Regional Transit System

**Gainesville, FL**

Assessment

of

ADA Complementary Paratransit Service

Capacity Constraints

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December 10-13, 2001

*Summary of Observations*

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**Prepared for**

**Federal Transit Administration**

**Office of Civil Rights**

**Washington, DC**

**Prepared by**

**Planners Collaborative, Inc.**

**with**

**Multisystems, Inc.**

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**Final Report: July 9, 2002**

**[CONTENTS]{.mark}**

#  {#section .unnumbered}

[I. Purpose of the Assessment 1](#purpose-of-the-assessment)

[II. Overview of the Assessment 3](#overview-of-the-assessment)

[III. Background 7](#background)

[IV. Summary of Findings 11](#summary-of-findings)

[V. Observations Regarding ADA Complementary Paratransit Eligibility &
Other Service Access Issues
16](#observations-regarding-ada-complementary-paratransit-eligibility-other-service-access-issues)

[VI. Observations Regarding Telephone Capacity & Trip Reservations
22](#observations-regarding-telephone-capacity-trip-reservations)

[VII. Observations Regarding Scheduling of Trip Requests
27](#observations-regarding-scheduling-of-trip-requests)

[VIII. Observations Regarding Service Provision
31](#observations-regarding-service-provision)

[A. Analysis of On-Time Performance
38](#analysis-of-on-time-performance)

[B. Analysis of Trip Length 44](#analysis-of-trip-length)

[IX. Resources 48](#resources)

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*Attachment A* Response from RTS

*Attachment B* On-Site Assessment Schedule

*Attachment C* *Enjoy the Ride: ADA Complementary Paratransit Service
Guide (Fall 2001)*

*Attachment D* *ATC Riders Guide: Alachua and Levy Counties*

*Attachment E* Medical Certification Form for ADA Complementary
Paratransit Service

*Attachment F* Application for ADA Complementary Paratransit Service

*Attachment G* Acceptance Letter

*Attachment H* Sample ID Card

*Attachment I* Denial Letter

*Attachment J* Sample "Quick Schedule Report"

*Attachment K* On-Time Performance of ATC Carriers: November 2001

# Purpose of the Assessment

Public entities that operate fixed route transportation services for the
general public are required by the U.S. Department of Transportation
(USDOT) regulations implementing the Americans with Disabilities Act of
1990 (ADA) to provide ADA Complementary Paratransit service for persons
who, because of their disability, are unable to use the fixed route
system. These regulations (49 CFR Parts 27, 37, and 38) include six
service criteria, which must be met by ADA Complementary Paratransit
service programs. Section 37.135(d) of the regulations requires that ADA
Complementary Paratransit services meet these criteria by January 26,
1997.

The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) is responsible for ensuring
compliance with the ADA and the USDOT regulations. As part of its
compliance efforts, FTA, through its Office of Civil Rights, conducts
periodic assessments of fixed route transit and ADA Complementary
Paratransit services operated by grantees.

The purpose of the assessment is to assist the transit agency and FTA in
assessing whether capacity constraints exist in ADA Complementary
Paratransit services. The compliance assessment examines service
standards and policies related to issues of capacity constraints such as
telephone hold times, trip denials, on-time performance, on-board travel
time, and any other trip-limiting factors. The assessment considers
whether there are patterns or practices of a significant number of trip
limits; trip denials; early or late pickups or arrivals after desired
arrival (or appointment) times; long trips; or long telephone hold times
as defined by established standards (or typical practices if standards
do not exist). The examination of patterns or practices includes looking
not just at service statistics, but also at basic service records and
operating documents, and observing service to determine whether records
and documents appear to reflect true levels of service delivery. Input
also is gathered from local disability organizations and customers.
Guidance is provided that will assist the transit service provider in
ensuring that service can be effectively monitored by transit agencies
for capacity constraints.

An on-site assessment of ADA Complementary Paratransit service provided
by the Regional Transit System (RTS) of Gainesville, Florida was
conducted from December 10-13, 2001. Planners Collaborative, Inc.,
located in Boston, Massachusetts conducted the compliance assessment for
the FTA Office of Civil Rights. The assessment focused on compliance of
RTS's ADA Complementary Paratransit service, with one specific
regulatory service criterion: the "capacity constraints" criterion.
Section 37.131(f) of the DOT ADA regulations requires that ADA
Complementary Paratransit services be operated without capacity
constraints.

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This report summarizes the observations and findings of the on-site
assessment of RTS's ADA Complementary Paratransit service. First, a
description of key features of the ADA Complementary Paratransit service
is provided. Then, a description of the approach and methodology used to
conduct the assessment is provided. Observations and findings related to
each element of the capacity constraint criteria are then summarized.
The major findings of the assessment are summarized in Section IV of
this report. Recommendations for addressing some of the findings are
also provided.

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RTS was provided with a draft copy of the report for review and
response. A copy of the correspondence received from RTS documenting the
agency's response to the draft report is included as Attachment A.

# Overview of the Assessment

This assessment focused on compliance with the ADA Complementary
Paratransit capacity constraints requirements of the DOT ADA
regulations. These regulations identify several possible types of
capacity constraints. These include "wait-listing" trips, having caps on
the number of trips provided, or recurring patterns or practices that
result in a significant number of trip denials, untimely pickups, or
excessively long trips. Capacity constraints also include other
operating policies or practices that tend to significantly limit the
amount of service to persons who are ADA Complementary Paratransit
eligible.

To assess each of these potential types of capacity constraints, the
assessment focused on observations and findings regarding:

-   Trip denials and "wait-listing" of trips

-   On-time performance

-   Travel times

The assessment team also made observations and findings related to two
other sets of policies and practices that could affect access to ADA
Complementary Paratransit service:

-   ADA Complementary Paratransit service eligibility process

-   Telephone capacity

ADA Complementary Paratransit eligibility determinations were assessed
to ensure that the system use was not impacted by inappropriate denials
of eligibility for the service or unreasonable delays in the eligibility
process. Telephone capacity was assessed because access to reservations
and customer service staff is critical to using any ADA Complementary
Paratransit service.

**Pre-assessment**

The assessment first involved the collection and review of key service
information prior to the on-site visit. This information included:

-   A brief description of the administrative structure of the ADA
    Complementary Paratransit service.

-   Copies of the contracts between the paratransit broker and the four
    primary carriers.

-   *Operational Procedures and Safety Manual*, manual for vehicle
    drivers prepared by ATC, the paratransit broker.

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-   *Enjoy the Ride: RTS Complementary Paratransit Service Guide* (fall
    2001), a booklet for RTS ADA Complementary Paratransit service
    riders.

-   *ATC Riders Guide: Alachua and Levy Counties*, pamphlet for riders
    describing all paratransit services provided by ATC.

-   Summary of service standards and telephone call-handling standards.

-   List of current subcontractor carriers.

-   Sample driver manifests.

-   Data on trips and trip denials for fiscal years 1999, 2000, and
    2001.

-   Budget data for fiscal years 2000, 2001, and 2002.

-   System map for RTS fixed route bus service.

The assessment team also requested that additional information be
available during the site visit. This information included:

-   Completed applications, both accepted and denied, for ADA
    Complementary Paratransit and non-ADA paratransit service.

-   Copies of completed driver manifests for recent months.

-   Vehicle fleet and driver information.

-   Sample forms used by carriers in their daily operations.

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-   Service data from selected sample days and months, including the
    number of trips requested, scheduled, canceled, no-shows, missed
    trips, trips provided, and trip durations.

-   Written customer complaints.

In addition to the review of data and direct observations, the
assessment team conducted telephone interviews with three individuals
who use the ADA Complementary Paratransit service. The assessment team
also reviewed four complaints relating to ADA Complementary Paratransit
service on file with FTA.

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**On-site Assessment**

The on-site assessment began with an opening conference, held at 1:00
p.m. on Monday,

December 10, 2001, at RTS administrative offices at 100 SE 10th Avenue
in Gainesville. The following RTS staff and City of Gainesville staff
attended the conference:

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> Jeffrey Logan Transit Director, RTS
>
> Staci Graff ADA Coordinator, RTS
>
> Nancy Pollard Accounting, City of Gainesville
>
> Dan Smierciak Accounting, City of Gainesville
>
> Shenley Neely RTS

Don Kidston, Brain Barber, and David Chia of Planners Collaborative
comprised the assessment team. Cheryl Hershey, Roberta Wolgast, and
Mary-Elizabeth Peters of the Office of Civil Rights participated in the
opening conference via telephone. Joyce O'Brien of ATC also attended the
opening conference.

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Ms. Hershey opened the meeting by emphasizing that the purpose of the
ADA compliance assessments is to help transit properties provide
effective ADA Complementary Paratransit service.

She also thanked RTS and ATC staff for their cooperation in the conduct
of the assessment.

Ms. Hershey explained that:

-   Preliminary findings and an opportunity to respond would be provided
    at a closing meeting on Thursday.

-   A report would be drafted and provided to RTS for review and comment
    before being finalized as a public document. The final report would
    be available via the Freedom of Information Act.

Mr. Chia described the schedule for the on-site assessment and the
subsequent report. A copy of the assessment schedule appears in
Attachment B. RTS and ATC indicated that they were willing to provide
any information and assistance to the assessment team.

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At the Opening Conference, Mr. Logan and Ms. Graff discussed the changes
in the management and operation of RTS's ADA Complementary Paratransit
service since March 2000. The North Central Florida Center for
Independent Living (CIL) filed a complaint with FTA against RTS in June
1999. Mr. Logan became transit director in March 2000, and Ms. Graf
joined RTS in February 2001. ATC became the broker for RTS's ADA
Complementary Paratransit service in October 2000. Ms. Graff then
provided an overview of the eligibility process for ADA Complementary
Paratransit service, the call taking and trip reservation process, and
trip scheduling and carrier operations.

Following the Opening Conference, the assessment team traveled to the
ATC office in Gainesville. ATC provided office space for the assessment
team during the on-site visit. Two of the assessment team members
observed ATC call takers. The other team member discussed trip
scheduling with ATC's scheduler.

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On Tuesday morning, December 11, the assessment team members again
observed ATC call takers. Team members also met with the City of
Gainesville accounting staff to talk about the RTS budgeting process and
a worker for the Center of Independent Living who works with RTS on
rider certification. In the afternoon, team members received additional
data from RTS and ATC. This allowed them to begin analysis for on-time
and trip duration, service days and hours and service area, telephone
system capacity and rider complaints.

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On Wednesday morning, December 12, team members visited three of the
contract carriers: Unimet, CTS, and Professional. During these visits,
team members interviewed managers, dispatchers, and drivers, and
collected information about the carriers' vehicles. In the afternoon, a
team member visited Metro, the fourth primary carrier. Team members also
continued their data analysis.

On Thursday, December 13, one team member talked again with the ATC
scheduler. Team members then completed its on-site analysis and prepared
for the afternoon exit conference. Prior to the exit conference, team
members met with the ADA Coordinator to preview their findings. During
the exit conference, the assessment team presented preliminary findings,
and discussed these findings and recommendations with RTS and ATC staff.
RTS and ATC staff who attended the exit meeting included:

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> Jeffrey Logan Transit Director, RTS
>
> Staci Graff ADA Coordinator, RTS
>
> Penny Fennell General Manager, ATC

Cheryl Hershey, Roberta Wolgast, and Mary-Elizabeth Peters of the Office
of Civil Rights participated in the exit conference via telephone.

The assessment team reviewed initial findings in the areas of:

-   Customer complaints

-   Service eligibility

-   Trip reservations and scheduling

-   On-time performance

-   Trip duration

-   Resources

Ms. Hershey emphasized that FTA was available to provide additional
technical assistance to RTS.

# Background

The Regional Transit System (RTS) provides fixed route bus service and
ADA Complementary Paratransit service for the City of Gainesville. The
city directly operates the fixed route bus service with its own staff
and vehicles. RTS contracts for its ADA Complementary Paratransit
service. It uses a broker, which in turn contracts with private carriers
to provide the service.

The City of Gainesville has an area of 35 square miles and a population
of 95,447 (2000 US Census). Twelve of the 18 fixed routes extend beyond
the city limits. According to RTS, its service area covers 72 square
miles and has a population of about one hundred thousand.

The fixed route fleet consists of more than 60 buses. Currently, there
are 18 city bus routes that run Monday to Friday; all but two routes
also run on Saturday. On weekdays, routes begin service between 5:45
a.m. and 7:00 a.m. The latest drop-off is scheduled for 11:10 p.m. On
Saturday, routes start to operate between 6:30 a.m. and 7:00 a.m., with
some service extending to 7:30 p.m. RTS also operates eight weekday
"Campus" routes that predominantly serve the University of Florida
campus, but are open to the general public. In addition, RTS operates
three "Later Gator" routes that run till 3:00 a.m. on Thursday, Friday,
and Saturday nights.

In fiscal year 2001 (ending September 30, 2001), RTS fixed route buses
provided over 6.3 million passenger trips, averaging over 30,000
passenger trips per weekday. Ridership has tripled since FY1997, with
University of Florida students and staff comprising a majority of the
riders. Through a financial partnership with the university, staff and
students do not pay a fare to ride. Section V of this report includes
more information about the fixed route bus service.

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**Description of the ADA Complementary Paratransit Service**

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RTS provides ADA Complementary Paratransit service through a contract
with a service broker, ATC. ATC has its local office at 901 NW 8th
Avenue, Suite B1, Gainesville. ATC is the Community Transportation
Coordinator for Alachua County (which includes Gainesville) and Levy
County. It has contracts with a number of funding sources to provide
paratransit service, including Medicaid and the Florida Transportation
Disadvantaged (TD) program. The state funds the TD program. Those
eligible to use the TD program include individuals with disabilities,
senior citizens, and low-income residents. Many TD riders in Gainesville
who are disabled have made greater use of ADA Complementary Paratransit
service in recent years -- in part because of its greater flexibility
(service area and times, no trip purpose limitations, and reservation
window).

ATC operates a call center to take trip requests and other rider calls;
schedules the trips and develops vehicle runs; contracts with carriers
to deliver the service; and oversees the quality of the carriers'
service. RTS has used ATC for its ADA Complementary Paratransit service
since October 2000.

Of the nine carriers under contract to ATC, four provide nearly all of
the ADA Complementary Paratransit service. All are local companies.
Table III.1 lists these four carriers.

**Table III.1 -- Contract Carriers for RTS ADA Complementary Paratransit
Service**

+----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+
| **CTS**                          | 3711 SW 42nd Avenue, Suite 4      |
|                                  |                                   |
|                                  | Gainesville, Fl 32608             |
+----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+
| **Metro**                        | 4308-A NW 13th Street             |
|                                  |                                   |
|                                  | Gainesville, FL 32605             |
+----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+
| **Professional**                 | 4251 SW 42nd Avenue, Suite 11A    |
|                                  |                                   |
|                                  | Gainesville, FL 32608             |
+----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+
| **Unimet**                       | 4251 SW 13th Street, Suite 4      |
|                                  |                                   |
|                                  | Gainesville, FL 32608             |
+----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+

RTS provides four small buses to ATC. Otherwise, ATC provides its own
office space, staff, and telephone and computer equipment. RTS pays ATC
for each delivered ADA Complementary Paratransit trip. The rate in
FY2002 is \$21.40 per one-way passenger trip.

RTS contracts with the CIL to conduct eligibility certification for ADA
Complementary Paratransit service.

ADA Complementary Paratransit service is available on weekdays from 6
a.m. to 8:30 p.m., with additional service in limited areas till 11:00
p.m. On Saturday, service is available from 6 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. In
addition, ADA Complementary Paratransit service is available to match
the Later Gator fixed route service until 3 a.m. on Thursday, Friday,
and Saturday nights. The fare for a one-way trip is \$2.00, twice the
fare of the fixed route. Personal care attendants ride for free.
Companions pay the \$2.00 fare.

Trips can be reserved from one to 14 days in advance of the travel day.
ATC accepts reservations over the phone Sunday to Friday from 8 a.m. to
5 p.m. RTS policy does not allow for same-day requests for ADA
Complementary Paratransit service; however, ATC may provide these trips
if its carriers can accommodate them.

