A GPS Error has occurred

We’ve asked MetroAccess for more information, but we’re curious if this is related to the database issues, and more importantly - if this is indicative of a problem with IVR (and presumably, Trapeze) not being able to access/reference GPS data, what effect is this having on provisioning of trips?

Have any other riders experienced this aborted IVR call?

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We already witnessed the kind of chaos corrupted data can cause to the system - when MV Transit was importing data from the previous contractors, Logisticare, prior to taking over the contract, DC ParaTransit Info was sounding loud warnings to WMATA that there were major omissions and discrepancies in the database information being transferred. Unfortunately, these warnings went unheeded, but the flawed database migration was noted as one of the reasons for the abysmal transition period that gained such negative attention at the beginning of MV’s term.

So we at DC ParaTransit Info are concerned at recent events which, if not isolated incidents, may indicate that the computer system currently used for MetroAccess (Trapeze) is working with, or even generating, inaccurate data.

What’s in a (phone) number?

One of the founders of DC ParaTransit Info and a MetroAccess Rider, has a “subscription” trip - a pick up each morning, monday through friday, to go to work. This recurring trip has been in place for several years without major difficulties. The IVR “phone number at pick-up” (automatically called when the driver announces his arrival at the pick-up location) is, and always has been, the rider’s home phone number.

However, at some point during the beginning of Inauguration Week, something changed inside the Trapeze database that stores the “phone number at pick-up”, changing it across all subscription trips to this rider’s work phone number. So, the end result is that when the ride arrives at the house to take the rider to work, the MetroAccess automated call is made to the rider’s work instead..

According to the online reservations web site for riders, all subscription trips had changed to the incorrect number. Additionally, two non-subscription trips that were booked by MetroAccess themselves for recertification purposes also showed the incorrect phone number.

The matter was raised with MetroAccess, and a dispatch supervisor attempted to change the “Phone number at pickup” field. The supervisor’s screen apparently showed that change as having been made, although the web site still reflected the wrong phone number. The trips after that attempt to remedy the situation, unfortunately, still called the wrong phone number.

This was then brought to the attention of MetroAccess in email, and we were informed after investigation that this was an issue with an “alternate IVR” field, and that the number had been changed to the correct number once more, which we verified through the web site which this time showed the correct number once more.

Only … At some point, without rhyme, reason, or warning, it appears Trapeze itself reverted the “Phone number at pickup” for the rider back to the incorrect work number.

This resulted in another pick-up phone call going to the wrong number, and a no-show being placed against the rider. In some instances, the change affected the reminded call the night before, which has (since this latest reversion) also gone to the wrong number.

This is deeply troubling behaviour by Trapeze.

Based on our observations to date, and the information telling us of the “alternate IVR” field, we have some ideas as to why this situation has occurred, although none of them are very “good” scenarios from a data integrity perspective.

At this stage, we at DC ParaTransit Info (who are ourselves database and systems professionals) are leaning towards this as being the most plausible explanation

It may be that somewhere in the system, it looks at the pickup numbers in this (pseudocode) manner:

If primary pickup number is not empty
and
alternate number field is empty
use
primary number
else if
alternate number field is not empty
use
alternate field regardless of whether or not there is anything in the primary field.

In effect, a conditional that says “if there’s anything in the alternate field, use that instead of the primary regardless of the data in the primary field.”

We are obviously unable to say with certainty if this is the case, and have asked MetroAccess to escalate this to a “formal” report of a bug in their system in order to get those who can properly analyze the behaviour of Trapeze to investigate. We have yet to hear if this is being done on the requested “formal” level, though.

Why is this so deeply troubling?

As MetroAccess has now tried to change the “Phone number at pickup” twice, yet the number has reverted back to incorrect data afterwards, it raises the spectre that MetroAccess is unable to override the database, instead the database overrides changes MetroAccess makes, in at least one field’s case.

This also raises the additional risk that, if this is not an isolated issue, the software is capable of making changes to trip and customer data without MetroAccess’ knowledge unless it is brought to their attention. This would imply that there is no auditing (or at least no review) of changes made to existing information in the database.

Even if this is simply a case of the “alternate IVR” field overriding the default “Phone number at pickup” field, it would mean the only way to bypass this behaviour would be for those with access to edit that field in the database at MetroAccess remember to “blank” or null the alternate IVR field.

We’re unsure of the purpose of the alternate IVR field, but the most likely purpose, to change that number for trips as a one-off change or as a backup number, would only make sense under this model if it was only applied for one trip, automatically resetting to blank after the trip has been completed - which obviously is not the behaviour observed.

