Moonwolf's Lair

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Disclosure: I’m one of the founder members of DC ParaTransit Info, which has monitored and reported on MetroAccess and related accessible transportation issues in the DC Metro Area for many years.

Updated: 4:46pm 12/12/09
The Washington Post has reported on who it says the reorganization affects. and it won’t affect MetroAccess.  Yay! (Heads-up courtesy of the Greater Greater Washington blog)

It’s all over the news this evening.  After Senator Barbara A. Mikulski (D-Md.) tore into Metro this past week over safety concerns, DC Council Member and Metro board Chairman Jim Graham stepped up and announced he was working with General Manager John B. Catoe Jr. to, as Councilman Graham stated, “change Metro, and it’s going to happen very rapidly”.

This comes on the heels of another series of well publicized unwelcome revelations of incidents regarding Metro operations.

Given all the information to hand, Senator Mikulski’s ire towards Metro with regards to safety seems fully deserved.

However, most of those safety issues raised concerned MetroRail and MetroBus – not MetroAccess, the ParaTransit service operated under contract by MV Transit to WMATA (Metro).

MetroAccess is the legally mandated service that provides equivalent transportation to people with disabilities.

MetroAccess has long seemed to have been viewed, by the general public at least, as being a financial burden.  I believe the common perception is that MetroAccess’ ridership is a very miniscule minority compared to the able-bodied riders of the system, but the costs per passenger are viewed as being higher.

Which gives me a minor concern.  It took us many years as a community before Metro managed to put together a combination that resolved or reduced a whole host of problems associated with MetroAccess.

That combination is the team of Christian Kent, who was made an Assistant General Manager and wrangles the accessibility programs of Metro as a whole, and Selene Faer Dalton-Kumins, who was brought in as the Director of the Office of MetroAccess Service.

It’s taken time, effort, and several missteps.  Things are still not entirely perfect, but they’re far better than they were a few years ago – and I believe that the teams they assembled can bring the service quality forwards to meet not only the letter of the law requiring ParaTransit service, but also the spirit.

It has reached the stage where we don’t need to highlight issues with MetroAccess nearly as often – because things had begun to run relatively smoothly at last.

But I do wonder if either (or both) Christian or Selene is at risk with this management shake-up to come?

Even though they have (to my knowledge) little involvement with the issues Senator Mikulski highlighted, that isn’t any guarantee they will be allowed to continue bringing MetroAccess up to par.

So I sincerely hope that this planned shake-up at the top at Metro won’t deprive the MetroAccess ridership of two of our greatest assets and allies within Metro’s upper echelons.

Given their lack of involvement in the issues Senator Mikulski raised, I would seriously question why they were part of such a reorganization should that come to pass.

I believe that removing them risks the changes and improvements to service for disabled riders in the DC Metro area beginning to falter when they are still in progress, a situation that could lead to a repeat of the chaos encountered in January of 2006.

I hope that doesn’t happen.

Fixing the safety concerns surrounding MetroRail and MetroBus is a necessary step – but I truly hope that the political pressure from on high doesn’t throw the baby out with the bathwater.

Yes, the disabled ridership might be a serious minority, and yes, the cost per passenger might be higher – but the service isn’t a convenience to us, it’s an absolute necessity.

Don’t start culling what seems to be the only part of Metro that is working and improving.