MCTA works on improving Shared Ride program

The Monroe County Transportation Authority is looking into complaints from a Chestnuthill resident about wait times and missed pickups.

Michael Vianello of Brodheadsville relies on the Shared Ride program, along with many other senior citizens in Monroe County.

Vianello wrote to the agency, the commissioners and the Times News.

“Please tell the Pocono Pony people you want them to immediately stop the horrors complained of in the April 2018 Times News article, and similar horrors,” he wrote.

Vianello has also been in contact with MCTA Executive Director Peggy Howarth, who has taken his complaints and that of other riders seriously.

“I can tell you I personally spoke with the gentleman, and did some initial verification of facts, and I learned a few things,” Howarth said.

Howarth said she communicated her findings with Vianello and made a few suggestions to make things easier for him in the short term.

“Two suggestions were: a) possibly changing his appointment time to a less busy time of day, such as the morning hours, or b) adjusting his pickup time home to 30 minutes later,” she said.

Howarth explained that Shared Ride services are based on “grouped riders” which changes from time to time and remains a challenge for the individual riders.

She said that most of the issues arise for riders with appointments, as shoppers using the service are more flexible.

“We all need to be flexible,” Howarth said.

“We encounter issues where doctors’ appointments run later than expected, shoppers get tied up in a store, accidents tie up roadways, and the list is really endless. These are just some of the reasons,” she said.

“That said, I think there is always room for improvement too, so we began reviewing our services,” Howarth added.

First Howarth looked at Vianello’s use specifically from Jan. 1 to Aug. 31. A review of all of Vianello’s trips yielded that he arrived at the appointed time 89.3 percent of the time and that his return trips were on time 37.3 percent of the time.

This is consistent with Vianello’s complaints, which were mainly related to pickup and return from appointments.

Howarth added that the majority of Vianello’s return trips were within 60 minutes, and that 30 minutes is the on-time window.

Findings

Howarth conducted two meetings after researching Vianello’s ride history.

“The first was with key staff members: our Shared Ride manager, programs enrollment specialist, our executive office analyst, and myself,” she said. “The purpose was to revisit current standards in our Shared Ride program and review our current performance.”

The group’s findings were that from July 1, 2017, to July 1, 2018, there were 84,998 Shared Ride trips.

This does not include the 6.9 percent “no-show” rate. The average “on-time performance” or OTP was 83.5 percent.

That number dropped to 76.5 percent for July 1 to Sept. 30.

Howarth said that road construction during the summer is a leading contributor.

There is also additional tourism traffic in the summers and the continuing ongoing issues that arise with doctors’ appointments.

Howarth said that many of the program’s riders visit one of the several dialysis facilities in the area.

“Bleeds are not uncommon for patients on dialysis,” she said. “The patient has to stay to make sure they are safe to travel home. We wait, and that means we will be late for the next pickup. But these people are counting on us.”

The second meeting Howarth set was specifically to respond to Vianello’s concerns. This group consisted of three of the MCTA’s board members and three MCTA staff members.

As a result of the second meeting, the MCTA is preparing a flier for new applicants to make sure that the users of the program understand what the Shared Ride program is and what it is not.

The flier, titled “Is Shared Ride for Me?” will explain the best ways of using the service and what to expect, and more importantly, what the service is not, such as a taxi service, same-day service or an ambulance service.

Howarth reached out to the Monroe County Planning Commission to get a handle on road construction projects affecting the area roads.

“On any given day our Shared Ride vehicles log about 200 miles,” Howarth said.

“Of course with increased construction, it takes longer to get 7,200 people to/from places they need to go.”

Howarth said state and municipal projects are taking place throughout the area.

The group also decided to hire an additional dispatcher primarily for Fixed Route services and is looking at revisiting job descriptions and rearranging staff to help being more responsive to afternoon return trips.

“We have taken the comments of a dissatisfied rider, and tried to use those comments as a means to revisit how we can improve services,” Howarth said.

“It is a good program, but with growth comes challenges, and, I think a little change to keep our performance up to a higher standard. I hope this rider and others benefit from our efforts.”

To get better acquainted with the service, Howarth took the new drivers course and then spent about a week driving the route.

“As the director of a public service, we’re always looking for balance,” she said.

“Serving the needs of the many while trying to ensure the individual is served timely and with dignity.”