Whilst it may be easy to attempt to dismiss this first issue we raise as being “cosmetic” or otherwise non-critical, the data field being incorrect and constantly reverting may not be all that “critical” - but the idea that trapeze can make changes to parts of the data records, apprently without any way for MetroAccess to notice such changes, raises questions as to what other data records might Trapeze be able to change, again without MetroAccess being able to notice (or rectify?).

Other Computer Oddities

There are two other issues with the MetroAccess database(s) that DC ParaTransit Info is currently monitoring:

2+2 = ?

In one, a rider is still trying to obtain information as to why two trips from November 2008 that should have been covered under the “trip credits” awarded as part of the Settlement Agreement last year were both charged for as fares paid to the driver on boarding the vehicle, as well as being deducted from the rider’s trip credits.

The Magic 8-Ball On Silicon Chips

The third issue we’re aware of currently is the “bidding” system used when you reserve a trip. This issue strangely only seems to apply to trips booked to take place on a friday. When you give your requested pickup time, Trapeze automatically backs the “bid” pickup time back 30 minutes.

For example, if you request a pickup at 2pm, Trapeze will offer you a pickup at 1:30pm, with the pick-up window between 1:15pm and 1:45pm.

This seems to be the case if the rider makes the reservation online, or through the reservation agents. The 30 minute time period does seem to indicate this issue may be flawed logic in the “30 minute window” concept within Trapeze, but we’re at a loss to come up with a reason why this happens for trips that are reserved for fridays alone.

Metrics

Given that Trapeze is, we believe, responsible in large part for generating the metrics (statistics) given to WMATA to measure service performance, any potential corruption of data will have a “knock on” effect, because those statistics form the basis for many decisions regarding the service - especially given recent comments in the news regarding WMATA desiring to reduce MetroAccess service levels due to rising costs.

If such decisions are going to be based in any way on the statistics Trapeze generates, especially “no-show” statistics, then it is critical that the data be audited beforehand to ensure it is reliable and complete. The service has been adversely affected several times in the past as a result of bad numbers, whether they be incorrect trip statistics to woefully-underestimated projected ridership levels.

It also raises other questions

• How many riders have had no-shows placed against them because of a failure of IVR to notify them their transport has arrived at the pick-up point?
• Assuming the rider is able to call “Where’s my ride?”, how would this kind of issue affect on-time performance statistics?
• How many riders have been left stranded for hours, blamed for failing to be at the pick-up point, when the error may be the result of Trapeze changing data or how it processes that data, and the knock-on effect to the IVR phone calls?
• How many riders are unable to log in to their “MetroAccess Account” web page to verify if they have been given the full number of credited trips that were part of the Settlement Agreement?

Conclusions

We strongly recommend all MetroAccess riders to log into the Web site at https://macs.mvwmata.mvtransit.com/passweb/hiwire?.a=pHome (https://macs.mvwmata.mvtransit.com/508/hiwire?.a=pHome for the text only version) and check their upcoming trips contain the correct “Phone number at pickup” data.

We also recommend riders log in and check their “MetroAccess Account” status to ensure that the information is correct, especially with regards to the trip credits that were part of the Settlement Agreement from 2008. You can check your “MetroAccess Account” at https://www.eztransport.com/WMATA/MembersPortal/default.asp.

DC ParaTransit Info would appreciate any information other riders can offer regarding these issues, or if they’ve encountered other problems with inaccurate data within the MetroAccess system. If riders have been subjected to no-shows that were the result of them not getting an automated phone call when their transport arrived, we recommend appealing that decision with MetroAccess as soon as possible, as well as recording the time, date, and any other information regarding that trip.

Until we can be assured of the integrity of the data stored in, and generated by, Trapeze, it’s only prudent to find ways we, as riders, can keep Trapeze and the statistics it generates “honest”.

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I received a letter today reminding me that I need to recertify for MetroAccess soon.  The letter advised me to complete the enclosed application and return it to the office within 60 days of the date of their letter.

Except - no application form.

So I have to call them to tell them they forgot a rather important piece of information in their mailshot, and ask them to get it right.

Of course, their system probably has the 60-day clock started September 24th, the date on their letter (of which 7 days have already passed before I even received it).

So my guess is that while I wait for them to remember where they put the application forms and send one out to me, that clock will still be running as of September 24th - not the date they send the information they skipped.

Which has me wondering - how many other riders have they “forgotten” to include the application form for, and how many end up having to scramble as a result to beat their original timeframe?

It occurs to me that, given past experience, MetroAccess will lay the blame for any delays on the rider, not their own lack of competance, especially if it gives them the opportunity to remove another rider from the eligibility roster, so saving them money by disenfranchising another disabled person.

