Compliance Coordination Committee Meeting March 21, 2012

Item #

Description

Person/Department

1

1.1

Ms. Gricelda Cespedes, chairperson, called the meeting to order at approximately 10 a.m.  She reviewed the purpose of the Compliance Coordination Committee (CCC) meeting, which is to inform customers about MTA New York City Transit’s efforts to make travel within the system more accessible.

The chairperson stated that the Compliance Coordination Committee meeting also serves as a forum for our customers to voice their opinions, concerns, and recommendations about traveling within the system.

The focus of these meetings is to provide information about current New York City Transit (NYC Transit) projects and programs.

After a few housekeeping details, the chairperson introduced the Co-chairperson.                                    

2

Feature Presentation

Mr. Thomas Charles, Vice President, Paratransit Division/Department of Buses spoke about what Paratransit wants to accomplish.  Paratransit completed 6.5 million trips in 2011.
The projected number of trips for 2012 is nearly 7.5 million.  Paratransit’s goals are to deliver quality service, stay within ADA regulations, and be cost effective. A long-term mission of the Department of Buses has been finding the best vehicle for Paratransit service. 

Mr. Charles spoke about projects that have been accelerated.  The current fleet uses hydraulic wheelchair lifts.  At the 2007 auto show, a vehicle promoted as a “taxi of the future” seemed potentially useful for Paratransit service.  After the Department of Buses discussed Paratransit’s needs with the manufacturer, the manufacturer built an accessible-purpose vehicle, the MV1.  After the MV1 was tested and evaluated, the MTA purchased 30 of the vehicles, which have been in service since the start of 2012.  There are two types of vehicles: one is gasoline powered; and the other is compressed natural gas (CNG).  All 30 vehicles are in service and deployed throughout the five boroughs.  The vehicles were presented to the Paratransit advisory committee (PAC) for suggestions.  In addition, a 90-day test period will look at all aspects of the vehicle.

Car service and taxi use by Paratransit customers as well as the number of vouchers for these rides, has increased steadily since their introduction at the end of 2002.  While the percentage performed by taxis and car service increases, AAR carriers are performing at a lower percentage of total trips.  A Questions and Answers (Q&A) session related to paratransit issues followed the presentation.

Discussion on the CCC meeting agenda, Open Forum & Questions and Answers Session

The next item was a discussion of the CCC meeting agenda.  A few attendees had questions and suggestions about the format of CCC meetings, including proposed topics, or speakers from the ADA community.  However, the general feeling was that questions and concerns during meetings should be limited to topics that concern the ADA community as a whole, rather than individual complaints. 

Chairperson & Other NYCT Department Representatives

5

Key Station Update

The chairperson gave the Key Station update.  To date, we have completed 75 Key stations and 17 non-key stations. This includes Kings Highway station on the B and Q lines, made accessible during the first quarter of this year.  ADA will report this information to the FTA at the end of the second quarter.  The chairperson stated that we are two years ahead of schedule in the voluntary compliance agreement (VCA) to complete 100 stations by 2020.  Nine stations are under construction, eight are in design, and nine are in the planning stage.

Chairperson

Closing Remarks

The meeting closed at noon.  The chairperson informed attendees that the Office of ADA Compliance would announce the next CCC meeting at least one month in advance of the date.  The chairperson thanked everyone.