Paul's Comments

Office of the Board of Directors                                        May 24, 2009
Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority
600 5th Street NW
Washington DC 20001

Complaint No. 2009-003

Pursuant to the provisions of Article 62(b) of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority Compact I hereby file a request with the Board of Directors for a hearing with respect to the service rendered with the facilities of the Authority. The remainder of this letter explains the matters and things on which the request relies, and deals with the rendering of transportation service for the disabled on Metrobus and Metrorail.

Originally I probably would simply have e-mailed this note to Mr. Christian Kent, but, I discovered when I sent him some suggestions about ways that I thought might improve service, he basically blew me off by saying that there is a lot of work in making changes on the issues I had mentioned.

I came to the realization that Mr. Kent basically never even read what I wrote. One of the items I suggested involved a recommendation to change a feature of the interactive voice response system on 202-637-7000. A suggestion to change the system running on the Authority's main number should have been something considered much more serious than some minor change elsewhere. Since Mr. Kent has absolutely nothing to do with that department and it's clearly outside his bailiwick, should have been a red flag indicator that he, had he actually read my message, would have set off alarm bells and he would have said he was forwarding that suggestion to someone at the appropriate department.

That response would have indicated he actually read my e-mail; his response obviously indicated that he did not.

So he basically presumed me to be, as Randall Greaves did in the motion picture Clerks as "just another pain-in-the-ass customer" which things would be so much nicer if they weren't around to bother them. Clearly, my suggestions were unwanted, and, as unwanted suggestions, I'm sure, were basically ignored. In fact, he later explicitly blew me off by recommending I send further suggestions to yet another (probably) bored Metro employee, who, I'm sure, after not reading them, would dismiss them as worthless or ignore them because I'm not an employee of the Transit Authority.

Therefore it looks like my only recourse is to "make a federal case out of it" and make every single complaint, suggestion or notice that I make to Metro into an Article 62(b) hearing since that appears to be the only way I can get myself taken seriously.

This attitude by lower-level employees of the transit authority goes back years. In one case, about eight years ago, I wrote to the supervisor of bus operations because while I was standing at a bus stop, I had some trash in my hand from food I had been eating, I stepped over to the trash can - which was next to the stop - and the driver ignored me, blew the stop and drove off without even slowing down. This bus ran once an hour and caused me to be late to work.

I was at the time not disabled, and was standing. I am 6'2" and weigh 400 pounds, I am impossible to miss. But the bus driver decided to ignore me simply because I was being polite, and instead of littering, I used the trash can next to the bus stop to throw something away, and the supervisor of bus operations never even responded to my letter, similar to the way even the Board of Directors either was slow to do so or simply did not respond to my first letter when I wrote to them until I sent a duplicate copy.

It is this sort of cavalier attitude that probably makes anyone who can avoid using Metro do so.

I have recently obtained a power wheelchair. It was my intent to use this to "wean" myself off of Metro Access and perhaps be able to resort to direct use of Metrobus and Metrorail, but for "the matters and things on which this request relies" as Article 62(b) states, it's clearly obvious that I cannot do that at this time, as the supposedly "accessible" service that is provided by Metrobus and Metrorail is inadequate, as I will now explain.

Matter 1.
On more than one occasion I have had to be at a spot near to a bus stop where there is a driveway, curb cut or ramp so that I can get to the bus. For the purposes of this complaint I provide three exhibits by reference.

Exhibit (1) is the bus stop located at approximately 416 Brightseat Road in Landover. This is in front of a private house on the C22 bus route, and is across the street from the Prince George's County Welfare office ("Department of Human Services"). The stop consists of a bus stop and a bench which I believe has a shelter, and sits, on a concrete platform behind the curb. There is no sidewalk on the even side of Brightseat Road, which means that I have to cut across the street from a driveway on the odd-numbered side and wait on the street in front of the stop for the bus to show up.

There are two basic kinds of handicapped lifts that your buses provide. The older style that slides under the stairs, lowers to ground level and rises over the stairs, and the newer kind that is basically a piece of plywood that folds out.

Bus drivers picking people up at the stop at 416 Brightseat Road have no problem picking up passengers in wheelchairs, on the road, and I have been picked up there in both a manual wheelchair and a power wheelchair without a problem. Your older style lift ramps are not a problem, they'll come down to ground level. The fold-over ramps might, in some cases be a bit steeper but even on a manual wheelchair I've not had a problem.

Exhibit (2) is the intersection of Doppler Street and Larchmont Avenue in Capitol Heights. One side (F14 and J11/J12 buses coming from Addison Road Station) is a reasonable sidewalk with a curb cut, and there is no problem taking a bus which requires use of the lift. The other side, however (buses going toward Addison Road), is a logistical nightmare, in that while there is a curb there, there is no curb cut, making use of that bus stop difficult unless I stay in the street. ½ a block away is a driveway, and one could come back partially (the bus stop sign itself blocks the sidewalk enough that a wheelchair can't get by), but the sidewalk is so narrow and blocked by a chain-link fence that catching a bus there is very difficult because there is no capability to back up to allow the wheelchair ramp to come down (and the first time I tried I didn't even realize there was a driveway near there; I waited in the street.)