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Attachment C includes *Enjoy the Ride: ADA Complementary Paratransit
Service Guide (Fall 2001)*. This booklet explains the RTS services for
persons with disabilities, both fixed route and paratransit. Attachment
D includes *ATC Riders Guide: Alachua and Levy Counties*. This flyer
summarizes the services and policies for all paratransit brokered by ATC
in the two counties.

ADA Complementary Paratransit ridership has increased significantly in
recent years. In FY1999, RTS provided 7,564 passenger trips. In FY2000,
ridership was 22,019. In FY2001, ridership was 37,263. Ridership over
two years increased by nearly five times. In October 2001, there were
1,211 individuals registered for ADA Complementary Paratransit service,
four times the number of registrants compared to two years earlier. RTS
staff believes that the increase in ridership and registered users is
due to the shift of riders from the TD program.

**Policies and Service Standards Related to Capacity Issues**

RTS has established service standards for telephone capacity, trip
denials, on-time performance, missed trips, travel time, safety, and
consumer complaints. The service standards are described below.

-   ***Telephone Capacity***: The RTS standard for the trip reservation
    line is that the hold time shall not exceed 2-1/2 minutes for at
    least 90 percent of calls. The standard for the customer service
    line is that hold time shall not exceed 3-1/2 minutes for at least
    90 percent of calls.

-   ***Trip Denials***: The RTS standard is that denials are allowed
    only for same-day requests. No other trip requests for eligible
    service can be denied. In addition, RTS has a standard that "ATC
    will provide 95 percent of all trips during the appropriate
    timeframe." The "appropriate timeframe" refers to trip requests that
    ATC cannot schedule within one hour of the requested time.

-   ***On-Time Performance***: RTS has separate standards for pickup and
    drop-off times. For pickups, 90 percent of all passengers are to be
    picked up between 15 minutes before and 15 minutes after the agreed
    upon time. For drop-offs, 90 percent of all passengers are to be
    dropped off between 30 and 0 minutes before the agreed upon time.

-   ***Rider No-shows***: The RTS standard is "ATC will have a 90
    percent success rate for trip completion," i.e., less than 10
    percent no-shows.

-   ***Travel Time***: The RTS standard is that no one-way trip shall
    exceed one hour. There is no travel time standard relative to the
    travel time via fixed route service.

-   ***Safety***: The RTS standard is fewer than 1.4 accidents per
    100,000 vehicle miles.

-   ***Complaints***: Most complaints via telephone are received by ATC.
    RTS compiles all complaints (and compliments) in writing and by
    telephone to ATC and its own office. The RTS standard for complaints
    is fewer than three per 1,000 trips. In addition, RTS's standard for
    timeliness of complaint resolution is that all "complaints are to be
    dealt with in a one-week time period."

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-   ***Productivity***: RTS has a goal for vehicle productivity of at
    least 2.0 passenger trips per vehicle hour.

**Consumer Comments**

The assessment team gathered information about the concerns of riders
who use RTS's ADA Complementary Paratransit service through three
sources: telephone interviews with riders; written complaints to FTA;
and written and telephone complaints to RTS and ATC.

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The assessment team conducted interviews with three individuals who use
RTS's ADA Complementary Paratransit service. These individuals were
referred to the assessment team through the RTS Community Advisory Board
(CAB).

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Since 1999, FTA has received four complaints concerning RTS's ADA
Complementary Paratransit service. One complaint, filed by the CIL in
June 1999, raises a number of issues, including the following:

-   RTS does not have an accurate sense of ADA Complementary Paratransit
    service demand.

-   "Response time should be improved," i.e., passenger's pickups and
    drop-offs were often late.

-   The lateness may indicate capacity constraints.

-   Hours and days of service are not comparable to fixed route.

-   There is a need for greater public participation and rider outreach
    in planning service.

-   The reservations process needs improvement.

-   Trip allocation (among providers) and scheduling need improvement.

The issues in three other RTS complaints in the FTA files related to ADA
Complementary Paratransit service are included in the June 1999
complaint.

For the period covering April to October 2001, RTS has 100 complaints on
file concerning its ADA Complementary Paratransit service. The files
include a description of the complaint and how RTS responded to the
complaint. The assessment team also reviewed complaints from an earlier
period, December 1998 to July 2000.

# Summary of Findings

The following summarizes the findings drawn from the assessment. The
bases for these findings are addressed in the following sections of this
report. The findings should be used as the basis for any corrective
actions proposed by RTS. Recommendations are also included in the report
for the consideration of RTS in developing corrective actions.

**Findings Regarding ADA Complementary Paratransit Eligibility**

1.  Based on a review of a 10-percent sample of applications (146) for
    ADA Complementary Paratransit service received by RTS since 1997, 35
    percent took more than 21 days for RTS to process. According to the
    CIL, which has a contract to process the applications for RTS, most
    of the late application processing is due to the time waiting for
    receiving the applicant's complete medical certification of
    disability. Recently, RTS changed its practice to start the 21-day
    period when the CIL has received all application materials.

2.  RTS's ADA Coordinator said that she hears and processes the appeals.
    She is the same person who makes the initial determination about
    eligibility. The ADA regulations (49 CFR §37.125(g)(2)) require that
    the same person cannot make the initial eligibility decision and
    also hear the appeal.

3.  RTS has a policy for suspending riders for no-shows, but has not yet
    enforced this policy.

**Findings Regarding Other Service Access Issues**

1.  RTS includes the entire City of Gainesville in daytime service area
    for ADA Complementary Paratransit service. It defines precise
    service area boundaries for its more limited service area after 8:30
    p.m. It also defines precise service area boundaries for addresses
    outside Gainesville. This policy meets the requirement of 49 CFR
    §37.131(a). However, the ATC call takers do not appear to know the
    precise service boundaries when they are taking trip requests.

2.  RTS's policy is to provide ADA Complementary Paratransit service
    during all hours that it operates fixed route service. However,
    there are fixed routes that run outside of the stated 6 a.m. to 11
    p.m. service hours. In addition, written instructions to ATC call
    takers state that there should be no pickups before 6:30 a.m.

3.  RTS uses its own drivers and vehicles for ADA Complementary
    Paratransit service after 8:30 p.m. RTS has not informed riders that
    they must contact RTS directly to reserve trips after 8:30 p.m.

**Findings Regarding Telephone Capacity & Trip Reservations**

1.  ATC takes trip reservations for ADA Complementary Paratransit
    service during normal business hours every day except Saturday. It
    accepts trip requests from one to 14 days in advance.

2.  The distribution of calls during weekdays is relatively even, by
    hour of day, and by day of week. Telephone hold times for trip
    reservations seem to meet the RTS standard, except on Sundays when
    one ATC staff member is taking calls while also preparing the Monday
    vehicle schedules. Riders have complained about long hold times when
    making trip requests, particularly on Sundays.

3.  Call takers do not deny trips to riders due to capacity constraints.

4.  Call takers are inconsistent in following ATC's procedures for
    accepting trip requests and communicating with the rider. Of key
    concern was that they provide precise times rather than windows for
    pickup and drop-off times; change the pickup window for return legs
    without informing the rider; and sometimes ask the riders to call
    back to confirm trip times.

5.  Most riders do not seem to understand the idea of pickup and
    drop-off windows for their scheduled trips.

**Findings Regarding Scheduling**

1.  As of December 2001, ATC was scheduling 800 to 850 passenger trips
    per weekday. ADA Complementary Paratransit trips comprised about 150
    of these trips.

2.  About 35 percent of weekday trips are pre-assigned to vehicle runs.
    The ATC scheduler assigns 40 to 45 percent manually. The balance of
    the trips are scheduled using the scheduling software.

3.  Since early 2001, vehicle productivity has increased from 1.4 to 1.7
    passenger trips per vehicle hour.

4.  The last step of the scheduling process in which the scheduler
    instructs the software to insert the unassigned trips (generally
    five percent, or 40) "in the best place possible" has led to
    illogical vehicle routes and overly tight schedules.

**Findings Regarding Dispatch and Operations**

1.  Early or late pickups are the single biggest source of ADA
    Complementary Paratransit service rider complaints to RTS; from
    April to October 2001, they comprised 38 percent of all complaints.

2.  During the morning, the two most common reasons for a customer
    service call were to confirm a pickup time for a trip requested
    later in the day, and to make a late trip cancellation.

3.  During the afternoon, the most common reason for a customer service
    call was to ask, "Where's my ride?" The other common reason was to
    ask for a will-call pickup.

4.  All of the carriers visited had concerns about the vehicle schedules
    prepared by ATC. They all cited overly tight runs, increasingly so
    over the second half of 2001. Some mentioned "illogical" trips with
    two pickups at the same time. They believe that the large proportion
    of afternoon will-calls contributes to the poor schedules.

5.  Drivers understand the pickup windows built into the vehicle
    schedules. Drivers also understand the procedures for waiting for
    riders and getting approval from dispatchers before declaring a
    rider no-show.

**Findings Regarding On-Time Performance**

1.  ATC picked-up 90.6 percent of passengers on time or early, based
    upon a 100 percent sample of trips for November 2001. From this same
    sample, ATC served 79.8 percent of completed trips within the
    half-hour pickup window of 15 minutes before to 15 minutes after the
    pickup time given to the rider. ATC also dropped off 81.0 percent of
    passengers on time or early and served 64.3 percent of completed
    trips within the drop-off window of 30 minutes before and up to the
    time given to the rider.

2.  On-time performance by Metro, a new service provider, lagged behind
    the other service providers with 82.9 percent of pickups early or on
    time and 75.3 percent of drop-offs early or on time.

3.  ATC schedules trips to meet either rider appointment times or
    requested pickup times, in contrast with most ADA Complementary
    Paratransit service providers that schedule only requested pickup
    times. The ATC practice of scheduling to appointment or pickups
    should result in a higher level of service to riders than scheduling
    only to pickup times.

4.  ATC pickup and drop-off windows are not consistently employed or
    communicated to operators and riders. The windows are not presented
    in the *Paratransit Service Guide*. Pickup times requested by riders
    for return trips are sometimes altered by call takers when they are
    entered into the computer. Call takers do not give riders clear,
    consistent indications of when they should expect to be picked up.
    Some operators did not understand the pickup windows. Manifests do
    not clearly indicate the pickup window expected by the rider. The
    lack of consistent use of the ATC pickup and drop-off windows and
    clear communication of the windows to riders and operators can
    result in misunderstanding by riders as to whether service is on
    time.

5.  When schedulers change scheduled trip times outside of the pickup
    window expected by the rider but within one hour before or after the
    riders requested pickup time, ATC does not notify the rider of the
    change. The rider is expected to call ATC on the day of travel to
    confirm his or her scheduled time. This expectation may be
    considered an undue burden on the rider. If riders fail to call,
    this practice can result in riders being picked up much earlier or
    later than expected, driver delays, missed trips by riders and
    confusion between the rider and operator as to pickup time. If all
    riders call to confirm pickup times, telephone lines and call takers
    can be occupied by many unnecessary calls. Potential for confusion
    and the amount of communication could be reduced by ATC assuming
    responsibility for rider notification of schedule changes.

6.  ATC measures a small sample of trips for Quality Assurance
    reporting, although ATC data permits a 100 percent sample of trips
    as presented in this report. In addition, the Quality Assurance
    Report uses different time parameters for measuring on-time
    performance compared to RTS's standards.

**Findings Regarding Trip Length**

1.  Based on ATC's own analysis, the average time of an ADA
    Complementary Paratransit service trip is 24 minutes.

2.  Based on an analysis of all ADA Complementary Paratransit service
    provided during November 2001, 6.2 percent of trips exceed the
    one-hour travel time standard established by RTS. Among the four
    major carriers, the proportion of trips that exceeded one hour
    ranged from 3.9 percent (Unimet) to 7.3 percent (CTS).

3.  The mean travel time for the November 2001 trips was 31 minutes.

4.  Based on a sample from ATC data of 21 lengthy trips, 8 would have
    had a travel time of at least 30 minutes longer than a comparable
    trip on fixed route services. Five other trips from this sample
    would have had a shorter travel time than a comparable fixed route
    trip.

**Findings Regarding Resources**

1.  Call taker staffing appears to be adequate, with the exception of
    Sundays, when data indicated long telephone hold times for
    reservations.

2.  It appears that an additional staff person to assist with scheduling
    could result in more efficient schedules.

3.  With the exception of Metro, the number of drivers employed by each
    carrier appears adequate to cover service requirements.

4.  With the possible exception of Professional, the vehicle fleets of
    each of the carriers appear to be adequate to cover assigned runs.
    Professional's one spare vehicle to cover for vehicles in regular
    maintenance or disabled vehicles could result in service delays in
    the event of unanticipated equipment problems.

5.  Among the operators, there appears to be limited driver and/or
    equipment capacity to provide additional service to accommodate
    spikes in demand or growth in demand.

6.  The number of wheelchair accessible vehicles limits flexibility in
    scheduling, possibly leading to less efficient service.

7.  The FY2002 budget developed by RTS staff for ADA Complementary
    Paratransit service appears to adequately address service demand.
    However, the FY2002 ADA Complementary Paratransit budget included in
    the RTS budget request is lower than the staff estimate. RTS can
    draw from its City Fund to pay for the cost of required services in
    excess of its annual budget, but the lower budget request could
    result in avoidable budget pressures as the fiscal year progresses

8.  RTS has an annual contract with the Community Transit Coordinator
    (CTC) that is separate and on a different schedule from CTC's
    contracts with other client organizations. This arrangement can be
    disadvantageous to RTS in negotiating with the CTC. A coordinated
    procurement coterminous with the CTC's other clients should provide
    the clients a stronger negotiating position.

9.  The City Commission appears to be supportive of RTS funding, as
    reflected by approval of budget increases of recent years.

# Observations Regarding ADA Complementary Paratransit Eligibility & Other Service Access Issues 

The assessment team reviewed the process that RTS uses to determine ADA
Complementary Paratransit eligibility to be sure that RTS, together with
the CIL, is making determinations in a way that accurately reflects the
functional ability of applicants. The assessment team also reviewed the
timeliness of processing requests for eligibility. The assessment team
performed the following activities:

-   Interviews with riders to gain their views about the eligibility
    determination process.

-   Interview with the CIL staff who handles the application process.

-   A review of application materials to develop an understanding of the
    handling and review of applications.

-   An examination of records for 146 applications, and a calculation of
    the processing time for each.

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-   Other service access issues were reviewed including:

    -   Service area

    -   Service days and hours

**Consumer Comments**

During the telephone interviews with ADA Complementary Paratransit
service customers, one had a comment related to the eligibility process.
RTS started to re-certify riders in 2001. A customer complained that RTS
had not publicized the need for re-certification, and that it was hard
to schedule an appointment to get re-certified.

There were no other comments concerning the eligibility determination
process, or the days and hours or area of ADA Complementary Paratransit
service.

Eligibility Determination Procedures and Practices

[]{.mark}

As of October 2001, RTS had 1,211 customers registered for ADA
Complementary Paratransit service. This represents a 300 percent
increase in the eligibility rolls since 1999.

Since 1997, there have been 1,437 applicants for ADA Complementary
Paratransit service. Of these, 65 (4.5 percent) were denied eligibility.
RTS encourages these people to use fixed route bus services. RTS allows
any person who is certified to use ADA Complementary Paratransit service
to ride on its fixed route buses for free.

RTS contracts with the North Central Florida Center for Independent
Living (CIL) to process applications for eligibility. CIL receives \$30
per processed application. CIL makes a recommendation to RTS, and RTS
makes the final determination of eligibility.

[]{.mark}

The eligibility determination process consists of the following steps.

1.  Phone call from a potential applicant to CIL.

2.  CIL sends the *ADA Complementary Paratransit Service Guide* to the
    potential applicant, which includes instructions and eligibility
    requirements.

3.  Potential applicant calls CIL for an appointment to fill out an
    application and have an interview by CIL staff. An appointment is
    made. Transportation is arranged to the CIL office. Potential
    applicant is encouraged to arrange for a medical certification, and
    if at all possible, bring it to the appointment.

4.  CIL faxes a medical certification form (Attachment E) to the
    identified medical personnel if requested to. Otherwise the
    potential applicant arranges this. Potential applicants are strongly
    encouraged to obtain a medical certificate from the specialist who
    has been treating them for their disability.

