Meeting_Body
FINANCE, BUDGET AND AUDIT COMMITTEE
SEPTEMBER 19, 2018
Subject
SUBJECT: ACCESS SERVICES - QUARTERLY UPDATE
Action
ACTION: RECEIVE AND FILE
Heading
RECOMMENDATION
Title
RECEIVE AND FILE status report on Access Services - ADA Paratransit.
Issue
ISSUE
This is a quarterly update on Access Services (Access), as requested by the Finance, Budget and Audit Committee.
Discussion
DISCUSSION
Agency Overview
Access is the Los Angeles County transit agency that provides paratransit services on behalf of Metro and 44 other fixed route operators, as mandated by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Eligibility for Access is based on a person’s ability to use accessible buses and trains in Los Angeles County and has 158,000 registered riders to date. Access’ paratransit service is a next-day shared-ride service, curb-to-curb service with additional assistance available to qualified individuals. The service is operated by six contractors in the following regions of Los Angeles County: Eastern, Southern, West Central, Northern, Santa Clarita Valley and Antelope Valley. Access serves any area within 3/4 of a mile on either side of a rail line or local bus route. Customers call Access’ providers directly to make trip reservations.
FY2018 - Year End Review - Operational Performance
Access oversees its contractors’ compliance with federal law and regulations and their service to Los Angeles County paratransit customers through regular audits and the monitoring of a number of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). The major KPIs are listed below.
In FY18, Access provided more than 4.4 million passenger trips with an average of 11,000 trips daily. Overall, service for the year was strong with on-time performance exceeding the standard and averaging over 93 percent during the last six months of the fiscal year. Certain aspects of call center performance (e.g. calls on hold) showed a slight decline from last year. Due to the competitive labor market in Los Angeles County, providers are reporting difficulties hiring and retaining customer service representatives, which is being closely monitored by Access staff. Otherwise, most call center KPIs are holding steady or showing some improvement over last year.
Access’ preventable collision ratio has remained relatively flat over the last two years and continues to be considerably lower than peer transit operators. Access counts any collision, regardless of dollar value, to emphasize the importance of safety. This focus has led to a decrease in Access’ auto liability premiums for the past two years.
FY19 is off to a good start with on-time performance remaining strong and with service complaints trending in a positive direction. Call center performance is generally positive, with the Customer Service and Operations Monitoring Center showing significant improvement.
On-time Performance (OTP) - Access has an OTP standard of 91% within a 20-minute arrival window and measures on-time performance by using GPS validation to verify driver-reported arrival time at a pick-up location. On-time windows of 20 or 30 minutes are standard for ADA paratransit.
Reservations - Average Hold Time / Calls on Hold over 5 Minutes - Access measures the average amount of time, in seconds, that calls for reservations are on hold before being answered. In addition, Access measures the percentage of reservation calls that were on hold for five minutes or longer before being answered.
Preventable Collisions - Access tracks preventable collisions system-wide, at the contractor level, and down to the driver level. As a primary measurement of how safe the paratransit system is, the preventable collision rate is calculated monthly and measures the number of preventable collisions per 100,000 service miles, an industry standard.
Service Complaints per 1,000 Trips - Access tracks the number of complaints it receives to monitor the overall quality of the service. All complaints received, regardless of validity, are included in this measure.
Customer Service Center and OMC - Average Hold Time - Access measures the average amount of time, in seconds, that calls for its customer service center and OMC are on hold before being answered.
Service to Rancho Los Amigos National Rehabilitation Center
The Rancho Los Amigos National Rehabilitation Center (Rancho) in Downey is one of Access’ largest trip generators. Recently, after receiving feedback from Rancho and its customers, several enhancements were implemented:
Access’ Southern Region provider, Global Paratransit (Global), has dedicated a road supervisor to Rancho who is also serving as a “floater” if the need arises. The road supervisor is able to transport customers who miss their pre-scheduled trips and will also have the ability to contact dispatch to bring in additional vehicles if needed. Access is monitoring this arrangement and collecting data to see if additional resources are required.
In addition, Global has a transportation coordinator, or “starter,” stationed at Rancho to help customers locate their vehicles and provide other assistance. Rancho staff are now able to contact the starter directly to handle customer transportation issues (e.g. a medical appointment running late). In addition, the starter is now rebooking trips on behalf of customers when they miss their pre-scheduled trip.
Finally, the contractor’s management has increased outreach with administrative staff at Rancho and is now participating in monthly meetings and weekly site visits.
Update on Where’s My Ride Application
As of August 1, 2018, more than 2,400 customers have downloaded the Where’s My Ride (WMR) application, which was launched in the Los Angeles basin earlier this year and feedback from customers has been very positive. Access is planning to extend the WMR app to the Santa Clarita and Antelope Valley regions towards the end of the year. The app allows customers to obtain an estimated time of arrival (ETA) and vehicle location for their trips and provide feedback after the trip is completed.
Since the app was launched, Access has implemented the system at over ten adult day care centers to help facility staff monitor rides on behalf of the customer. The system is also available at major trip generators such as Rancho Los Amigos, the Braille Institute, and the Eligibility Center in Commerce. In addition, the system is being used at the Operations Monitoring Center (OMC) to help provide ETA information to customers.
To provide better functionality, the next WMR app update, available in September, will display the vehicle identification number and type of vehicle information. This change will help a rider quickly locate their assigned vehicle at busy pickup locations, such as Rancho, UCLA and the Braille Institute, by knowing ahead of time what type of vehicle (van, sedan, or taxi) was dispatched.
Customer Outreach - Community Meetings
Access hosted six Community Meetings between the months of June and July throughout Los Angeles County, which were attended by over 115 customers, family members, and advocates. Access staff provided updates on system and regional operational performance, “Where’s My Ride” Application and Emergency Preparedness Planning. A question and answer session was held at each meeting that allowed the attendees to provide direct feedback and recommendations on service. Another set of community meetings are planned for later this year.
Implementation_of_Strategic_Goal
IMPLEMENTATION OF STRATEGIC GOAL
Goal 2: Deliver outstanding trip experiences for all users of the transportation system
Goal 3: Enhance communities and lives through mobility and access to opportunity
Next_Steps
NEXT STEPS
Access is in the process of completing the following:
• Development and implementation of an online reservations platform. Testing is ongoing and initial deployment is tentatively scheduled for Fall 2018;
• Implementing new contracts in the San Fernando Valley (Northern) and Santa Clarita regions in Fall 2018;
• Expanding the WMR application to Antelope Valley and Santa Clarita areas
Prepared_by
Prepared by: Giovanna M. Gogreve, Senior Manager Transportation Planning, (213) 922-2835 (in consultation with André Colaiace, Executive Director, Access Services, (213) 270-6007)
Reviewed_By
Reviewed by: Nalini Ahuja, Chief Financial Officer, (213) 922-3088