Larchmont Avenue in that area is relatively narrow which means picking me up from the street in front of the curb would not be a good idea (the bus would have to block traffic both ways), so one of the few ways to solve the problem is to wait at the stop, then tell the bus driver I'll go across the street to the other side of Doppler to allow him to load me from there because that side does have a curb cut and I could get on from there. I suspect if I tried waiting on that side of the street and no one was at the bus stop to tell him the driver would not figure I was waiting for the bus and would bypass me. To solve this problem I go to...

Exhibit (3) is one block downhill from Larchmont and Doppler, at the intersection of Larchmont and Cumberland Avenues. Here, the house next to the bus stop has a convenient driveway I can use to wait for the bus, so I do so. I have caught several buses at this stop.

Twice, however, I've had bus drivers who proceed to tell me that the new-style fold-over plywood ramp will not be able to reach me if I'm on the ground (the driveway is essentially even with the street.) Even with the bus being lowered.

The driver wants to argue with me that the ramp will be too steep and I won't be able to get on, notwithstanding the fact that I have done it before both in other places at that sort of height and at that very location and more than once in both cases.

I get one bus driver who insists I have to move to higher ground, to the sidewalk area adjacent to the driveway. I'm trying to explain to the driver that he need do nothing; he does not have to help me or do anything for me, all he has to do is lower the ramp. But he won't do it; he claims it's not going to work, despite my educated opinion to the contrary.

I gave up. I agreed to move over to the higher spot, but unfortunately I'm right on a spot of mud when I try to move over to get on the bus ramp. Now, at this point, the driver for some reason now decides to "show" me that it won't work by lowering the ramp back on the driveway.

Only now I'm stuck in the mud. Three of the passengers come over to try to help me, but my wheels just spin in the mud. I explain to them that between me and the electric wheelchair we weigh about 750 pounds, there is no way they can help. So I tell the bus driver to go, because now, I have to call 9-1-1 to have the Prince George's County Fire Department come by to get me out of the mud. Since I cannot stand, the way to do this is for them to send out an ambulance that has a Gurney, put me on it, then move the electric wheelchair, which 3 firefighters can push because now it only weighs 350 pounds. Now they can wheel the Gurney over to the unstuck chair, and allow me to get back on it.

The matter and issue here is whether some of your drivers need better training in how to handle operation of lift ramps for the handicapped when the handicapped person informs - or tries to inform - the driver that despite his or her opinion, they know it will work because they have done so before.

Matter 2.
Metro has stated that Metro Access will accept $2.50 Metrorail cards as payment for the fare. I liked this feature as I could purchase blocks of them at a train station and have them available so I wouldn't be in a position to not have the means to pay for a trip if I didn't have cash on me, which sometimes happens. I take a trip across town, and I give the driver one of the $2.50 Metrorail cards. I have a return trip booked for the following morning, which was a Sunday. I am informed by the Metro Access driver when I go to use one, that now Metro Access no longer accepts Metrorail fare cards.

This has to be a mistake on his part, the other driver took one and didn't say anything. So I use my cell phone to call Metro Access, and tell the dispatcher that the driver is claiming this. Well, I get the dispatcher who informs me that yes, Metro Access no longer accepts Metrorail fare cards. But in view of the circumstances they'd be willing to let me have a no-charge trip.

In view of the issues I've had with Metro Access in the past I am scared to death what new and exciting gremlins would come flying out of Metro Access' systems to attack me in the manner done by flying monkeys upon Dorothy in the movie The Wizard of Oz if I accepted this offer, so instead I ask the relative I went to see if they could give me $2.50, which they did. (Actually it was $3 so I just gave him that.)

There was no indication in either the letter or the quarterly bulletin that Metro Access had instituted such a change. There was no sign or note in the Metro Access van indicating such a change had been implemented.

Now I'm more-or-less stuck with $25 in farecards I can't use.

The matter and issue here is whether it is the policy of WMATA and/or Metro Access to "whipsaw" people, and basically screw them over without warning, as apparently this unannounced and undeclared change in policy was intended to do, or negligently did if someone did so by mistake.

Matter 3.
Further, the bulletin from Metro Access indicated there would be a method for prepaying for trips that would be available on the website to view, and perhaps even accessible from the IVR system, and would be available May 1. This method is not available.

I also reported to Mr. Kent that the Metro Access website is broken in that when used with an alternative web browser to Internet Explorer the ability to book a trip does not work. It has been more than two weeks, I think, and as of 2:43 am Monday May 25, this problem has not been fixed.

The matter and issue here is whether Metro Access is going to announce features that are not present on their website systems, or to release changes to such systems which are clearly broken and malfunctioning, and continue to fail to fix them when such problems are reported.

Matter 4.
At approximately 3:58 pm today, May 24, I was catching the Yellow Line train to Huntington at L'Enfant Plaza. I attempted to board your car #6176, which I do by activating my power wheelchair and rolling forward, as I have done a number of times. I believe this was the center door, but it doesn't really matter as I've never had an issue which which door to take on a train, they all seem to be okay.