5.  Applicant comes to CIL office for an interview and to have an
    application (Attachment F) filled out by a CIL staff person. A
    digital picture for an ID card is also taken at this time.

6.  CIL files the application -- but does not consider it complete (to
    start the required 21-day completion period) until the medical
    certification is received.

7.  When the application is complete, CIL makes a recommendation about
    eligibility and sends the completed application to RTS, usually with
    a small batch of other completed and recommended applications.

8.  RTS reviews the applications and recommendations and make the final
    determination about eligibility. This process usually takes about
    three to four days.

9.  RTS sends the information about its decision back to CIL.

10. CIL sends a letter of acceptance or denial to applicant. Acceptance
    letters (Attachment G) are also accompanied by an identification
    card with the applicant's picture (Attachment H). Denial letters
    (Attachment I) contain the reasons for denial and information on the
    process for appealing the decision. Accepted applicants are eligible
    to use the complementary paratransit services the next day.

Eligibility, once approved, is for a three-year period. During 2001, the
CIL was processing applications at the rate of about 50 per month. Table
V.1 shows the number of completed applications by month in 2001. Data
for November are partial because not all applications were complete.

**Table V.1 -- Completed Applications by Month in 2001**

  ---------- ---------- ---------- ---------- --------- ---------- ---------- ---------- ----------- ---------- ---------- -----------
  **Jan.**   **Feb.**   **Mar.**   **Apr.**   **May**   **June**   **July**   **Aug.**   **Sept.**   **Oct.**   **Nov.**   **Total**

  45         47         40         61         68        39         30         35         55          88         32         **540**
  ---------- ---------- ---------- ---------- --------- ---------- ---------- ---------- ----------- ---------- ---------- -----------

RTS occasionally issues conditional eligibility. It is used only for
individuals who successfully appeal a denial of eligibility, or where
initial eligibility has expired and continued eligibility has not yet
been determined. RTS also issues temporary eligibility in cases of
temporary disabilities.

The denial letter provides instructions for the applicant to appeal the
decision. As part of the appeals process, "RTS will arrange for an
independent party to review your case." However, RTS's ADA Coordinator
said that she hears and processes the appeals. She is the same person
who makes the initial determination about eligibility. The ADA
regulations (49 CFR §37.125(g)(2)) require that the same person cannot
make initial eligibility decision and also hear the appeal. There have
been very few appeals (two during the first 10 months that the ADA
coordinator has been in position).

[]{.mark}

**Review of Application Processing Times**

The assessment team reviewed a 10-percent sample of the 1,437
applications to determine the time required to process applications.
This review shows that 35 percent of the applications took more than 21
days to process. Table V.2 presents the distribution of processing times
for the sample of applications.

**Table V.2 -- Processing Time for ADA Complementary Paratransit
Service**

**Eligibility Certification**

  ------------------------------------------ ----------------------------
  **Processing Time (days)**                 **% of Sample**

  21 or fewer                                65.1

  22 to 26                                   17.1

  27 to 31                                   6.2

  32 to 41                                   7.5

  42 or more (maximum: 52)                   4.1
  ------------------------------------------ ----------------------------

According to the CIL, most of the late application processing was caused
by the delay in receiving the applicant's medical certification of
disability. Previously, RTS started to count the 21-day period when the
CIL filled out an application form for a potential applicant -- whether
or not it had received the completed medical certification form.
Recently, RTS changed its practice to start the 21-day period when the
CIL has all materials, including the medical certification form.

The DOT ADA regulations require that the transit property treat the
applicant as eligible for service and provide service if the transit
property has not made a determination within 21 days of receiving a
complete application (49 CFR §37.125(c)).

**Other Service Access Issues**

**ADA Complementary Paratransit Service Area**

The RTS policy for its ADA Complementary Paratransit service area
exceeds the requirements set forth in 49 CFR §37.131(a). The
*Complementary Paratransit Service Guide* states:

> *You must begin and end your travel within the RTS ADA service area.
> This area is within the Gainesville city limits or within 3/4-mile
> from fixed route service outside the city limits. Travel destinations
> outside this area are not eligible*. (page 3)

ATC call takers understand that users of ADA Complementary Paratransit
service do not have to live in the service area, just as long as their
pickup and drop-off addresses are within the service area. In addition,
ATC has created maps of Gainesville using an automated GIS that show the
precise boundaries for ADA Complementary Paratransit service -- both
daytime and evening.

However, it is not clear how the call takers know the precise service
boundaries when they are taking trip requests. They do not have copies
of the maps at their workstations, nor do they have a printed directory
that indicates whether a particular street address falls inside or
outside the ADA Complementary Paratransit service area. Neither does the
trip reservation software have a street directory that verifies the
pickup or drop-off addresses. A memo (dated August 1, 2001) from the
supervisor to the call takers states, "The boundaries are the
Gainesville city limits and 3/4-mile beyond. If in doubt consult the map
in the hall and/or ask me."

A member of the assessment team observed a subscription trip for which
the pickup address was outside the ADA Complementary Paratransit service
area, but was billed to RTS. In this case, the rider was certified as
ADA-eligible and had previously lived within the ADA Complementary
Paratransit service area. But the rider moved, and while he was still
eligible for the new trip through another funding source, no one had
checked the new home address to determine its eligibility for ADA
Complementary Paratransit service.

**Days and Hours of Service**

The DOT ADA regulations require that ADA Complementary Paratransit
service be available during the same hours and days as fixed route
service (49 CFR §37.131 (e)). As described in Section II, RTS fixed
route service generally operates from 6 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. on weekdays
and 6 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Saturday. But there are several notable
exceptions. Certain routes run till 11 p.m. on weekdays, and two
University of Florida routes run till midnight on weekdays. In addition,
Later Gator service runs till 3 a.m. three nights per week.

The ATC supervisor stated that call takers are trained to accept all
trip requests that fall within the evening service hours of the fixed
route. She said that there have been only a "handful" of requests for
ADA Complementary Paratransit service beyond 8:30 p.m. However, there
are some inconsistencies and gaps concerning service hours in other
written material, as well as in actual practices:

-   On RTS Bus Route No. 8, weekday service begins at 5:45 a.m.

-   On Route No. 35, weekday service runs till 11:10 p.m.

-   An August 1, 2001, memo from the ATC supervisor to the call takers
    states "that the ADA last pickups are 6:30 p.m., the earliest is
    6:30 a.m."

-   As noted previously in the discussion of service area, ATC has
    created maps of Gainesville using an automated GIS that show the
    precise boundaries for ADA Complementary Paratransit service in the
    evening (8:30 to 11 p.m.). However, it is not clear how the call
    takers know the precise evening service boundaries when they are
    taking trip requests.

-   There is no documentation concerning the area covered by ADA
    Complementary Paratransit service during the hours of Later Gator
    service.

In addition, ATC staff stated that RTS uses its own drivers and vehicles
to provide ADA Complementary Paratransit service for trips later than
8:30 p.m. RTS has not informed riders that they must contact RTS
directly to reserve trips after 8:30 p.m.

**Other Service Limits**

[]{.mark}

In its *ADA* *Complementary Paratransit Service Guide*, RTS sets forth a
policy for suspending service: "A rider may be suspended for 30 days
after two reported no-shows within a 60-day period. Riders will be
notified by certified mail prior to suspension of service" (page 10).
According to RTS's ADA Coordinator, RTS has not enforced this policy.

**Findings**

1.  Based on a review of a 10-percent sample of applications (146) for
    ADA Complementary Paratransit service received by RTS since 1997, 35
    percent took more than 21 days for RTS to process. According to the
    CIL, which has a contract to process the applications for RTS, most
    of the late application processing is due to the time waiting for
    receiving the applicant's complete medical certification of
    disability. Recently, RTS changed its practice to start the 21-day
    period when the CIL has received all application materials.

2.  RTS's ADA Coordinator said that she hears and processes the appeals.
    She is the same person who makes the initial determination about
    eligibility. The ADA regulations (49 CFR §37.125(g)(2)) require that
    the same person cannot make the initial eligibility decision and
    also hear the appeal.

3.  RTS has a policy for suspending riders for no-shows, but has not yet
    enforced this policy.

4.  RTS includes the entire City of Gainesville in daytime service area
    for ADA Complementary Paratransit service. It defines precise
    service area boundaries for its more limited service area after 8:30
    p.m. It also defines precise service area boundaries for addresses
    outside Gainesville. This policy meets the requirement of 49 CFR
    §37.131(a). However, the ATC call takers do not appear to know the
    precise service boundaries when they are taking trip requests.

5.  RTS's policy is to provide ADA Complementary Paratransit service
    during all hours that it operates fixed route service. However,
    there are fixed routes that run outside of the stated 6 a.m. to 11
    p.m. service hours. In addition, written instructions to ATC call
    takers state that there should be no pickups before 6:30 a.m.

6.  RTS uses its own drivers and vehicles for ADA Complementary
    Paratransit service after 8:30 p.m. RTS has not informed riders that
    they must contact RTS directly to reserve trips after 8:30 p.m.

**Recommendations**

1.  RTS should monitor the timeliness of the processing of the
    applications for eligibility for ADA Complementary Paratransit
    service, given its revised methodology of measuring the processing
    time. It can work with the Community Advisory Board to develop
    standards for processing time and include this activity within its
    Quality Assurance Program. In addition, RTS should consider
    preparing a stand-alone page to send to potential applicants that
    describes the eligibility requirements and certification process.

2.  RTS should revise its appeals process for eligibility determination
    so that the person involved in the initial decision does not also
    hear the appeal.

3.  Before RTS implements a suspension policy for no-show riders, it
    should establish an administrative process to ensure due process.

4.  If RTS maintains its policy for precise service boundaries for ADA
    Complementary Paratransit service during the evening and outside of
    Gainesville, it should work with ATC to develop a means for call
    takers to determine if an address is eligible for service when they
    are taking trip requests.

5.  RTS should make sure that its ADA Complementary Paratransit service
    is available the same day and hours as fixed route service. RTS
    should ensure that all information provided to the public is
    consistent with this policy. RTS should ensure that its staff and
    ATC staff know this policy.

6.  RTS should inform riders that they must contact RTS directly to make
    trip requests for trips that begin after 8:30 p.m.

# Observations Regarding Telephone Capacity & Trip Reservations

The purpose of the assessment team's review of the telephone system and
trip reservation process was to determine whether riders who use RTS's
ADA Complementary Paratransit service can effectively reach calltakers
and have their trip requests scheduled. Information reviewed and
observations made on telephone service and capacity and reservations
included:

-   Consumer interviews, review of complaints filed with FTA, and review
    of complaints filed with RTS.

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-   Review of RTS's policies and procedures for taking trip reservations
    for ADA Complementary Paratransit service.

-   Direct observations of calltaking practices in the reservations
    office.

**Consumer Comments**

The complaints on file with FTA did mention that the reservations
process needed improvement. They referred to telephone hold times, but
this issue was not emphasized in the June 1999 complaint.

All of the consumers interviewed had concerns about long hold times when
they called ATC to make trip reservations. One of the consumers said
that she had to wait as much as 10 minutes before talking to a call
taker; in the past, she said that her hold time could be 25 to 35
minutes. Another consumer who is also a member of the Community Advisory
Board and the Transportation Disadvantaged board said that long hold
times was a common complaint among riders of the ADA Complementary
Paratransit service. Another comment from a consumer interview was that
new call takers were slow in taking reservations.

Among the complaints collected by RTS, neither the trip reservation
process nor call takers were cited.

[]{.mark}

**Review of RTS Reservations Policies and Procedures**

[]{.mark}

As the broker for all paratransit service in Alachua and Levy Counties,
ATC accepts trip requests for ADA Complementary Paratransit service, as
well as for other types of service. For ADA Complementary Paratransit
service, riders may reserve trips every day except Saturday from 8 a.m.
to 5 p.m. (ATC stops taking trip requests for other services at 3 p.m.).
Reservations can be made between one and 14 days in advance. ATC
discourages same-day trip requests, but may accept them on a
space-available basis.

The telephone system at ATC has 18 lines with automatic call
distribution (ACD). Fifteen of the lines handle reservations and
customer services. The other three lines are for administrative and
staff calls. There are six phones and associated computer monitors in
the reservations room at ATC. All other phones can receive reservations
and customer service calls. There are normally four call takers on duty
from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays. Customer service calls may be
received from 7 a.m. when the receptionist is on duty. On Saturdays, one
call taker is on duty from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. On Sundays, the scheduler is
on duty and also takes reservations/customer service calls. For rider
calls at other times, ATC has voice mail that is checked the following
morning by the first staff member on duty.

[]{.mark}

Call takers use "Mobility Master," a proprietary ATC software
application, to accept and schedule trip requests. ATC has developed a
script that call takers are meant to follow to ensure completeness and
consistency in collecting trip request information. This script is the
same for riders of all services (except that call takers also ask
non-ADA Complementary Paratransit service riders for a trip purpose).
Call takers are instructed to ask for the following information:

-   Rider name or telephone number

-   Pickup address

-   Date of requested trip

-   Appointment time

-   Drop-off address

-   Drop-off name (e.g., building, doctor)

-   Return time

The call taker enters this information into the computer. After the
software accepts the trip, the call taker is then supposed to repeat the
date and address information, plus confirm the telephone number of the
drop-off location and state the total fare (one-way or round trip). The
pickup and drop-off times are supposed to be provided as 30-minute
"windows" rather than precise times. For a pickup, ATC has established a
window of 15 minutes before to 15 minutes after the agreed upon pickup
time, e.g., a window of 7:45 to 8:15 a.m. for an agreed upon 8 a.m.
pickup. For a drop-off, ATC has established a window of 30 to 0 minutes
before the agreed upon drop-off time, e.g., a window of 8:30 to 9 a.m.
for an agreed upon 9 a.m. drop-off.

A rider can make reservations for multiple trips during one call. A
rider can also request subscription service. Currently, RTS has no
restrictions on subscription service for ADA Complementary Paratransit
service riders.

**Observations of ATC Reservations Practices**

The assessment team analyzed call data for a five-month period, from
July to November 2001. For this period, there was an average of 4,297
calls for trip requests to the ACD per month. On average, 89 percent of
the calls were answered, while 9 percent were abandoned. Another two
percent of the ACD calls were transferred out of the system. Of the
answered calls, 46 percent were put on hold before being answered.

Average time on hold for the five-month period was 1 minute and 38
seconds. Average time before abandonment was 1 minute 32 seconds.
Average talking time was 2 minutes and 0 seconds. The data for this
five-month period show that 83 percent of the calls were on hold for
less than 1-1/2 minutes (90 seconds). Data is not available from the ATC
telephone logs to determine the percent of calls were on hold for more
than 2-1/2 minutes -- which is the threshold used by RTS in its standard
for hold time for trip reservations.

Data for November 2001 was examined in more detail to see if there was
any peaking by time-of-day for the phone system. Data, averaged for all
days of the month (excluding Thanksgiving when the ATC office was closed
and no paratransit services were delivered) show a slight peak in the
morning between 9 a.m. and 12 noon. Each of these three hours received
about 11 to 12 percent of the calls. The lowest hour, when the
reservations lines were open, was 4 to 5 p.m., with seven percent of the
calls. During this hour, only riders for ADA Complementary Paratransit
service can make trip requests.

Mondays generally have slightly more calls than other days, but overall
there is no significant peaking by day of the week (for weekdays). In
general, there is only slight peaking on both an hourly and daily basis.

Examination of hold times by day of the week shows that there is a
chronic problem with Sundays, when only the scheduler is on duty to
answer phones. He is also creating vehicle schedules for Monday. Data
for eight different weeks from April through November 2001 show that the
RTS standard of 2-1/2 minutes for hold times was exceeded for both
reservations and customer service calls on Sundays in seven out of eight
weeks. On some Sundays, average hold times were in the 6 to 11-minute
range. This means that some individual calls had hold times
substantially over 10 minutes and possibly as high as 20 minutes. The
overall call volume was not high (average of 28 per Sunday for the
sample), but the scheduler who handles Sunday calls was not answering
them in a timely fashion. This analysis helps to explain the complaints
of riders concerning long telephone hold times.

