RTC’s Access-a-Ride Paratransit Advisory Committee (APAC) – January 12, 2021
APAC met via Microsoft teams on Tuesday, January 12. This was one of three separate meetings for APAC this year. Additional meetings of APAC this year will be held jointly with RTD’s Advisory Committee for People with Disabilities (ACPD) as part of a pilot. RTD is considering a merger of the two committees.
APAC member, Brenda Carney gave an ACPD update to members as APAC’s current liaison to that group. She reported the use of the light rail high block by people with strollers and bikes was a main topic. RTD decided to allow use of the high block by these riders. There will be continued discussion of how to best implement policy to meet the needs of riders with disabilities who depend on the high block to access light rail. Brenda also updated APAC about the status of the 16th Street Mall renovation as well as the installation of barriers to protect bus drivers from COVID. 92% of installation is complete. It is not known whether barriers will be removed after the pandemic.
Access-a-Ride Manager, Larry Buter and RTD staff, Brandon Fowler gave an update on the Access-a-Ride mobile app. Changes were made based on feedback from testers and riders. Additional testing will be done with the assistance of testers including members of APAC. Larry also reported that a new vendor for conducting Access-a-Ride eligibility is being sought. The new vendor will be providing travel training in addition to conducting the eligibility process. This will facilitate the practice of combining the use of paratransit and fixed route when providing services to eligible riders. Additionally, Larry reported they continue to work on the RFP for dispatch and scheduling software to be released later this year. Paul Hamilton, Senior Manager of Paratransit Services gave an update on the pilot being done with Uber. The pilot will be expanded to include WAV vehicles. The pilot is occurring in zip codes 80013-80016. The next APAC meeting is March 9 and will be a joint meeting with ACPD.