But not this time. This attempt did not result in me getting onto the train. This attempt resulted in a loud "BANG" and my being left off of the train, still on the platform. Presuming that maybe I had not gotten up to speed, I backed up a bit and tried again, to a resulting "BANG" as I ended up with my ass on the platform and my legs on the train. At which point the doors proceeded to close, and I'm half-way in the train, but the doors can't close because I'm in the way. Once the driver opened the doors, I backed up a bit.

A couple of passengers wanted to help, but I explained - for the same reason as when I got stuck in the mud - me and the power chair weigh about 750 pounds, there is no way they can help me on. I decide to be a nice guy and let the train go.

The matter and issue here is what is going on with the maintenance or adjustment of metrorail cars to allow this sort of fiasco to happen. It could have been worse; I could have gotten jammed between the car and the platform, requiring the fire department to get me out, as happened when I got stuck in the elevator at Capitol Heights Station requiring the PG County Fire Department to get me out. Or maybe worse than that, maybe I get injured because I'm not far enough to block anything but far enough that I fall in or get dragged by the train.

I'm brand new at operating a power wheelchair, I'm still deathly afraid every time I have to go downhill on roads, driveways or ramps, now I have yet another fear, that maybe your slovenly maintenance of rail cars is going to get me killed or injured worse than I already am.

Matter 5.
[In the original letter it's misnumbered as 4] I'm stuck in a dilemma. I am having incidents where either the lack of training of your people on how to handle equipment is causing them to effectively deny me service, or because of problems with your equipment I am unable to get service.

I now have two choices: keep complaining or take direct action. Since sending complaints into low level employees doesn't seem to help much - I apparently am just dismissed as a whiny complainer - and making a stink in the manner of a 62(b) complaint seems on the order of using nuclear weapons to kill flies, I don't know what to do.

I am getting sick and tired of being treated as a second-class citizen simply because I'm disabled and either the bus driver arrogantly "knows" that I'm wrong and my attempts to use the service won't work, or the service doesn't work because something on your equipment goes haywire.

You know, when I wait for a bus or train I'd like to be able to use it. But forcing me to end up taking the next bus or train because of this sort of problem is unacceptable. So I've got three choices here to try and make you notice.

The first is to file a 62(b) complaint, wait two weeks until you ignore me again (as the lower level people would ignore any complaints sent there) then complain again and have someone tell me something to the effect of "oh sorry, I didn't hear you when you knocked the first time."

The second is for me to document these events when they occur, then sue the transit authority for violating the Americans With Disabilities Act every time this happens. Maybe I don't win, but when you have to keep spending several thousand dollars in legal fees every time I file one, you'll do something to fix these problems. That, however, then wastes good money which might be used to provide more service.

The third is for me to institute a "no more Mr. Nice Guy" policy and state categorically that the next time a bus driver refuses me service, or a vehicle such as a bus or train has a problem that I am denied service, then that vehicle stays out of service until either I get service or they call the transit police to arrest me, and my wheelchair, for blocking the vehicle and refusing to let it leave. You can imagine that I'll have a field day over this one, holding a press conference to tell the television stations and the newspapers how the Transit Police arrested a guy in a wheelchair because he refused to be denied service when the transit authority refused to give him service it was required by law to provide.

When the customers on the vehicle complain, I'll be happy to give them the names and phone numbers of as many members of the Transit Authority Board of Directors as I can find, and recommend they call them to complain about it.

Of course, then there will be the usual comparisons of how some white guy is essentially pulling a Rosa Parks because he's ticked off. Well, I'm not ticked off now, I'm considerably worse.

I alluded in my first letter that I was like a "Hiroshima mushroom cloud" in terms of my anger over how I was treated by merely being slighted by what was ostensibly a minor error that fortunately didn't even inconvenience me. These incidents of treating me like I am garbage, however, have now morphed into the Firebombing of Dresden, if we want to pick up more metaphors from World War II.

Many people have been struck by the "Fear of Paul" from just the consideration of how I would act if I was upset. Well, the Authority has now unleashed the "Wrath of Paul," where I am now even more angry and upset than I was before. If that is even possible.

The matter and issue here is what the Transit Authority wants me to do when I have a problem, and what it will do to try and alleviate the situation as opposed to me deciding to implement the equivalent of a holy war, either bombing you with 62(a) complaints or ADA lawsuits. There has to be some answer that allows my issues to be resolved without resorting to more expense that serves no purpose. I mean, I'm one person, you're the representatives of a billion dollar Transit Authority, at most I can represent an expensive irritant that if I keep being regular about it, eventually you put up a line item in the budget marked "Costs of lawsuits by Paul Robinson."

But there has to be some other answer. And I hope we can find it because I'd like to be able to get on with my life without having to keep stopping and writing complaints (or having to go into even more drastic measures such as lawsuits) to the board of directors because other attempts to fix the problems or examine my suggestions go ignored.

Sincerely,

Paul Robinson
"A computer programmer and Notary Public in and for
the Commonwealth of Virginia, at large, and the
State of Maryland in and for Prince George's County."