The assessment team observed 73 calls to call takers during two periods:
Monday afternoon, December 10, from 4 to 5 p.m., and the next Tuesday
morning from 8 to 10:30 a.m. Team members observed four different ATC
call takers. In addition to making trip requests, customers also called
for a variety of reasons:

-   To ask, "Where's my ride?"

-   To confirm ride times.

-   To cancel trip requests.

-   To get service information, e.g., eligibility, fares.

ADA clients made 21 of these 73 calls. The call takers made no
distinction between riders for ADA Complementary Paratransit service and
riders of other programs (other than not requesting a trip purpose; for
ADA Complementary Paratransit riders, call takers are instructed to
enter "other" for trip purpose in the trip request screen). During their
observations, team members did not observe any trip denials.

The practices of the call takers varied from the stated ATC procedures
and were inconsistent among the call takers. Most of the call takers
followed the practice of asking for the appointment time of the outbound
leg and setting the schedule using the appointment time. However,
assessment team members also observed the following practices:

-   Call takers did not always confirm the home address and home
    telephone number.

-   Call takers sometimes provided precise pickup times for both legs,
    rather than the pickup windows.

-   If the Mobility Master software made an adjustment (five or ten
    minutes) to the requested time, the call taker did not always inform
    the rider.

-   Some call takers automatically added 15 minutes to the requested
    return pickup time without telling the rider, effectively changing
    the pickup window from -15/+15 minutes to 0/+30 minutes.

-   Call takers asked the riders to call back to confirm pickup times --
    implying that trip times could change during the scheduling process.

-   Call takers allowed same-day trip requests.

-   Call takers had varying understanding of the allowable time for trip
    cancellations. Some said the rider had to call at least two hours
    ahead of the scheduled pickup, while one call taker said that it can
    be as late as "before the vehicle is on its way."

Based on the assessment team's observations of the call takers, along
with further discussions with other ATC and carrier staff, it appears
that most riders do not understand the idea (or the specific details) of
the pickup and drop-off windows.

**Findings**

1.  ATC takes trip reservations for ADA Complementary Paratransit
    service during normal business hours every day except Saturday. It
    accepts trip requests from one to 14 days in advance.

2.  The distribution of calls during weekdays is relatively even, by
    hour of day, and by day of week. Telephone hold times for trip
    reservations seem to meet the RTS standard, except on Sundays when
    one ATC staff member is taking calls while also preparing the Monday
    vehicle schedules. Riders have complained about long hold times when
    making trip requests, particularly on Sundays.

3.  Call takers do not deny trips to riders due to capacity constraints.

4.  Call takers are inconsistent in following ATC's procedures for
    accepting trip requests and communicating with the rider. Of key
    concern was that they provide precise times rather than windows for
    pickup and drop-off times; change the pickup window for return leg
    trips without informing the rider; and sometimes ask the riders to
    call back to confirm trip times.

5.  Most riders do not seem to understand the idea of pickup and
    drop-off windows for their scheduled trips.

[]{.mark}

**Recommendations**

1.  ATC should have additional staff on duty on Sundays to handle the
    incoming calls for both trip requests and other customer service.

2.  RTS should have ATC generate statistics so that it can determine
    whether it is meeting the standards for trip reservation and
    customer service telephone hold times.

3.  ATC should ensure that its call takers follow the stated procedures
    for taking trip requests.

4.  ATC should not obligate riders to call back to confirm trip times.
    This procedure is tending toward the creation of a waiting list.

5.  RTS and ATC should set a consistent policy for the pickup and
    drop-off windows, and make sure that call takers and riders know and
    understand the policy.

6.  RTS and ATC should set a consistent policy for trip cancellations,
    and make sure that call takers and riders know and understand the
    policy.

# Observations Regarding Scheduling of Trip Requests 

The assessment team reviewed scheduling of RTS's ADA Complementary
Paratransit service trips requests. Information reviewed and
observations on scheduling included:

-   Consumer interviews, review of complaints filed with FTA, and review
    of complaints filed with RTS.

-   Review of RTS and ATC policies and procedures.

-   Interviews with the ATC scheduler and supervisor and carrier staff.

**Consumer Comments**

Customer comments about trip scheduling and the actual delivery of
service are often closely related. Customer comments specifically about
scheduling are presented in this section of the report, while comments
about on-time performance, trip lengths, and pickup/drop-off locations
are included in Section VIII of this report.

Scheduling and on-time performance have been the most common issues in
consumer complaints about RTS's ADA Complementary Paratransit service.
The key issues cited in the CIL's June 1999 complaint to FTA included
the following:

-   RTS did not have a sense of ADA Complementary Paratransit service
    demand.

-   Trip allocation among carriers and scheduling need improvement.

In the RTS complaint file from December 1998 to July 2000, 33 percent of
the complaints (20 of 61) dealt specifically with scheduling problems or
"not enough vehicles to provide ADA service." Both the CIL complaint to
FTA and this set of complaints to RTS were filed before ATC began to
broker service for RTS. In the RTS complaint file from April to October
2001 -- after ATC began serving RTS -- there were no complaints that
referred specifically with scheduling, but nearly half alleged early or
late pickup times (see Section VIII.)

During interviews with riders of RTS's ADA Complementary Paratransit
service, one customer claimed that she had been picked up late because
the vehicle had an illogical route.

[]{.mark}

**Overview**

ATC develops the vehicle schedules for all carriers in the brokerage. Of
the eight carriers, four provide nearly all of the service to RTS for
its ADA Complementary Paratransit service riders. There are no vehicles
or carriers dedicated to RTS or any other program, giving ATC the
flexibility to mix riders from different programs on the vehicle runs to
create the most efficient schedules.

As of December 2001, ATC was scheduling 800 to 850 passenger trips per
weekday. On average, four percent of the scheduled trips were rider
no-shows. ADA Complementary Paratransit trips comprised about 150
passenger trips per weekday, or 18 to 19 percent of the total ridership.
Overall paratransit demand has increased since early 2001, when the
average weekday schedule had passenger trips in the low 700s.

ATC has one full-time scheduler who prepares the schedules for all
weekdays. The ATC supervisor prepares the schedule for Saturday service
and also is the backup scheduler. Of the more than 800 weekday trips,
about 50 percent are "standing order" (subscription). Seventy percent of
these standing order trips (35 percent of the total) are "anchored,"
i.e., pre-assigned to vehicle runs, and therefore do not need to be
assigned to vehicle runs each day. The ATC scheduler generally begins
his activities in the late morning of the day before service. Trips are
stored in the Mobility Master software, ready for assignment to vehicle
runs. His technique is to manually schedule the following categories of
trips (if they are not already anchored):

-   Trips for riders who use wheelchairs (about 20% of the total; may
    overlap with following categories)

-   Trips that go outside of Gainesville (about 10%)

-   Trips for Levy County riders (up to 15%)

The scheduler assigns these trips manually because they have the least
flexibility. He particularly focuses on riders who use wheelchairs
because they require lift-equipped or ramp-equipped vehicles, and
because they generally require more time for boarding and alighting.
With the balance of 20 to 25 percent of the trips, the scheduler uses
Mobility Master to schedule these trips automatically within the vehicle
runs that are already partially filled. The software usually is not able
to fit five percent (about 40) of the requested passenger trips into the
existing vehicle runs. For these remaining unassigned trips, the
scheduler instructs the software to insert these trips "in the best
place possible." This step puts every requested trip on a vehicle run;
however, the squeezing of these trips on the vehicle runs often leads to
illogical or unrealistic runs.

The scheduler faxes a "Quick Schedule Report" (Attachment J) to each
carrier. This happens about 4 p.m. the day before service. This Quick
Schedule does not include individual trips; it includes the tentative
start and end times for each carrier's respective runs, based on the
partially built vehicle runs. This allows each carrier to inform its
drivers of the next day's schedule. The scheduler aims to complete the
full schedules by early evening, but the completion time has been
slipping as the trip volume has increased, generally to 9 p.m. Most
carriers have a driver to pick up their final schedules at the ATC
office.

Four carriers provide 80 percent of the total trips, and nearly all of
the ADA Complementary Paratransit trips. Table VII.1 presents these
carriers' approximate shares, as of December 2001.

Table VII.1 -- Weekday Service of 4 Largest ATC Carriers

  --------------- ------------- -------------------- ----------------------
  **Carrier**     **Vehicle     **Passenger Trips    **Percent of Total ATC
                  Runs**        (approx.)**          Trips**

  CTS             14            250                  31

  Metro           14            180                  23

  Professional    5             90                   11

  Unimet          7             120                  15
  --------------- ------------- -------------------- ----------------------

**Observations**

It was not possible to evaluate the skill of the scheduler in order for
the assessment team to make a judgment on the quality of the vehicle
runs that he constructed each day. He was able to point to improvements
in the schedules. He was working on restructuring the anchored runs that
were in place when he started his work for ATC in early 2001. He also
presented data to show that vehicle productivity had increased from 1.4
passenger trips per vehicle hour (during a week in April 2001) to over
1.7 trips per hour (December 2001). This increase in vehicle
productivity has helped to offset the increased demand for service. The
ATC supervisor believed that anchoring 100 percent of the standing order
trips (from the current 70 percent) to vehicle runs would further
increase vehicle productivity. They would not say whether the operation
could achieve the RTS standard of 2.0 passenger trips per vehicle hour.

On the other hand, the final step of the scheduling process has created
some problems. While it prevents trip denials (for riders of any of the
paratransit programs), its consequences have included the following:

-   Circuitous or illogical vehicle routes

-   Overly tight schedules, especially during the afternoon peak

-   Changes in anchored runs: both inserted pickups and drop-offs and
    changes in schedule times for standing order riders

-   Changes in pickup and drop-off windows that are not reflected on
    driver manifests

The scheduler said that he had limited authority to add more vehicles to
a given day's schedule. Several carriers have vehicles that can be put
into service on short notice. The ATC supervisor said that it is okay to
use more vehicles, but she believes that there are sufficient vehicles
to meet the current demand for all paratransit service.

The scheduler also said that having an assistant would give him the time
to create more efficient schedules. He suggested that an assistant could
have the responsibility of scheduling the Levy County trips -- which
comprise less than 15 percent of the total, but can require two hours
each day to complete.

**Findings**

1.  As of December 2001, ATC was scheduling 800 to 850 passenger trips
    per weekday. ADA Complementary Paratransit trips comprised about 150
    of these trips.

2.  About 35 percent of weekday trips are pre-assigned to vehicle runs.
    The ATC scheduler assigns 40 to 45 percent manually. The balance of
    the trips are scheduled using the scheduling software.

3.  Since early 2001, vehicle productivity has increased from 1.4 to 1.7
    passenger trips per vehicle hour.

4.  The last step of the scheduling process in which the scheduler
    instructs the software to insert the unassigned trips (generally
    five percent, or 40) "in the best place possible" has led to
    illogical vehicle routes and overly tight schedules.

**Recommendations**

1.  ATC should try to pre-assign more of the standing order trips to
    vehicle runs to reduce the number of trips that have to be scheduled
    on a daily basis.

2.  ATC should consider ways to distribute the scheduling duties so that
    it is not dependent on one staff member.

3.  ATC should develop a system of flexible supplemental capacity --
    such as taxi service -- that it can use for ambulatory trips.

# Observations Regarding Service Provision

The assessment team reviewed the operations of ATC and its subcontractor
carriers to determine whether requested trips are being served in a
timely fashion and are not excessively long. Information reviewed and
observations on operations and service delivery included:

-   Consumer interviews, review of complaints filed with FTA, and review
    of complaints filed with RTS.

-   Review of RTS and ATC service policies and procedures.

-   Observations of customer service calls.

-   Site visits to carriers.

-   Interviews with 12 drivers.

-   Review of trip manifests and analysis of on-time performance.

-   Analysis of RTS ADA Complementary Paratransit trip durations.

**Consumer Comments**

[]{.mark}

A majority of consumer complaints and comments dealt with the actual
paratransit trips. From December 1998 to July 2000, ADA Complementary
Paratransit service customers filed 61 complaints. Of these complaints:
14 concerned an early or late pickup; 7 were complaints about the
vehicle; 6 were complaints against the driver; 5 complaints concerned
rude staff; and 29 concerned other issues.

Since April 2001, RTS has automated the tracking of complaints. The
assessment team reviewed the 100 complaints registered from April to
October 2001. Table VIII.1 presents the five leading topics of consumer
complaints for RTS's ADA Complementary Paratransit service during this
period.

[]{.mark}

**Table VIII.1 -- RTS Customer Complaints, April to October 2001**

  ---------------------------------------------- ------------------------
  **Topic**                                      **Percent of Total**

  Early or Late Pickup                           38

  Driver                                         9

  Vehicle No-show                                7

  Vehicle Equipment (includes securement, air    7
  conditioning)                                  

  Vehicle Safety (includes speeding, accidents)  5

  All Other Complaint Topics                     34
  ---------------------------------------------- ------------------------

All of the riders interviewed by the assessment team commented about
service delivery. All mentioned that most drivers were fine, although
the driver turnover seemed high. One rider said that some drivers
themselves did not understand the pickup and drop-off windows. One rider
that is blind said that some drivers do not know how to guide riders who
are blind.

Riders also complained about the vehicles used. Seatbelts sometimes were
missing or not working. Wheelchair securements sometimes did not work.
Some of the vans had high first steps -- although carriers now equip
their vans with stools.

In the CIL's June 1999 complaint to FTA, two of the overall issues
raised included:

-   "Response time should be improved," i.e., passenger's pickups and
    drop-offs were often late.

-   The lateness may indicate capacity constraints.

**RTS Service Policies and Procedures**

[]{.mark}

**Trip denials:** The RTS standard is that denials are allowed only for
same-day requests. No other trip requests for eligible service
(passenger, origin and destination, day and time) can be denied. In
addition, RTS has a standard that "ATC will provide 95 percent of all
trips during the appropriate timeframe." The appropriate timeframe
refers to trip requests that ATC cannot schedule within one hour of the
requested time.

**On-Time Performance**: RTS has separate standards for pickup and
drop-off times. For pickups, 90 percent of all passengers are to be
picked up between 15 minutes before and 15 minutes after the agreed upon
time. For drop-offs, 90 percent of all passengers are to be dropped off
between 30 and 0 minutes before the agreed upon time.

**Rider No-Shows**: The RTS standard is "ATC will have a 90 percent
success rate for trip completion," i.e., less than 10 percent no-shows.

**Travel Time**: The RTS standard is that no one-way trip shall exceed
one hour. There is no travel time standard relative to the travel time
via fixed route service.

**Safety**: The RTS standard is fewer than 1.4 accidents per 100,000
vehicle miles.

**Dispatch and Operations Overview**

As discussed in previous sections of this report, ATC is responsible for
accepting trip requests. The ATC scheduler assigns the trips to vehicle
runs and prepares the schedules for all ATC carriers. The scheduler
provides the completed vehicle schedules to each carrier the evening
before service (each carrier usually has a driver pick up its schedules
at the ATC office). The carriers do not have Mobility Master software,
so any changes that they want to make to their schedules are done by
hand. Each carrier then assigns its runs to its drivers. Runs vary in
duration, so that a single run may require either one or two drivers to
complete.

**ATC Customer Service.** ATC call takers who accept trip requests also
take calls from riders who are calling about their service. Riders may
be calling to:

-   Ask "Where's my ride?" for a late pickup.

-   Cancel a requested trip.

-   Request a change in pickup time for a trip later that day (including
    will-calls).

-   Request a same-day trip.

-   Confirm the pickup time for a trip later that day.

ATC staff contacts the appropriate carrier's office for any of the first
3 items. ATC is not in direct contact with the carriers' vehicles, so a
call taker calls the dispatcher at a carrier to radio a driver to find
out the vehicle location or status of a trip. The ATC call taker then
responds to the rider with the information. ATC may provide same-day
trips if room is available on the schedules. ATC checks with the
carriers to find out if they can provide the trip, and then confirms (or
not) with the caller.

**Carrier Dispatch and Operations.** Each carrier handles the daily
operations of its own vehicles. Each carrier assigns its runs and
vehicles to its drivers. Each carrier dispatcher is also responsible for
monitoring service and reassigning trips when problems arise. The
carriers that provide service to ADA Complementary Paratransit riders
also carry riders from other programs. Other than the different
passenger fares to be collected for the different programs, there is no
difference in how the carriers and the drivers treat the riders.

