... 50 8.3 Standards, Policies, and Procedures ........................................................................................ 50 8.4 Observations of the Handling of Trip Requests .................................................................... 51 8.5 Trip Negotiations and Denials .................................................................................................... 56 8.6 Trip Confirmations ......................................................................................................................... 58 8.7 Findings ............................................................................................................................................... 60 8.8 Recommendations .......................................................................................................................... 62 9 Service Performance ................................................................................................................. 63 9.1 Consumer Comments ..................................................................................................................... 63 9.2 Service Standards and Policies ................................................................................................... 64 9.3 Scheduling and Dispatching Procedures and Observations ............................................ 65 9.4 Driver Interviews ............................................................................................................................ 68 9.5 On-Time Performance ................................................................................................................... 68 9.6 On-Board Ride Times ..................................................................................................................... 71 9.1 Findings ............................................................................................................................................... 77 9.2 Recommendations .......................................................................................................................... 80 10 Resources .................................................................................................................................. 81 10.1 Consumer Comments ..................................................................................................................... 81 10.2 Vehicle Fleet ...................................................................................................................................... 82 10.3 Driver