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Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority
323 Congress Avenue, First Floor
ACCESS ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES
March 2, 2005

Members Present: Shelly Brisbin, Ron Burzese, Jerry Doran, Linda French, Randall L. Glock, Julie Maloukis, Scott Meyer, Juan Munoz, Robert Raines, and Judy Watford.

Members Absent: None

Capital Metro Staff Present: Nancy Crowther and Denise Guerrero

Guest(s): Christine Guerva

The meeting was called to order at 5:03PM. All decisions are voted upon and all votes are unanimous unless stated otherwise.

APPROVAL OF MINUTES.
The minutes of the February 2, 2005 ACCESS Advisory Committee Meeting were approved as written.

CITIZEN'S COMMUNICATION.
None.

AUGUST 2005 SERVICE CHANGE PROPOSALS
Roberto Gonzales could not make it to the meeting and will need to reschedule. Shelly Brisbin asked that he be invited to the next Fixed Route subcommittee meeting and listed first on the agenda.

IVR STATUS REPORT.
ancy Crowther gave a brief report.

  1. Julie Maloukis met with Capital Metro and helped with input on brochure made to market IVR.
  2. March 23-25 will be the testing with ACCESS members to give input on IVR. Members will be able to call from home to test system.
  3. On April 6 Jane Schroeter will attend the ACCESS meeting to receive feedback about the IVR testing.
  4. Two new project managers, Suzanne Stanberry and Tom Pierce, will assist Jane Schroeter with IVR.

SUBCOMMITTEE REPORTS.
Fixed Route ADA Subcommittee.

  1. Randall L. Glock reported on the ongoing bus stop issue at the St. David's Wheelchair Fitness Center. TDLR has finally approved the ADA variance but a new Property Project Manager has concerns about liability issues. Travis Hausman is the Capital Metro contact, and he is working diligently on this effort.
  2. Blair Spikes, Capital Metro's Chief of Security, gave a presentation about security cameras on buses. He explained how they worked and showed a very informative video.

STS Subcommittee
Juan Munoz was not present at the beginning of the STS Subcommittee report, but arrived a few minutes later.

  1. Town Hall Meeting.

    2. Nancy Crowther announced that the Town Hall Community Conversation Meeting will be held at the Marriott by the Capitol on Wednesday, March 30, 2005 from 10:00 a.m. until 2:30 p.m. The target audience includes Austin citizens with disabilities, employers, disability advocates and service providers. She asked ACCESS members to help her get the word out to the community.

    This meeting, aimed at "developing a community vision by and for people with disabilities in Austin, Texas," is sponsored by Enable America, Inc. and the Mayor's Committee for People with Disabilities. It is endorsed by the Austin Area Human Services Association, Capital Metro, Community Action Network, MR/DD Planning Partnership, Capital Area United Way, and other local agencies. Speakers will include:

    • Toby Futrell, Austin City Manager
    • Sam Biscoe, Travis County Judge
    • Fred Gilliam, Capital Metro CEO
    • Fred Butler, Community Action Network
    • Pat Pound, Governor's Committee on People with Disabilities
    • Dennis Borrel, Coalition of Texans with Disabilities
    • Betty Dunkerley, Austin City Council Member

    Additional information can be obtained via Dolores Gonzalez at the City of Austin (phone: 974-3256 or email: dolores.gonzalez@ci.austin.tx.us).

    The event will include a Service Provider Expo, a Career Expo, ADA Awards, remarks from TWC and DARS, and an update on the 2005 activities of the Austin Mayor's Committee on People with Disabilities.

    Nancy encouraged participation from ACCESS members. She also requested that a member attend to present information about the proposal to change current STS policies. Julie Maloukis and Jerry Doran plan to attend the meeting. Jerry Doran volunteered to make the presentation.

  2. STS Policy Changes.

    Juan Munoz briefly addressed the proposal to change the STS Policy on "No-Shows." He stressed that the Subcommittee does not want any changes to occur until after IVR is up and running with a consistent success rate.