A carrier is supposed to call ATC if one of its vehicles is
significantly behind schedule, so that ATC may, in turn, call the
riders. If a carrier determines that it cannot handle a trip that it has
been assigned, it is supposed to call ATC to let the broker reassign the
trip to another carrier. ATC's *Operational Procedures and Safety
Manual* states that a driver should wait no longer than five minutes for
a passenger, unless the driver arrives before the start of the pickup
window. If the driver arrives ahead of the window, then the five-minute
waiting period starts at the beginning of the window. The manual also
states that the driver "should never leave without dispatcher approval."

[]{.mark}

**Observations**

The assessment team interviewed ATC managers and observed call takers.
The assessment team also visited the four carriers that provide trips
for ADA Complementary Paratransit service: CTS, Metro, Professional, and
Unimet.

**ATC Customer Service.** The assessment team observed call takers
during Monday afternoon, December 10, and Tuesday morning, December 11.
As mentioned in Section VII of this report, call takers were receiving
calls from riders of several programs, including RTS's ADA Complementary
Paratransit service. They were accepting trip requests, as well as rider
inquiries about their rides and requests for late cancellations and
changes to pickup times.

During the assessment team's Monday afternoon observations, the most
common reason for the incoming call was to ask, "Where's my ride?" For
these calls, the call taker placed the rider on hold, then contacted the
carrier to try to find out when the vehicle would be arriving, then
relayed this information to the rider. The other common reason for calls
in the afternoon was to ask for a will-call pickup, i.e., the rider is
ready for a return trip.

During the assessment team's Tuesday morning observations, the two most
common types of customer service calls were: to confirm the pickup time
for a trip scheduled during that day; and to make a late cancellation.
When the call takers responded to the riders who wanted to confirm their
pickup times, they tended to give a specific time rather than a pickup
window (e.g., "10 a.m." instead of "9:45 to 10:15"). For late
cancellations, a call taker notified the carrier of the cancellation by
telephone and by faxing a form. (There is also a form for same-day trip
requests). The assessment team observed that call takers were very
lenient in allowing late cancellations. As stated earlier, RTS has in
place a policy to penalize ADA Complementary Paratransit service riders
who have excessive no-shows and late cancellations, but it has not
chosen to enforce these policies.

[]{.mark}

**Carriers.** On December 12, assessment team members visited the four
ATC carriers that provide nearly all of the ADA Complementary
Paratransit service. At each visit, the assessment team talked to
managers and dispatchers; collected information about the vehicles and
staff used for paratransit service; and interviewed drivers. At several
carriers, the assessment team also observed dispatch activities.

***Unimet*** provides both ambulatory and wheelchair trips for ATC. It
has eight accessible vans and three minivans. Unimet operates on
weekdays, with the first pickup as early as 4:30 a.m., and the last
drop-off usually by 7 p.m. It has seven steady runs that it receives
from ATC, but has provided as many as eight or nine runs on a given day.
During December 2001, Unimet had an average of 120 scheduled passenger
trips per day, with nearly 150 trips (including 45 wheelchair trips) on
the busiest day.

Unimet has 11 full-time drivers (at least 38 hours). If necessary, the
president acts as an extra driver. He is also the backup dispatcher. The
vehicles average 300 miles on the road each day. The president said that
he expects the vehicles to last for as long as five years. Unimet
contracts all of its vehicle maintenance to outside companies.

Unimet has been in business since 1997. The president is generally
satisfied with the work for ATC. The one concern he had is the high
number of will-calls. Many of the pickup times on the vehicle schedules
for return trips are not realistic, effectively turning many of these
trips into will-calls. The ATC scheduler said that the Unimet drivers
are skilled in transporting riders who use wheelchairs.

***Professional Transportation Services*** provides service for ATC's
ambulatory riders. Its fleet consists of five sedans and one van
(without a lift or ramp). Professional operates weekdays only, normally
operating five vehicles from 4:30 a.m. to as late as 8 or 9 p.m. During

December 2001, the number of trips assigned to Professional ranged from
88 to 100 per day. The manager for Professional said that an average of
10 to 12 percent of the scheduled trips were either late cancellations
or no-shows. Professional accepts same-day trip requests from ATC if its
vehicle schedules have space.

Professional has six full-time drivers who work four days per week, 10
to 12 hours per day. One of these drivers is also the safety officer,
responsible for overseeing: basic vehicle maintenance; vehicle cleaning;
driver drug testing; on-board safety equipment; and driver training.
This driver is also the backup dispatcher (sometimes while he is
driving). Professional also has six part-time drivers, including one who
also works as the office manager. Professional uses local companies to
do all vehicle maintenance.

Professional has been providing paratransit service within Alachua
County for several years. The manager is a member of the Alachua County
Transportation Coordination Board. He generally has a positive
impression of ATC, stating that the company is "very professional," but
he does not have a favorable view of the schedules generated by Mobility
Master. He does not think that the software is "appropriate" for
Gainesville. He cited a decrease in vehicle productivity, from 1.67
passenger trips per vehicle hour (before ATC) to 1.5 trips per hour in
recent operations.

***Metro Mobility*** is the second busiest of the ATC carriers. It
averages 180 passenger trips per day; over 30 of these trips are for
riders who use wheelchairs. ATC usually provides Metro with 14 vehicle
manifests on weekdays. It has 21 vehicles, including of a mix of sedans,
minivans, and accessible vans. Included in these vehicles are two vans
owned by RTS. Metro provides service from 4:30 a.m. to the close of
service (as late as 10:30 p.m.)

Metro is the newest of the four primary ATC carriers, starting its
operations in July 2001. The manager started with Metro in October 2001.
There are three full-time dispatchers and 15 drivers; two of the
dispatchers are backup drivers. Driver retention and turnover is a major
problem for Metro. Metro has its own mechanics, maintaining all 21
vehicles.

The Metro manager had a number of concerns about the vehicle schedules
prepared by ATC. The completed schedules are not ready until after 8
p.m. of the evening before service. The completed schedules sometimes
have changes from the Quick Schedules faxed to Metro earlier in the
afternoon. This means that Metro cannot assign runs to drivers until
after 8 p.m. The daytime dispatcher tries to resolve some of the
"illogical trips" received from ATC. The manager said that some of the
runs have identical pickup times for two different locations. On the
other hand, the manager and a dispatcher said that the standing order
trips -- which should be fixed to particular runs -- often had their
times adjusted and were moved from run to run.

The night dispatcher reviews all of the manifests and may make
additional adjustment among Metro's 14 runs. The morning of service,
each driver reviews his/her own schedule. Metro returns three to six
trips per week to ATC that the drivers and dispatchers believe that they
cannot handle.

***CTS*** provides the most trips of any carrier working for ATC. It
regularly has 14 runs and 250 trips on its vehicle schedules (50 to 60
of the trips for riders who use wheelchairs). Before RTS joined the
brokerage in 2000, CTS was the direct provider of ADA Complementary
Paratransit service.

The CTS fleet consists of 15 vehicles: 10 raised-roof vans, 2 sedans, 2
non-accessible vans, and 1 minivan. Generally, eight of the runs include
trips for riders who use wheelchairs. Vehicles are on the road from
before 5 a.m. to after 11 p.m. CTS has much flexibility with its staff
of 35 drivers. It has four full-time drivers and the rest are part-time.
On most weekdays, 15 drivers are scheduled to work; others are
designated as backups for the day. CTS contracts out its vehicle
maintenance to local companies.

The CTS manager and dispatcher are critical of the schedules produced by
ATC. CTS usually receives the final manifests between 8 and 9:30 p.m. of
the evening before service. They would prefer to receive them by 7 p.m.
to have more time to review and adjust the schedules. For some of the
problems, they call the ATC scheduler in the evening; other problems are
adjusted in the morning with the drivers.

The CTS dispatcher said that over the most recent four months (August to
December 2001), the increase in ridership had caused the schedules to be
too tight. They estimated that five percent of the CTS trips were late
-- but rarely more than 30 minutes behind schedule. They cited several
reasons for the poor schedules: not enough time to allow for boarding
and alighting of riders who use wheelchairs; late changes in pickup
times; and simply too many trips squeezed into the existing runs. The
dispatcher thought that a "shooter" (extra vehicle) to handle trips from
tight runs would be very helpful.

**Drivers.** The assessment team interviewed 12 drivers (4 from CTS; 1
from Metro; 4 from Professional; 3 from Unimet). Here is a summary of
their comments:

-   Drivers are generally satisfied with the condition of the vehicles
    and their components, such as wheelchair securements.

-   Drivers believe that they have received the necessary training to
    perform their job, although some have not received refresher
    training recently.

-   Drivers understand the pickup windows and that, if the driver
    arrives early, riders can wait until the beginning of the window to
    board.

-   Drivers understand the policy about waiting five minutes, then
    calling the dispatcher before recording a no-show. Drivers make
    extra efforts -- such as knocking on the door or even entering the
    building -- to look for the rider.

-   Drivers have mixed views about whether most riders understand the
    pickup windows. One driver said that there may be confusion, since
    the previous pickup window (prior to ATC) was 45 to 0 minutes early
    (rather than 15 minutes before to 15 minutes after).

-   Drivers have mixed views concerning the vehicle schedules. Some say
    the schedules are acceptable or good; other drivers say that the
    schedules are unrealistic (sometimes having two stops at the same
    time), and have gotten tighter recently.

-   Drivers from Unimet said that it is common to re-arrange schedules
    and trade riders as schedules change.

**Findings**

1.  Early or late pickups are the single biggest source of ADA
    Complementary Paratransit service rider complaints to RTS; from
    April to October 2001, they comprised 38 percent of all complaints.

2.  During the morning, the two most common reasons for a customer
    service call were to confirm a pickup time for a trip requested
    later in the day, and to make a late trip cancellation.

3.  During the afternoon, the most common reason for a customer service
    call was to ask, "Where's my ride?" The other common reason was to
    ask for a will-call pickup.

4.  All of the carriers visited had concerns about the vehicle schedules
    prepared by ATC. They all cited overly tight runs, increasingly so
    over the second half of 2001. Some mentioned "illogical" trips with
    two pickups at the same time. They believe that the large proportion
    of afternoon will-calls contributes to the poor schedules.

5.  Drivers understand the pickup windows built into the vehicle
    schedules. Drivers also understand the procedures for waiting for
    riders and getting approval from dispatchers before declaring a
    rider no-show.

**Recommendations**

1.  ATC should analyze the late trips to determine if there are common
    characteristics, e.g., carrier, origin/destination, driver.

2.  ATC should work to provide the final vehicle schedules to the
    carriers earlier in the evening so that the carriers have more time
    to review the manifests, make adjustments, and assign runs to their
    drivers.

3.  ATC should consider leaving some afternoon trips unassigned to
    specific runs. These trips can be initially assigned to specific
    carriers, or can comprise a common pool of unassigned trips that ATC
    assigns to carriers at least two hours ahead as cancellations and
    schedule changes develop.

## Analysis of On-Time Performance

The assessment team reviewed RTS on-time performance policies and
procedures, on-time performance reports, and reviewed ATC Paratransit
computer generated reports of actual and scheduled trip times to
validate RTS on-time reporting.

Policies and Procedures

[]{.mark}

RTS describes their on-time service window as -15/+15 minutes for
scheduled passenger pickups and -30/0 minutes for scheduled drop-offs.
Accordingly, a trip is considered on time if:

-   The passenger is picked up from 15 minutes before to 15 minutes
    after the time scheduled with the customer.

-   The passenger is dropped off up to 30 minutes before to the
    customer's actual scheduled drop-off time, or appointment time.

RTS stated goal for on-time performance is that 90 percent of trips be
performed on time.

RTS publishes on-time performance measurements in monthly "Quality
Assurance Program Response" Reports. Although the on-time standards, as
described above, are presented in the reports, the window used for
performance measurement is --20/+20 for pickups and +30/+5 for
drop-offs.

[]{.mark}

The pickup windows are not published in the *Paratransit Service Guide*.
Also, when taking trip reservations from riders, call takers often do
not confirm pickup times for return trips, or pickup windows for any
trips. There appears to be an expectation that riders will call during
the service day for their pickup time for return trips. These practices
can result in erroneous expectations by riders as to when they will be
picked up or dropped off.

According to ATC managers and some call takers, the procedure for
scheduling return trips is to add 15 minutes to the time requested by
the rider. For example, if a rider requests a 1:00 p.m. pickup, the call
taker will schedule the pickup for 1:15 p.m. Should the rider know the
RTS pickup window, he or she would expect to be picked up between 12:45
and 1:15 (-15/+15). However, based upon the information entered into the
scheduling system, the scheduler and operator expect to pickup the rider
between 1:00 and 1:30. In relation to the rider's original request, this
pickup window resulting from this procedure is effectively 0/+30. When
viewed from the perspective of the rider, a 0/+30 minute pickup window
may make more sense than a --15/+15 window. For example, a rider whose
workday ends at 5:00 p.m. is available to be picked up after 5:00 p.m.
(5:00/5:30), but is not available before 5:00 (4:45/5:15). However, more
importantly, the rider and operator need to have a common understanding
and expectation as to when the pickup is to be made.

During the scheduling process, ATC's procedure is to change some
scheduled pickup times to create efficient schedules. It is common
practice in the industry to change scheduled times within the pickup
window without further notification to the rider. This practice assumes
that the rider is aware of the window and that the driver is aware of
the window provided the rider. If these assumptions are correct, then
the rider is still scheduled to be picked up within the window based
upon their requested time and the driver knows the rider's expectation
and can take corrective action if he or she is off schedule.

ATC also changes scheduled pickup times beyond the pickup window but
within one hour of the time originally requested by the rider. This is
equivalent to negotiating a time with the rider within the one-hour
parameter identified in the DOT ADA regulations. ATC does not notify the
rider when such changes are made but rather relies on the rider to call
to confirm his or her scheduled times on the day of travel. This
procedure places an added burden upon the rider to call each day to
confirm their trip schedule. If riders are unaware of the procedure and
do not call, they may miss their trip and possibly miss important
appointments. If followed by riders, this procedure potentially adds a
large number of unnecessary calls to confirm schedule times that have
not been changed. These unnecessary calls can add to queues in the
telephone system and delay responses to trip reservation and other
requests.

The information contained on the schedule manifests includes pickup
times and windows. According to the ATC scheduler, the pickup times are
the times requested by the scheduler as adjusted during the scheduling
process. If an adjustment has been made, the time originally requested
by the rider is not included on the manifest. According to ATC managers,
the pickup window on the manifest is based upon the riders requested
time as discussed in ATC procedures above. According to the ATC
scheduler, because of a software programming glitch, the pickup windows
are incorrect. The assessors reviewed some pickup windows produced by
the software that appeared to bear no relationship with the scheduled
pickup times.

Generally, the operators indicated that they use the scheduled time on
the manifest to guide them in making pickups and drop-offs. Some said
that they also use the window on the manifest. The absence of the pickup
or drop-off time originally requested by the rider, in instances where
times have been changed during scheduling, can lead to differing rider
and driver expectations. There also appears to be confusion among some
operators on the definition of the on-time performance windows. One
operator indicated that the drop-off window was -15/+15, rather than
-30/0 as reflected by RTS policy.

As indicated earlier, RTS monitors on-time performance for ADA
Complementary Paratransit riders by sampling approximately 2 percent of
completed passenger trips each month. Pickups are considered on time if
they are made within 5 minutes of RTS's pickup window. That is, if trips
are picked up 20 minutes before or 20 minutes after (-20/+20) the time
the rider expects to be picked up, the trip is considered on time. For
the month of October 2001, RTA reported an on-time performance of 89
percent. RTS reports drop-offs as on time if are they made from 30
minutes before the passenger's appointment/requested time to 5 minutes
after the appointment/requested time (-30/+5). For October 2001, RTS
reported that 78 percent of drop-offs were made on time.

[]{.mark}

**Performance Analysis**

ATC maintains computer records of all trip requests including:

-   Either the rider's requested appointment or pickup time.

-   The pickup or drop-off time scheduled with the operator.

