Use of Taxis in Public Transportation for People with Disabilities and Older Adults (2016) / Chapter Skim
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29 chapter four CASE EXAMPLES This chapter presents case examples of taxi-based programs serving people with disabilities and older adults that are sponsored and subsidized by five public transportation agencies. Also included are the perspectives and insights of two taxi companies that participate in publicly subsidized taxi programs.
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30 voucher amount. Tipping is allowed, but it is not known to what extent this occurs.
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31 same voucher system as the dialysis transportation program, so participants pay 25% of the trip cost up to $20 on the meter and the full cost above that. The average subsidy cost is $11.33 per trip.
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32 Senior Center Shuttle program was initiated with magnetic swipe cards and the new technology, so there was no transition required. The city's experience -- a "tale of two payment types" -- highlights its successful use of both the old and the new.
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33 no longer process the increasing volume -- 30,000+ pieces of paper were processed twice each month -- and storage space for the used coupons could not contain all the paper. Unlike the vouchers with preprinted information identifying each participant and each repetitive trip, the coupons were generic, and there were no trip purpose restrictions.
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34 been common practice with the use of credit cards but to swipe a card at the start of the trip has been a learning process. There are occasions when the card reader in the vehicle malfunctions.
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35 Tipping Taxi Drivers Currently, none of the city's taxi-based programs specifically include a tip for the drivers. Some years ago, there was an extra 15% added to the invoices submitted by the taxi companies for the dialysis and employment programs, and the city had assurances that this extra payment was used for driver tips.
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36 is done with a standard relational database program. There is minimal opportunity for misuse of the system.
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37 SAN FRANCISCO'S USE OF TAXIS The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) oversees public transit as well as parking, traffic, and bicycle and pedestrian programs in the city of San Francisco.
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38 SF Taxi SFMTA's use of taxis for serving people with disabilities and older adults predates the ADA and continued with implementation of mandated ADA paratransit service in the 1990s. In SFMTA's early years providing ADA paratransit, taxis were used exclusively for service for ambulatory ADA riders taking individual trips.
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39 SFMTA then selected a technology company for the back-end processing software through the second procurement cycle. The company was Cabconnect, Inc., and its software was CardOne.
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40 • The electronic payment processing provides for more frequent payment to the taxi companies. With the paper scrip, the companies were paid monthly.
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41 smartphone, filter the request to display only ramped taxis, and "see" the taxi approaching on their smartphone screen through GPS technology. This option is still in the planning stages.
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42 • Implementing technology that provides electronic processing of rider payment and trip data can be challenging, but SFMTA reports that it is well worth the challenge. SFMTA's implementation of technology required significant efforts, with two procurements and various delays, but the agency reports that the monitoring and audit capabilities are major advantages to the use of scrip.
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43 Denver's Transit Environment RTD's service area is expansive -- 2,340 mi2 -- encompassing all or part of eight counties and serving a population of 2.9 million. This includes the city of Denver (649,495 population, U.S.
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44 The cost cap per trip also gave the taxi drivers an incentive. Not only were they guaranteed the meter rate, but for trips less than $9, they could keep that "extra" money between the meter cost and $9.
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45 disability organizations in Denver has joined RTD in addressing the need for accessible taxi vehicles. Transportation Network Companies The TNCs are active in Denver.
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46 ANN ARBOR, MICHIGAN'S, TRANSIT AUTHORITY AND TAXIS The Ann Arbor Area Transportation Authority (AAATA) , which is known as TheRide, operates public transit services within the city of Ann Arbor and surrounding communities.
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47 tinations that are outside the service areas, with trips to these four locations provided according to defined A-Ride rules. Service days and hours are different for the base area and the township area, with more service available in the base service area.
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48 Although the regulatory change has provided greater flexibility to the company, the transit agency's contract provisions for its ADA paratransit and same-day service ensure that the services meets the transit agency's standards, and the transit agency reports that it has continued to receive good service, although there have been some recent concerns. However, the change in regulatory oversight has affected the Ann Arbor area.
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49 include restricting trips within a defined and compact service area, encouraging the contractor to provide shared ride and not exclusive ride trips, and allowing riders to take no more than two round trips per day. Postscript After the case example in Ann Arbor was completed for this synthesis, AAATA changed course with its long-time contractor (Select Ride/formerly Yellow Taxi)
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50 Eligibility The voucher program is available to adults age 60 and older and individuals with disabilities. Those interested in the program apply by completing a one-page application form and providing proof of age or disability, the latter through written confirmation by a healthcare professional.
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51 for fare payment and back-end software to process the data for monitoring and provider payment would greatly facilitate program management and oversight, reducing the opportunity for errors in provider company billing and program misuse, a vulnerability of paper-based taxi subsidy programs. Accessible Vehicles There is no regulatory requirement for the sedan companies to have accessible vehicles, and the four companies participating in Washington County's voucher program have none.
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52 voucher program. At the same time, the county transit staff would like to see improvements to the condition and appearance of the sedan companies' vehicles and increased vehicle inspections.
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53 That county established a regulation requiring each taxi company with 25 or more vehicles to include 4% of the fleet as accessible taxis. Over the years, as Arlington County has issued new certificates identified for accessible vehicles, Red Top has added to its accessible vehicle total.
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54 agencies, with an emphasis on the transit agencies' policies and procedures. Supplemental training is required if policies and procedures change.
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55 than previously, most likely the result of TNCs. The company also reports that its call volume is down about 15%.
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56 service, and Luxor participated with its sedans. Over the years, the transit agency expanded its use of taxis and, once accessible taxi vehicles were available, SFMTA used San Francisco's taxi industry to provide a same-day service to individuals who are eligible for the transit agency's ADA paratransit service.
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57 The company has lost more than one-third of its taxi drivers to TNCs: 400 to 500 from an initial roster of 1,300. Some of the taxi drivers began by using a TNC-provided device while driving their taxi.
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58 – Will payment be provided for passenger no-shows? – If questionable trips in an invoice submitted by the taxi company are found, consider delaying payment only for those questionable trips, not for the entire invoice.
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