PROPOSED CHANGES TO STS POLICIES

Access Members agree that an IVR demonstration should take place before the Committee makes any recommendations for change so members will have a better understanding about IVR and how it will work. Scott Meyer asked if IVR can be programmed to keep track of no-shows. Members felt that it would be helpful if passengers could learn the status of their no-shows via IVR. Nancy Crowther agreed to check with the IVR project managers.

Members discussed proposed changes to the current STS Policy. There was much discussion about the proposals and each issue was put to a vote. Votes were counted by a show of hands.

Proposal 1
Any STS passenger who no-shows 3 (three) or more trips within a calendar month will be suspended from STS service for 7 (seven) days beginning on the first day of the calendar month after receipt of an STS suspension notice. A motion was made to recommend this proposed change to the Board. The motion passed by a vote of 8 for and 2 against.

Proposal 2
Any STS passenger who no-shows 5 (five) or more trips within a calendar month will be suspended from STS service for 15 (fifteen) days beginning on the first day of the month after receipt of an STS suspension notice. A motion was made to strike this proposed change from the recommended changes. Members voted in favor of the motion by a vote of 9 for and 1 against.

Proposal 3
Any STS passenger who no-shows 3 (three) or more trips within a calendar month during any two calendar months in a three month period will be considered a "habitual no-shower." Habitual no-showers will lose there permanent ride schedules and STS subscription privileges.

or:

The definition of a "habitual no-shower" is two occurrences of a passenger missing three or more trips within a calendar month for any consecutive three month period. A motion was made to recommend this proposed change to the Board. The motion passed by a unanimous vote.

Proposal 4
Capital Metro management will, upon request, consider exceptions and hardships on a case-by-case basis. A motion was made to recommend this proposed change to the Board. The motion passed by a unanimous vote. (One member was absent during this vote.)

Proposal 5
Fines in lieu of STS service suspension will be accepted. The fine shall be $32 per no-show trip. Payment will be accepted in the form of cashier's check, money order or credit/debit card. A motion was made to recommend this proposed change to the Board. The motion passed by a vote of 8 for and 1 against. (One member was absent during this vote.)

Proposal 6
To cancel a scheduled STS trip, the passenger should contact STS as far in advance as possible so that rides can be reassigned or made available to other STS passengers. Any cancellation received less than 2 (two) hours prior to the scheduled trip will be considered a no-show. A motion was made to recommend this proposed change to the Board. The motion failed by a vote of 6 for, 2 against and 1 abstaining. (One member was absent during this vote.)

CHAIRPERSON'S REPORT
None.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

  • Julie Maloukis reported on her meeting with Cynthia Lucas, Capital Metro's Marketing Manager. The purpose was to go over the "accessibility" of the IVR marketing brochures. She felt that the meeting went well overall. She addressed all of the ACCESS member concerns about the brochure. Ms. Lucas stressed that the purpose of the brochure was to inform the public about IVR and that another step-by-step instructional pamphlet would be designed. Even so, if the current brochure is targeting current STS users it needs to be adapted to be more STS user friendly.
  • The Capital Metro Bus roadeo is on April 16 at Burger Center. Several members pointed out that Burger Center is not accessible via Capital Metro bus routes.

Next ACCESS Advisory Committee and Subcommittee Meetings.

2005 Access Advisory Committee Meeting Schedule

Main Access STS Subcommittee ADA Subcommittee
2005 1st Wednesday 4th Wednesday 4th Wednesday
March XXXXXXXX 23 23
April 6 27 27
May 4 25 25
June 1 22 22
July 6 27 27
August3 24 24
September 7 28 28
October 5 26 26
November 2 9 9
December 7 14 14

The Chair adjourned the meeting at 6:41 PM.

Respectfully Submitted by: Scott Meyer, Secretary
Julie Maloukis, Co-Secretary


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