-   Actual drop-off and pickup times, as reported by drivers on their
    manifests and entered into ATC's database.

The assessment team reviewed the ATC data for the month of November
2001. A summary of the results appears in Table VIII.2*.* Attachment K
provides a more detailed analysis of on-time performance for the
carriers.

Table VIII.2 -- On-Time Performance of ADA Complementary Paratransit
Service Carriers: November 2001

  -------------- ------------- ------------- -------- --------- --------------- -------- ---------
  **Carrier**    **Trips       **Pickups**                      **Drop-offs**            
                 Completed**                                                             

                               **% On-Time   **%      **%       **%On-Time      **%      **%
                               (-15/+15)**   Late**   Early**   (-30/0)**       Late**   Early**

  CTS            1488          79.7          6.7      13.6      62.2            17.9     19.9

  Metro          802           76.1          17.1     6.8       65.5            24.7     9.8

  Unimet         700           82.1          6.6      11.3      64.3            15.1     20.6

  Professional   498           82.9          9.2      7.9       68.5            18.5     13.0

  Others         3             66.7          33.3     0.0       66.7            33.3     0.0

  **TOTAL**      3491          79.8          9.4      10.8      64.3            19.0     16.7
  -------------- ------------- ------------- -------- --------- --------------- -------- ---------

RTS's overall on-time performance as measured by percentage of pickups
that were on-time or early was 90.6 percent. This is the measure most
commonly used by ADA Complementary Paratransit operators to assess
on-time performance. Pickups performed on-time within RTS's pickup
window (-15/+15) was 79.8 %. Another 10.8 percent of pickups were early.
This can signify a problem if riders are pressured to accept early
pickups, but may not be an issue if the rider is willing to leave early.

RTS is different from most other ADA Complementary Paratransit operators
in that it schedules trips to appointment times. This practice is
clearly preferable for riders who are trying to meet appointments.
According to RTS's data for November, 81 percent of passenger drop-offs
were on time or early; 84.6 percent of drop-offs were less than 5
minutes late or early; and

64.3 percent of drop-offs were within RTS's on time window (-30/0).

A review of performance by carrier indicates a fairly consistent level
among carriers -- with the exception of Metro. Metro's early and on-time
pickups were 82.9 percent, versus 90.6 percent for all carriers. Its
early and on-time drop-offs were 75.3 percent versus 81.0 percent for
all carriers. This below average performance may be explained, in part,
by the fact that Metro is a new service provider that began providing
service in July 2001.

The team also compared performance by RTS's on-time standards, -15/+15
minutes for pickups and -30/0 for drop-offs, against RTS's Quality
Assurance Reporting windows, -20/+20 minutes and -30/+5, respectively.
The differences are shown in Table VIII.3.

Table VIII.3 -- Comparison of On-Time Performance Using Different
Standards

  ----------------------------- --------------------- --------------------
  **Window**                    **RTS Standard**      **QA Reporting**

  Early & On-time Pickups       90.6 %                91.9 %

  Early & On-time Drop-Offs     81.0 %                84.6 %
  ----------------------------- --------------------- --------------------

There does not appear to be a substantial difference in the results of
the two methods. It appears that using a different standard than RTS's
formal standard for reporting service quality has the potential for
causing confusion as to the on-time window without providing a more
representative measure of on-time performance.

It should be noted that RTA schedules each rider trip request to meet
either a pickup or drop-off time. For trips that are scheduled to
appointment times riders are provided estimated pickup times, based on
the appointment times. For trips that are scheduled to pickup times,
drop-off times are provided to the operator for service scheduling
purposes. The data presented in this report measures performance at
meeting scheduled times for both ends of each trip. Normally, in ADA
Complementary Paratransit assessments, only the pickup end of the trip
is measured. As a result of measuring both ends of the trip the relative
performance of service may be understated. For example, a rider making a
trip to an appointment will likely be very sensitive to the time that
they arrive at their destination but less sensitive to the time that
they are picked up to make that trip. Similarly, a person returning home
from work is likely to be more sensitive to the timeliness of their
pickup from work than the time that they are dropped off at home.

[]{.mark}

**Findings**

1.  ATC picked up 90.6 percent of passengers on time or early, based
    upon a 100 percent sample of trips for November 2001. From this same
    sample, ATC served 79.8 percent of completed trips within the
    half-hour pickup window of 15 minutes before to 15 minutes after the
    pickup time given to the rider. ATC also dropped off 81.0 percent of
    passengers on time or early and served 64.3 percent of completed
    trips within the drop-off window of 30 minutes before up to the time
    given to the rider.

2.  On-time performance by Metro, a new service provider, lagged the
    other service providers with 82.9 percent of pickups early or on
    time and 75.3 percent of drop-offs early or on time.

3.  ATC schedules trips to meet either rider appointment times or
    requested pickup times. Most ADA Complementary Paratransit service
    providers schedule only requested pickup times. The ATC practice of
    scheduling to appointment or pickups should result in a higher level
    of service to riders than scheduling only to pickup times.

4.  RTS pickup and drop-off windows are not consistently employed or
    communicated to operators and riders. The windows are not presented
    in the *Paratransit Service Guide*. Pickup times requested by riders
    for return trips are sometimes altered by call takers when they are
    entered into the computer. Call takers do not give riders clear,
    consistent indications of when they should expect to be picked up.
    Some operators did not understand what the pickup windows are.
    Manifests do not clearly indicate the pickup window expected by the
    rider. The lack of consistent use of the RTS pickup and drop-off
    windows and clear communication of the windows to riders and
    operators can result in misunderstanding by riders as to whether
    service is on time.

5.  When schedulers change scheduled trip times outside of the pickup
    window expected by the rider but within one hour before or after the
    rider's requested pickup time, ATC does not notify the rider of the
    change. The rider is expected to call ATC on the day of travel to
    confirm his or her scheduled time. This expectation may be
    considered an undue burden on the rider. If a rider fails to call,
    this practice can result in the rider being picked up much earlier
    or later than expected, driver delays, missed trips by the rider,
    and confusion between the rider and operator as to pickup time. If
    all riders call to confirm pickup times, telephone lines and call
    takers can be occupied by many unnecessary calls. Potential for
    confusion and the amount of communication could be reduced by ATC's
    assuming responsibility for rider notification of schedule changes.

6.  RTS measures a small sample of trips for Quality Assurance
    reporting, although ATC data permits a 100 percent sample of trips
    as presented in this report. In addition, the Quality Assurance
    Report uses different time parameters for measuring on-time
    performance compared to RTS's own standards.

**Recommendations**

1.  It is recommended that RTS and ATC review Metro service to identify
    ways of improving on-time performance.

2.  It is recommended that ATC continue to schedule trips to meet either
    rider appointment times or requested pickup times. The ATC procedure
    of scheduling to appointment or pickups should result in a higher
    level of service to riders than scheduling only to pickup times.

3.  It is recommended that RTS and ATC use consistent pickup and
    drop-off windows and clearly communicate those windows to operators
    and riders. The windows should be clearly presented in the
    *Paratransit Service Guide*.

4.  Quality Assurance reports should reflect the pickup and drop-off
    windows without adjustment.

5.  Pickup times requested by riders for return trips should be entered
    into the computer without alteration. If ATC feels that pickup
    windows for return trips should lag times requested by riders, then
    the adopted pickup window should be adjusted. The argument for such
    an adjustment is that people requesting a pickup are ready to leave
    at or after the time requested but not before. For example, a rider
    whose workday ends at 5:00 p.m. is ready to be picked up at or after
    5:00 p.m., not before. Consideration of a pickup window of zero
    minutes early to 20 to 30 minutes late might be appropriate.

6.  Call takers should confirm pickup and drop-off windows with riders
    at the conclusion of all trip reservation phone calls. This should
    make clear to the rider that he or she will be picked up or dropped
    off within the 30-minute window. This clarity can help to avoid
    unnecessary calls from riders to check on rides and complaints about
    late service for pickups that are made within the window.

7.  Driver manifests should be revised as necessary to clearly show the
    operator the pickup and drop-off windows expected by the rider,
    including rider appointment times.

8.  When schedulers change scheduled trip times outside of the pickup
    window expected by the rider but within one hour before or after the
    riders requested pickup time, ATC should assume responsibility for
    notifying the rider of the change. ATC should maintain a log of all
    such changes and customer contacts. Only if customers have no phone
    or means of being reached should customers be requested to confirm
    their trip schedules

9.  RTS should use a 100 percent sample of trips for Quality Assurance
    reporting. RTS should also consider reporting on-time pickups for
    only those trips with rider requested pickup times and on-time
    drop-offs for only those trips with rider requested
    appointment/drop-off times as a potential way of presenting a more
    representative indication of service levels than reporting
    performance only for all pickups and drop-offs.

## Analysis of Trip Length

The RTS standard for standard for trip length is a maximum travel time
of one hour for a one-way passenger trip. This standard was developed
with the Community Advisory Board as part of the RTS Quality Assurance
Program. This policy does not directly address the requirement that
RTS's ADA Complementary Paratransit service be comparable to fixed route
service in terms of excessive trip lengths (49 CFR 37.131(f)(3)(i)(C)).

In addition to the review of policies and consumer comments, the
assessment team analyzed the travel time performance of ATC by reviewing
data for all ADA Complementary Paratransit service for November 2001 to
determine the proportion of "lengthy trips" -- those with a travel time
of an hour or more.

**Customer Comments**

[]{.mark}

Among the rider interviews, one regular rider commented that "group
trips" often were long, claiming that some riders were on the vehicle
for more than one hour.

[]{.mark}

**Review of Lengthy Trips**

[]{.mark}

From March to October 2001, RTS reviewed a sample of ADA Complementary
Paratransit service trips for its Quality Assurance Program (QAP) to
gauge whether there were trips that exceeded the ride time standard. For
these eight months, the sample sizes ranged from 25 to 67 trips (1.1 to
2.3 percent), with an eight-month total of 446 one-way passenger trips
(1.9 percent). RTS computed average travel times and maximum travel
times for each month's sample. Table VIII.4 summarizes the findings from
the QAP ride time sample for these eight months.

Table VIII.4 -- QAP Sample of ADA Complementary Paratransit Service
Travel Times

  ------------------------------------------ ----------------------------
  Total ADA Trips                            23,247

  Sampled Trips                              446

  Sample Size                                1.9 %

  Average Travel Time                        24.1 minutes

  Months with at Least 1 trip \> 60 minutes  4
  ------------------------------------------ ----------------------------

In four of the months, there was at least one trip among the sampled
trips that had a ride time of greater than 60 minutes. The RTS analysis
did not include the *total* number of trips in the sample that had ride
times of greater than 60 minutes.

[]{.mark}

The assessment team analyzed data on all ADA Complementary Paratransit
trips provided by ATC in November 2001. Of 3,491 completed trips, 6.2
percent (216) exceeded RTS's standard of one-hour travel time. Nearly
four percent of the trips were up to 1:30 in length and another 2.2
percent were longer than 1:30. The percent of long trips by carrier
ranged from 3.9 percent for Unimet to 7.3 percent for CTS. Table VIII.5
presents the analysis of travel times by carrier for ADA Complementary
Paratransit service in November 2001.

Table VIII.5 -- Trip Times for ADA Complementary Paratransit Service,
November 2001

  ------------------ ----------- ---------- --------- --------- --------- --------- ----------
  **Carrier**        **All ADA   **Trip                                             **% \>
                     Trips**     Time**                                             1:00**

                                 **upto     **1:01 to **1:16 to **1:31 to **\>      
                                 1:00**     1:15**    1:30**    2:00**    2:00**    

  **CTS**            1488        1379       54        23        17        15        **7.3**

  **Metro**          802         752        16        7         16        11        **6.2**

  **Unimet**         700         673        11        7         7         2         **3.9**

  **Professional**   498         469        11        9         2         7         **5.8**

  **Others**         3           2          0         0         0         1         **33.3**

  **TOTAL**          3491        3275       92        46        42        36        216

  **%**              **100.0**   **93.8**   **2.6**   **1.3**   **1.2**   **1.0**   **6.2**
  ------------------ ----------- ---------- --------- --------- --------- --------- ----------

The mean travel time of these trips was 31 minutes.

One should note that trips for ADA Complementary Paratransit service do
not have the same characteristics as all trips that are provided by ATC.
On the one hand, the average trip distance is likely to be shorter,
because ADA trips are restricted to the area covered by the fixed route.
On the other hand, compared to the overall ridership, ADA Complementary
Paratransit service has a higher proportion of riders who use
wheelchairs. In addition, while it is simple for RTS to measure
performance by using an absolute time as its standard for travel time,
it may be more useful to use a standard that compares travel time to
that of fixed route bus service. RTS may see that certain ADA
Complementary Paratransit service trips that take more than one hour may
in fact be reasonable (due to travel distance and other factors), while
another trip that takes 45 minutes may be excessive in length.

Comparison of ADA Complementary Paratransit and Fixed Route Travel Times

A sample of 21 trips with long ride times was selected to compare ADA
Complementary Paratransit and fixed route travel times. Trips were
selected from the ATC data from November 2001 from the four primary
carriers. Table VIII.6 shows the time of day the trip was made, the
origin and destination for each trip, the actual travel times on ADA
Complementary Paratransit service, and the estimated travel time by
fixed route.

The assessment team estimated fixed route travel times by using the RTS
schedule book for Fall 2001 and a Gainesville street map. Based on the
origin and destination addresses, the assessment team determined the bus
routes that one would use to make the same trip on RTS buses. Each fixed
route travel time is the sum of the following components:

-   Travel time on each bus

-   Transfer (waiting) time for multi-bus trips

-   Walking time on each end of the trip

**Table VIII.6 -- Comparison of Travel Times on Paratransit vs. Fixed
Route for Selected Trips During November 2001**

+------+------+------------+----------+------+--------+------+------+
| **C  | *    | Origin     | #        | **P  | **RTS  | **Tr | **Tr |
| arri | *ADA |            | # Destin | arat | Fixed  | avel | avel |
| er** | P    |            | ation {# | rans | R      | Ti   | Ti   |
|      | arat |            | destinat | it** | oute** | me** | me** |
|      | rans |            | ion .unn |      |        |      |      |
|      | it** |            | umbered} | **   | **     | **   | *    |
|      |      |            |          | Trav | Travel | Diff | *Rat |
|      | **T  |            |          | el** | Time** | eren | io** |
|      | rip: |            |          |      |        | ce** |      |
|      | Ac   |            |          | **Ti | *      |      | **(A |
|      | tual |            |          | me** | *(minu | **(A | DA/F |
|      | Pi   |            |          |      | tes)** | DA - | R)** |
|      | ckup |            |          | *    |        | F    |      |
|      | Ti   |            |          | *(mi |        | R)** |      |
|      | me** |            |          | nute |        |      |      |
|      |      |            |          | s)** |        |      |      |
+------+------+------------+----------+------+--------+------+------+
| **C  | **   | **5004 NW  | **2002   | **1  | **67** | **+  | **1. |
| TS** | 6:15 | 37th Pl.** | NW 36th  | 20** |        | 53** | 79** |
|      | am** |            | Ave.**   |      |        |      |      |
+------+------+------------+----------+------+--------+------+------+
| **C  | **   | **401 SE   | **1203   | **1  | **35** | **+  | **3. |
| TS** | 7:00 | 1st Ave.** | NE 8th   | 15** |        | 80** | 29** |
|      | pm** |            | Ave.**   |      |        |      |      |
+------+------+------------+----------+------+--------+------+------+
| CTS  | 1    | 810 NW     | 4000 SW  | 109  | 84     | +25  | 1.30 |
|      | 0:15 | 16th Ave.  | 47th St. |      |        |      |      |
|      | am   |            |          |      |        |      |      |
+------+------+------------+----------+------+--------+------+------+
| **C  | **   | **1900 SW  | **8415   | **1  | **52** | **+  | **1. |
| TS** | 6:00 | 34th St.** | NW 2nd   | 01** |        | 49** | 94** |
|      | pm** |            | Pl.**    |      |        |      |      |
+------+------+------------+----------+------+--------+------+------+
| CTS  | 3:55 | 6685 NW    | 4110 NW  | 95   | 110    | -15  | 0.86 |
|      | pm   | 9th Blvd.  | Alpine   |      |        |      |      |
|      |      |            | Dr.      |      |        |      |      |
+------+------+------------+----------+------+--------+------+------+
| CTS  | 8:38 | 3857       | 2929 NE  | 78   | 68     | +10  | 1.15 |
|      | pm   | Archer Rd. | 16th Dr. |      |        |      |      |
+------+------+------------+----------+------+--------+------+------+
| CTS  | 5:00 | 2521 NE    | 6685 NW  | 72   | 68     | +4   | 1.06 |
|      | am   | 11th Pl.   | 9th      |      |        |      |      |
|      |      |            | Blvd.    |      |        |      |      |
+------+------+------------+----------+------+--------+------+------+
| M    | 6:49 | 3712 NW    | 4155 NW  | 146  | 133    | +13  | 1.10 |
| etro | pm   | 97th Blvd. | 13th St. |      |        |      |      |
+------+------+------------+----------+------+--------+------+------+
| M    | 7:42 | 1901 NE    | 2002 NW  | 98   | 69     | +29  | 1.42 |
| etro | am   | 2nd St.    | 36th     |      |        |      |      |
|      |      |            | Ave.     |      |        |      |      |
+------+------+------------+----------+------+--------+------+------+
| *    | **1  | # 102      | **1600   | **   | **35** | **+  | **2. |
| *Met | 0:15 | 7 NW 40th  | Archer   | 90** |        | 55** | 57** |
| ro** | am** | Dr. {#nw-4 | Rd.**    |      |        |      |      |
|      |      | 0th-dr. .u |          |      |        |      |      |
|      |      | nnumbered} |          |      |        |      |      |
+------+------+------------+----------+------+--------+------+------+
| M    | 5:20 | 2002 NW    | 5004 NW  | 80   | 102    | -22  | 0.78 |
| etro | pm   | 36th Ave   | 37th Pl. |      |        |      |      |
+------+------+------------+----------+------+--------+------+------+
| M    | 8:55 | 3737 N     | 628 SW   | 80   | 120    | -40  | 0.67 |
| etro | pm   | Main St.   | 68th     |      |        |      |      |
|      |      |            | Terr.    |      |        |      |      |
+------+------+------------+----------+------+--------+------+------+
| **Pr | **   | **5902 NW  | **417 SW | **1  | **55** | **+  | **2. |
| ofes | 5:00 | 26th       | 8th      | 36** |        | 81** | 47** |
| sion | am** | Terr.**    | St.**    |      |        |      |      |
| al** |      |            |          |      |        |      |      |
+------+------+------------+----------+------+--------+------+------+
| Prof | 1    | 3000 NW    | 2403 NE  | 84   | 65     | +19  | 1.29 |
| essi | 2:26 | 83rd St.   | 10th     |      |        |      |      |
| onal | pm   |            | Terr.    |      |        |      |      |
+------+------+------------+----------+------+--------+------+------+
| Prof | 7:30 | 3500       | 11109 NW | 83   | 141    | -58  | 0.59 |
| essi | am   | W          | 38th     |      |        |      |      |
| onal |      | indmeadows | Lane     |      |        |      |      |
|      |      | Blvd.      |          |      |        |      |      |
+------+------+------------+----------+------+--------+------+------+
| Prof | 5:00 | 3614 SW    | 9700 NW  | 80   | 109    | -29  | 0.73 |
| essi | am   | 29th Terr. | 39th     |      |        |      |      |
| onal |      |            | Ave.     |      |        |      |      |
+------+------+------------+----------+------+--------+------+------+
| **Pr | **   | **603 NW   | **1216   | **   | **40** | **+  | **1. |
| ofes | 4:23 | 8th St.**  | SE 13th  | 77** |        | 37** | 93** |
| sion | pm** |            | St.**    |      |        |      |      |
| al** |      |            |          |      |        |      |      |
+------+------+------------+----------+------+--------+------+------+
| Prof | 1    | 1014 NW    | 2930 NE  | 76   | 67     | +9   | 1.13 |
| essi | 1:24 | 57th St.   | 19th St. |      |        |      |      |
| onal | am   |            |          |      |        |      |      |
+------+------+------------+----------+------+--------+------+------+
| **   | **1  | **6800 NW  | **4830   | **1  | **86** | **+  | **1. |
| Unim | 2:40 | 9th        | NW 43rd  | 29** |        | 43** | 50** |
| et** | pm** | Blvd.**    | St.**    |      |        |      |      |
+------+------+------------+----------+------+--------+------+------+
| **   | **   | **413 S    | **2111   | **1  | **41** | **+  | **2. |
| Unim | 4:10 | Main St.** | NW 55th  | 10** |        | 69** | 68** |
| et** | pm** |            | Terr.**  |      |        |      |      |
+------+------+------------+----------+------+--------+------+------+
| Un   | 1    | 4881 NW    | 2616 NW  | 95   | 71     | +24  | 1.34 |
| imet | 1:40 | 8th Ave.   | 22nd Dr. |      |        |      |      |
|      | am   |            |          |      |        |      |      |
+------+------+------------+----------+------+--------+------+------+

For three of the sample trips, total walking distance was about one
mile; a walking time of 40 minutes was used. For one trip, the walking
distance was 1-1/2 miles, with a corresponding walking time of 60
minutes. For the other trips, the average walking distance was 3 blocks;
a walking time of 20 minutes was used.

The two right-hand columns of the table compare the ADA Complementary
Paratransit service and fixed route travel times. In the *Travel Time
Difference* column, the figures represent the difference in travel time;
a minus sign (-) means that the ADA Complementary Paratransit service
travel time would actually be less than the fixed route travel time. In
the *Travel Time Ratio* column, a value less than 1.00 also means a
shorter travel time for ADA Complementary Paratransit service. The trips
in bold are those with a travel time that is either: at least 30 minutes
greater than fixed route service: or has a ratio of at least 1.50 (i.e.,
travel time at least 50 percent greater than fixed route). Table VIII.6
shows that for this sample of 21 long trips, the travel time on RTS's
ADA Complementary Paratransit service would be at least 30 minutes
greater on 8 trips. These same 8 trips would have travel times at least
50 percent greater. It is interesting to note that 5 trips from this
sample would have *shorter* travel times compared to fixed route
service.

**Findings**

[]{.mark}

1.  Based on RTS's own analysis, the average time of an ADA
    Complementary Paratransit service trip is 24 minutes.

2.  Based on an analysis of all ADA Complementary Paratransit service
    provided during November 2001, 6.2 percent of trips exceed the
    one-hour travel time standard established by RTS. Among the four
    major carriers, the proportion of trips that exceeded one hour
    ranged from 3.9 percent (Unimet) to 7.3 percent (CTS).

3.  The mean travel time for the November 2001 trips was 31 minutes.

4.  Based on a sample from ATC data of 21 lengthy trips, 8 would have
    had a travel time of at least 30 minutes longer than a comparable
    trip on fixed route services. Five other trips from this sample
    would have had a shorter travel time than a comparable fixed route
    trip.

**Recommendations**

1.  RTS should adopt a standard for ADA Complementary Paratransit
    service travel time that uses some comparison to fixed route service
    travel time.

2.  RTS should make use of the data from ATC to conduct occasional
    analysis of long trips to see if there are some trends, e.g.,
    relative to particular carriers, common destinations, times of day,
    types of riders.

3.  If certain riders routinely experience long trips, RTS should review
    its schedule and take corrective action.

# Resources

The assessment team reviewed the resources provided by RTS for ADA
Complementary Paratransit services in order to identify possible links
between service limits and the resources available. The team reviewed
RTS's ADA Complementary Paratransit service budget, staffing and
equipment levels.

[]{.mark}

**Policies and Procedures**

[]{.mark}

As described earlier in this report, RTS provides fixed route bus
service and ADA Complementary Paratransit service for the City of
Gainesville. The City of Gainesville finances RTS through a fund
established for that purpose. Fund income comes from a number of sources
including: fare and pass revenue; payments by the University of Florida
for Campus Shuttle Service, Student Fees, and Impact Fees; County
Transit funds; Federal and other grants; local gas taxes; and other
incidental revenue. Through the financial partnership with the
university, reflected in their contributions to the RTS Fund, staff and
students do not pay a fare to ride RTS buses.

The city directly operates the fixed route bus service with its own
staff and vehicles. RTS contracts for its ADA Complementary Paratransit
service. It uses a broker, ATC, which in turn contracts with private
carriers to provide the service. ATC is the Community Transportation
Coordinator for Alachua County (which includes Gainesville) and Levy
County. In addition to RTS, it has contracts to provide paratransit
service with a number of funding agencies, including Medicaid and the
Florida Transportation Disadvantaged (TD) program. The RTS contract with
ATC is an annual contract based on a federal fiscal year, which covers
the period October 1 through September 30. The Medicaid and TD services
are provided through a three-year contract.

RTS also contracts with the Center for Independent Living to assist with
ADA Complementary Paratransit eligibility determinations. The current
two-year contract expires in February 2003.

**Personnel**

[]{.mark}

The assessment team reviewed adequacy of ATC staff to receive trip
reservations in a timely fashion, adequacy of staff to effectively
schedule service and adequacy of operator staff to deliver service.

[]{.mark}

As discussed earlier, there are normally four call takers on duty from 8
a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays. On Saturdays, one call taker is on duty from
8 a.m. to 5 p.m. On Sundays, the scheduler is on duty and also takes
reservations/customer service calls. For rider calls at other times, ATC
has voice mail that is checked the following morning by the first staff
member on duty. Staffing appears to be adequate, with the exception of
Sundays, when long hold times were observed. RTS and ATC should consider
the assignment of an additional person to take calls on Sundays. ATC has
one full-time scheduler who prepares the schedules for all weekdays. The
ATC supervisor prepares the schedule for Saturday service and also
serves as the backup scheduler.

The scheduler said that having an assistant would give him the time to
create more efficient schedules. He said that perhaps an assistant could
have the responsibility of scheduling the Levy County trips -- which
comprise less than 15 percent of the total, but can require two hours
each day to complete. This position could be combined with that of call
taker. The person could assist with call taking during peak periods and
perform scheduling duties during the remainder of the workday. The
person could also serve as the call taker on Sundays.

During visits to the service providers, the assessment team obtained
information on the availability of drivers and equipment as needed to
provide assigned service. Table IX.1 presents the number of runs
assigned the service provider and the number of drivers to cover those
runs. Runs also are referred to as "manifests."

> **[Table IX.1 -- Driver Roster for Service Providers]{.mark}**

  -------------------------- ---------------------- ---------------------
  **Service Provider**       **Runs**               **Drivers**

  CTS                        12 (14)^a^             35

  Metro                      14                     15

  Professional               5                      12

  Unimet                     7                      11
  -------------------------- ---------------------- ---------------------

> a -- Two runs are split, resulting in no more than 12 active runs
> during the day

[]{.mark}

With the exception of Metro, the number of drivers employed by each
carrier appears adequate to cover service requirements. Metro employs 15
drivers to cover 14 runs. Two of their three dispatchers are used as
back-up drivers in the case of absence. It appears that Metro, which
began providing service in July 2001, has yet to establish a stable
group of drivers. Metro managers cited money as a constraint that limits
driver pay rates and the ability to recruit drivers. The driver
limitation may be contributing to below average on-time performance by
Metro.

[]{.mark}

**Equipment**

[]{.mark}

The assessment team also reviewed the adequacy of fleet to provide the
assigned service. Fleet availability is summarized in Table IX.2.

[]{.mark}

**[Table IX.2 -- Fleet Roster]{.mark}**

  ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
  **Service Provider** **Runs**    **Wheelchair   **Ambulatory**   **Total**
                                   Vans**                          
  -------------------- ----------- -------------- ---------------- -----------
  CTS                  12 (14)^a^  10             5                15

  Metro                14          5              16               21

  Professional         5           0              6                6

  Unimet               7           8              3                11

  **Total**            **38        **23**         **30**           **53**
                       (40)**^a^                                   
  ----------------------------------------------------------------------------

a -- Two runs are split, resulting in no more than 12 active runs during
the day

[]{.mark}

With the possible exception of Professional, the vehicle fleet of each
of the carriers appears to be adequate to cover assigned runs. Although
a spare ratio of 20 percent normally would be considered more than
adequate, having only one spare vehicle to cover for vehicles in regular
maintenance or disabled vehicles could result in service delays in the
event of unanticipated equipment problems.

Among the operators, there appears to be limited driver and/or equipment
capacity to provide additional service to accommodate spikes in demand
or growth in demand. RTS and ATC may want to consider ways of increasing
flexible capacity to address unpredictable increases in demand. Options
might include expanded capacity among existing carriers, particularly by
increasing the amount of equipment, and/or contracting for taxi service
for trips that are difficult to serve efficiently on a multi-loaded
vehicle.

ATC staff mentioned the limited availability of wheelchair accessible
vehicles as a potential constraint to scheduling service. RTS may want
to review the adequacy of the wheelchair-accessible portion of the fleet
to assure that it does not limit efficient scheduling and service
provision.

[]{.mark}

**Budget**

The assessment team reviewed the budgeting process and budget and
expenditures for ADA Complementary Paratransit service for the fiscal
years 1999 through 2002.

In July of each year, RTS staff prepares its budget projections for the
following fiscal year (FY), which commences on October 1. The basis for
budget projections is the estimated number of trips and the contract
cost per scheduled trip.

For FY2002, RTS estimated its operating budget requirements based on the
figures presented in Table IX.3.

Table IX.3 -- FY2001 Operating Statistics and FY2002 Projections

  -------------------------------------------------- --------------------
  FY 2001 Trips Scheduled (approx.)                  43,000

  FY 2001 Estimate of Trips Served (a)               37,000

  FY 2001 Rider No-Shows (approx.)                   1,500

  FY 2001 Trips Served & No Shows                    38,500

  FY 2002 Projected Growth                           2,500

  **FY 2002 Projected Trip Demand**                  **41,000**

  **FY 2002 Projected Budget @ \$19.40/Trip**        **\$800,000 +/-**
  -------------------------------------------------- --------------------

\(a\) This was a projection of full FY2001 ridership made in July 2001.

Actual FY2001 was 37,263.

RTS indicated that it has experienced significant growth in the number
of passengers in recent years. Annual ADA Complementary Paratransit
passenger trips increased nearly five times: from 7,564 in FY 1999 to
37,263 in FY2001. In October 2001, there were 1,211 individuals
registered for ADA Complementary Paratransit service, four times the
number of registrants two years earlier. RTS attributed a substantial
portion of this growth to a shift from TD trips to ADA Complementary
Paratransit. In FY2001, annual TD trips declined by approximately 15,000
while ADA Complementary Paratransit trips increased by approximately
17,000. Assuming that much of the apparent shift of trips from TD has
already occurred, a growth projection of 2,500 annual ADA Complementary
Paratransit trips appears reasonable.

Another significant impact on the budget was an increase in ATC's gross
charge per trip from \$12 for FY2001 to \$21.40 for FY2002. Subtracting
the \$2.00 per trip fare results in a net cost per trip increase, from
\$10 to \$19.40. The assessment team did not review the validity of the
increase in per trip cost. However, it should be noted that separate
contracts for ATC services may limit RTS's ability to control costs. The
model of using one service broker to provide Medicare, TD and ADA
Complementary Paratransit services has the potential to facilitate
services for customers, particularly those with multiple program
eligibility, by dealing with only one service broker. Utilization of one
broker also provides potential to reduce cost of similar services
through economies of scale. By entering into separate contracts with the
service broker, covering different periods can place some of the
agencies -- such as RTS -- at a disadvantage in negotiating with the
incumbent contractor. It is suggested that the agencies consider a joint
procurement to avoid possible disadvantages in negotiating with a broker
and to take advantage of the combined purchasing power. If separate
contracts are executed in conjunction with the joint procurement, the
contracts should be coterminous to permit future joint procurements.

[]{.mark}

After RTS staff develops the ADA Complementary Paratransit Budget, it is
incorporated into the overall RTS budget and forwarded to the City's
Budget staff. Historically, the ADA budget has not been identified as a
separate line item in RTS budget. The FY2002 budget is the first to
present the ADA budget as a separate line item. The City Budget staff
reviews the budget to assure that it is reasonable. The budget is then
presented to the City Commission for approval. In the budgeting process
for 2002, the amount for ADA Complementary Paratransit Operations was
adjusted down from the staff estimate of \$800,000 +/- to \$600,000.
Staff indicated that this adjustment was a policy decision. The ATC
annual contract period is July 1 through June 30. The adjusted budget
request may reflect anticipated ATC contract costs through the contract
period, leaving the remainder of the FY (July 1 through September 30) to
be addressed in a future budget supplement. Staff also indicated that
RTS's financing method, through a separate fund, permits them to draw
money as needed to cover required expenses.

A summary of the recent market and budget history of RTS and ADA
Complementary Paratransit services is presented in Table IX.4

**[Table IX.4 -- Budget Summary]{.mark}**

  ------------------------------ ----------------- ----------------- ----------------- ------------------
  []{.mark}                      **FY1999**        **FY2000**        **FY2001**        **FY2002**

  **Total RTS Budget**           **\$7,466,600**   **\$8,773,000**   **\$9,408,612**   **\$11,760,177**

  **Increase in RTS Budget**     **N/A**           **17.5 %**        **7.2 %**         **25 %**

  **ADA Paratransit Expenditures **N/A**           **\$260,762**     **\$288,486**     
  (a)**                                                                                

  **Approved Budget for ADA                                                            **\$600,000**
  Paratransit**                                                                        

  **ADA Paratransit of Total                       **3.0%**          **3.1%**          **5.1%**
  Budget**                                                                             

  **ADA Passenger Trips**        **7,564**         **22,019**        **37,263**        **41,000 (b)**
  ------------------------------ ----------------- ----------------- ----------------- ------------------

\(a\) Expenditures are reported by the annual contract period of July 1
through June 30

\(b\) Projected ridership

[]{.mark}

Prior to August 1999, RTS provided ADA Complementary Paratransit service
with in-house staff. For the period August 1999 to September 2000, RTS
contracted directly with a carrier (CTS) to provide ADA Complementary
Paratransit service. Growth in ADA Complementary Paratransit service
reflects both market growth and a shift in riders from Florida's TD
Program to the ADA Complementary Paratransit service. Some of the recent
increase in the overall RTS budget also reflects increase in service
provided to the University of Florida. The great difference (+108%) in
the FY2002 budget compared to the FY2001 expenditures reflects a
combination of ridership increase and the jump in the per-trip
reimbursement rate.

City and RTS staff indicated that the City Commission has been
supportive of RTS. This support appears to be reflected by approval of
budget increases of recent years. Additionally RTS staff indicated that
funding for ADA Complementary Paratransit service has active public
support in the Gainesville community.

[]{.mark}

**Findings**

[]{.mark}

1.  Call taker staffing appears to be adequate, with the exception of
    Sundays, when data indicates long telephone hold times for
    reservations.

2.  It appears that an additional staff person to assist with scheduling
    could result in more efficient schedules.

3.  With the exception of Metro, the number of drivers employed by each
    carrier appears adequate to cover service requirements.

4.  With the possible exception of Professional, the vehicle fleets of
    each of the carriers appear to be adequate to cover assigned runs.
    Professional's one spare vehicle to cover for vehicles in regular
    maintenance or disabled vehicles could result in service delays in
    the event of unanticipated equipment problems.

5.  Among the operators, there appears to be limited driver and/or
    equipment capacity to provide additional service to accommodate
    spikes in demand or growth in demand.

6.  The number of wheelchair accessible vehicles limits flexibility in
    scheduling, possibly leading to less efficient service.

7.  The FY2002 budget developed by RTS staff for ADA Complementary
    Paratransit service appears to adequately address service demand.
    However, the FY2002 ADA Complementary Paratransit budget included in
    the RTS budget request is lower than the staff estimate. RTS can
    draw from its City Fund to pay for the cost of required services in
    excess of its annual budget. However, the lower budget request could
    result in avoidable budget pressures as the fiscal year progresses.

8.  RTS has an annual contract with the Community Transit Coordinator
    (CTC) that is separate and on a different schedule from CTC's
    contracts with other client organizations. This arrangement can be
    disadvantageous to RTS in negotiating with the CTC. A coordinated
    procurement coterminous with the CTC's other clients should provide
    the clients a stronger negotiating position.

9.  The City Commission appears to be supportive of RTS funding, as
    reflected by approval of budget increases of recent years.

**Recommendations**

[]{.mark}

1.  RTS and ATC should consider the assignment of an additional person
    to take calls on Sundays.

2.  RTS and ATC should consider the addition of a second scheduler,
    possibly performing both scheduling and call taking duties.

3.  RTS and ATC should consider ways of assisting Metro in increasing
    their driver work force or reducing the runs assigned to Metro to
    match Metro's capacity to provide on-time service comparable to the
    other operators.

4.  All carriers should have at least two spare vehicles or spare
    vehicles of at least 10 percent of assigned runs, whichever is
    greater, to assure adequate fleet to provide reliable service.

5.  RTS and ATC should review the adequacy of the wheelchair accessible
    portion of the fleet to assure that it does not limit efficient
    scheduling and service provision.

6.  RTC and ATC should consider ways of increasing flexible capacity to
    address unpredictable increases in demand. Options could include
    expanded capacity among existing carriers, particularly by
    increasing the amount of equipment and drivers, and/or contracting
    for taxi service for trips that are difficult to serve efficiently
    on a multi-loaded vehicle.

7.  RTS and the City should approve an ADA Complementary Paratransit
    budget that reflects projected ridership in their request to the
    City Commissioners to avoid budget problems later in the year.

8.  RTS should consider procurement of CTC services through a
    coordinated procurement coterminous with other clients to provide
    the clients with a stronger negotiating position and potentially
    reduce service costs.

[]{.mark}

**Attachment A**

**Response from RTS**

**Attachment B**

**On-Site Assessment Schedule**

**ADA Complementary Paratransit Service Assessment**

**Gainesville Regional Transit System (RTS)**

**Gainesville, Florida**

**December 10-13, 2001**

Schedule

+---------+----------------------------------+------------+----------+
| *       | **Activity**                     | **Who**    | *        |
| *Time** |                                  |            | *Where** |
+---------+----------------------------------+------------+----------+
| Monday, |                                  |            |          |
| D       |                                  |            |          |
| ecember |                                  |            |          |
| 10,     |                                  |            |          |
| 2001    |                                  |            |          |
+---------+----------------------------------+------------+----------+
| 1:00    | -   Opening Conference           | All        | RTS      |
| p.m.    |                                  |            |          |
+---------+----------------------------------+------------+----------+
| 2:00    | -   Review information requested | All        | RTS      |
| p.m.    |     & policies & procedures with |            |          |
|         |     RTS, ATC Managers            |            |          |
+---------+----------------------------------+------------+----------+
| 4:00    | -   Observe trip reservations;   | Barber,    | ATC      |
| p.m.    |     record trip request          | Kidston    |          |
|         |     information                  |            | ATC      |
|         |                                  | Chia       |          |
|         | ```{=html}                       |            |          |
|         | <!-- -->                         |            |          |
|         | ```                              |            |          |
|         | -   Review scheduling            |            |          |
+---------+----------------------------------+------------+----------+
| **T     |                                  |            |          |
| uesday, |                                  |            |          |
| D       |                                  |            |          |
| ecember |                                  |            |          |
| 11,     |                                  |            |          |
| 2001**  |                                  |            |          |
+---------+----------------------------------+------------+----------+
| 8:00    | -   Observe trip reservations;   | All        | ATC      |
| a.m.    |     record trip request          |            |          |
|         |     information                  |            |          |
+---------+----------------------------------+------------+----------+
| 10:30   | -   Review budget                | Kidston    | City     |
| a.m.    |                                  |            | Hall     |
|         | -   Review eligibility           | Barber     |          |
|         |     determination process        |            | CIL      |
|         |                                  | Chia       |          |
|         | -   Review complaints            |            | ATC      |
+---------+----------------------------------+------------+----------+
| 2:00    | -   Review trip scheduling       | Chia       | ATC      |
| p.m.    |                                  |            |          |
|         | -   Review on-time performance   | Kidston    | ATC      |
|         |                                  |            |          |
|         | -   Eligibility analysis         | Barber     | ATC      |
+---------+----------------------------------+------------+----------+
| #       |                                  |            |          |
| Wednesd |                                  |            |          |
| ay, Dec |                                  |            |          |
| ember 1 |                                  |            |          |
| 2, 2001 |                                  |            |          |
|  {#wedn |                                  |            |          |
| esday-d |                                  |            |          |
| ecember |                                  |            |          |
| -12-200 |                                  |            |          |
| 1 .unnu |                                  |            |          |
| mbered} |                                  |            |          |
+---------+----------------------------------+------------+----------+
| 6:00    | -   Observe vehicle pull-out     | Kidston    | CTS      |
| a.m.    |                                  |            |          |
|         | -   Observe dispatch             | Chia       | Prof     |
|         |                                  |            | essional |
|         | -   Interview provider drivers   | Barber     |          |
|         |     and staff                    |            | Unimet   |
+---------+----------------------------------+------------+----------+
| 10:00   | -   Review trip duration         | Chia       | ATC      |
| a.m.    |                                  |            |          |
|         | -   Review telephone system      | Barber     | ATC      |
|         |                                  |            |          |
|         | ```{=html}                       | Kidston    | ATC      |
|         | <!-- -->                         |            |          |
|         | ```                              |            |          |
|         | -   Review on-time performance   |            |          |
+---------+----------------------------------+------------+----------+
| 1:30    | -   Observe dispatch; interview  | Kidston    | Metro    |
| p.m.    |     drivers and staff            |            |          |
|         |                                  | Chia       | ATC      |
|         | -   Review service days and      |            |          |
|         |     hours and area               | All        | ATC      |
|         |                                  |            |          |
|         | -   Continue data analysis       |            |          |
+---------+----------------------------------+------------+----------+
| # Thurs |                                  |            |          |
| day, De |                                  |            |          |
| cember  |                                  |            |          |
| 13, 200 |                                  |            |          |
| 1 {#thu |                                  |            |          |
| rsday-d |                                  |            |          |
| ecember |                                  |            |          |
| -13-200 |                                  |            |          |
| 1 .unnu |                                  |            |          |
| mbered} |                                  |            |          |
+---------+----------------------------------+------------+----------+
| Morning | -   Complete preliminary data    | All        | [        |
|         |     analysis & remaining detail  |            | ]{.mark} |
|         |     work                         |            |          |
|         |                                  |            | ATC      |
|         | ```{=html}                       |            |          |
|         | <!-- -->                         |            |          |
|         | ```                              |            |          |
|         | -   Prepare materials for        |            |          |
|         |     debriefing session           |            |          |
+---------+----------------------------------+------------+----------+
| 1:00    | -   Exit Conference              | All        | RTS      |
| p.m.    |                                  |            |          |
+---------+----------------------------------+------------+----------+

**Attachment C**

***Enjoy the Ride:***

***ADA Complementary Paratransit Service Guide***

***Fall 2001***

**Attachment D**

***ATC Riders Guide:***

***Alachua and Levy Counties***

**Attachment E**

**Medical Certification Form**

**For ADA Complementary Paratransit Service**

**Attachment F**

**Application**

**For ADA Complementary Paratransit Service**

**Attachment G**

**Acceptance Letter**

**Attachment H**

**Sample ID Card**

**Attachment I**

**Denial Letter**

**Attachment J**

**Sample "*Quick Schedule Report"***

**Attachment K**

**On-Time Performance of ATC Carriers**

November 2001

  ------------- --------------- --------------- ------ ------- ------ -------- --------- -------- -------- ------- -------------- ------- ------- ------- -------- -----------
  **Carrier**   ** **           ** **           CTS            Bass            Liberty            Unimet           Professional           Metro           Totals   

                ** **           ** **           No.    Cum     No.    Cum %/On No.       Cum %/On No.      Cum     No.            Cum     No.     Cum     No.      Cum %/On
                                                       %/On           Time               Time              %/On                   %/On            %/On             Time
                                                       Time                                                Time                   Time            Time             

  **Trips**     **Assigned**    ** **           1526           2      ** **    1                  704              515                    822             3570      

  ** **         **Completed**   ** **           1488   97.5%   2      100.0%   1         100.0%   700      99.4%   498            96.7%   802     97.6%   3491     97.8%

  **Pick Ups**  **On-Time**     **(-15/+15)**   1186   79.7%   2      100.0%   0         0.0%     575      82.1%   413            82.9%   610     76.1%   2786     **79.8%**

                                **(-20/+20)**   1222   82.1%   2      100.0%   0         0.0%     593      84.7%   424            85.1%   645     80.4%   2886     82.7%

                **Late**        **Total**       99     93.3%   0      100.0%   1         0.0%     46       93.4%   46             90.8%   137     82.9%   329      **90.6%**

                **\>**          **0:15**        10     93.3%   0      100.0%   0         0.0%     7        93.4%   7              90.8%   23      82.9%   47       90.6%

                                **0:20**        31     94.0%   0      100.0%   0         0.0%     13       94.4%   18             92.2%   41      85.8%   103      91.9%

                                **0:30**        36     96.1%   0      100.0%   1         0.0%     17       96.3%   16             95.8%   55      90.9%   125      94.9%

                                **1:00**        22     98.5%   0      100.0%   0         100.0%   9        98.7%   5              99.0%   18      97.8%   54       98.5%

                **Early**       **Total**       380    74.5%   0      100.0%   0         100.0%   269      61.6%   150            69.9%   225     71.9%   1024     70.7%

                **\>**          **0:00**        177    74.5%   0      100.0%   0         100.0%   190      61.6%   111            69.9%   170     71.9%   648      70.7%

                                **0:15**        26     86.4%   0      100.0%   0         100.0%   11       88.7%   4              92.2%   12      93.1%   53       89.2%

                                **0:20**        150    88.1%   0      100.0%   0         100.0%   50       90.3%   21             93.0%   30      94.6%   251      90.7%

                                **1:00**        27     98.2%   0      100.0%   0         100.0%   18       97.4%   14             97.2%   13      98.4%   72       97.9%

  **Drop Offs** **On Time**     **(-30/0)**     926    62.2%   2      100.0%   0         0.0%     450      64.3%   341            68.5%   525     65.5%   2244     **64.3%**

                                **(-30/+5)**    979    65.8%   2      100.0%   0         0.0%     468      66.9%   363            72.9%   559     69.7%   2371     67.9%

                **Late**        **Total**       267    82.1%   0      100.0%   1         0.0%     106      84.9%   92             81.5%   198     75.3%   664      **81.0%**

                **\>**          **0:00**        53     82.1%   0      100.0%   0         0.0%     18       84.9%   22             81.5%   34      75.3%   127      81.0%

                                **0:05**        136    85.6%   0      100.0%   0         0.0%     54       87.4%   50             85.9%   99      79.6%   339      84.6%

                                **0:30**        44     94.8%   0      100.0%   0         0.0%     24       95.1%   12             96.0%   43      91.9%   123      94.3%

                                **1:00**        34     97.7%   0      100.0%   1         0.0%     10       98.6%   8              98.4%   22      97.3%   75       97.9%

                **Early**       **Total**       257    82.7%   0      100.0%   0         100.0%   144      79.4%   65             86.9%   79      90.1%   545      84.4%

                **\>**          **0:30**        229    80.2%   0      100.0%   0         100.0%   125      79.4%   57             86.9%   67      90.1%   478      83.3%

                                **1:00**        18     95.6%   0      100.0%   0         100.0%   8        97.3%   5              98.4%   6       98.5%   37       97.0%

                                **1:30**        48     96.8%   0      100.0%   0         100.0%   11       98.4%   3              99.4%   6       99.3%   68       98.1%

                                ** **                                                                                                                               

  **Trip        **More Than**   **1:00**        105    92.9%   0      100.0%   1         0.0%     28       96.0%   30             94.0%   53      93.4%   217      93.8%
  Duration**                                                                                                                                                       
  ------------- --------------- --------------- ------ ------- ------ -------- --------- -------- -------- ------- -------------- ------- ------- ------- -------- -----------

[]{.mark}