It will be interesting to see just how responsive MetroAccess is to this situation, and how it progresses.  DC Paratransit Info would love to hear from any other riders who are experiencing, or have experienced in the past, any administrative “errors” like this that have caused them stress, or especially to be declared ineligible for MetroAccess use as a result.

Call for applications for the Metro Elderly & Disabled Transportation Advisory Committee

NOTE: Applications are due by 5 p.m. on June 20.

Customers with disabilities and senior citizens have a lot to say about Metro service. More importantly, they have a lot of good ideas to share. The Metro Elderly & Disabled Transportation Advisory Committee advises Metro on ways to improve Metrobus, Metrorail, and MetroAccess services. Senior citizens and customers with disabilities have a chance to participate in making Metro better.

Metro is currently seeking applications from customers interested in filling vacancies on the Metro Elderly & Disabled Transportation Advisory Committee.

We encourage you to apply for membership if you:

1. Are a senior citizen or a person with a disability and Ride Metrobus, Metrorail and/or MetroAccess and
2. Live in the District of Columbia, Prince George’s County, Montgomery County, Arlington County, Fairfax County or the City of Alexandria
3. Are not employed by Metro or a Metro contractor and
4. Are not an elected official.

How members are selected.

Metro’s General Manager will select candidates that represent an accurate cross-section of customers and reflect a broad representation of people from different geographical locations in the Metro service area. With six vacancies, not every applicant can be accepted.

What you give. What you get.

If selected, you will advise our General Manager. You won’t be paid, but you will have the opportunity to help make a difference in the way Metro serves the region, particularly how Metro serves those customers who are senior citizens or people with disabilities.Go to the following link to apply: http://www.wmata.com/accessibility/edApplication/apply.cfm

NOTE: Applications are due by 5 p.m. on June 20.

For additional information, please contact the Metro Elderly & Disabled Transportation Advisory Committee Hotline at 202-962-6060.

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MetroAccess Set to Begin Door-to-Door Service on June 30, 2008

Starting on Monday, June 30, MetroAccess will begin providing door-to-door service. Under the new initiative, drivers will meet customers at the first exterior door of a building and escort them to the vehicle.

Metro’s Department of Access Services wants to make it easy for MetroAccess customers to learn more about door-to-door service. MetroAccess will host three Public Information Sessions to discuss the implementation of door-to-door service. Customers who attend will hear complete details about the new service and have a chance to ask questions. Please plan to attend one of the following sessions:

Saturday, May 31, 2008, 1-3 p.m.
First United Methodist Church of Hyattsville
6201 Belcrest Road
Hyattsville, MD 20782

View Larger Map
By Metrorail: Prince George’s Plaza station on the Green Line. Please check Metro’s Web site for weekend track delays. Exit the station using the main exit. Travel approximately one block northeast on Belcrest Road.
By Metrobus: Routes 86, C4, F4, F6, F8, R2, R3 or R4
By MetroAccess: Call 301-562-5360

Saturday, June 7, 2008, 1-3 p.m.
ECNV (ENDependence Center of
Northern Virginia)
3100 Clarendon Boulevard
Arlington, VA 22201

View Larger Map
By Metrorail: Clarendon station on the Orange Line. Please check Metro’s Web site for weekend track delays. Exit the station using the main exit. Travel a short distance south on North Highland Street.
By Metrobus: Route 38B
By MetroAccess: Call 301-562-5360

Saturday, June 14, 2008, 1-3 p.m.
Metro Headquarters
Jackson Graham Building
600 Fifth Street NW
Washington, DC 20001

View Larger Map
By Metrorail: Gallery Pl-Chinatown station on the Red, Yellow and Green lines. Please check Metro’s Web site for weekend track delays. Exit the station using the 7TH ST NW & F ST NW exit. Travel approximately two blocks east on F Street NW.
By Metrobus: Route 70, 80, D6, P6 or X2
By MetroAccess: Call 301-562-5360

MV Transportation and MetroAccess have created a video about door-to-door service, which will be shown at the Public Information Sessions. If you’re not able to attend a meeting, the video is available online at www.wmata.com/metroaccess along with the latest details about door-to-door service.

For more information about door-to-door service and MetroAccess, please visit www.wmata.com/metroaccess or call 301-562-4640 (TTY 301-588-7535).

All public information sessions are wheelchair accessible and feature American Sign Language interpretation. To request materials in an alternate format or additional accommodations, call 202-962-1100 (TTY 202-962-2033) or e-mail adap@wmata.com

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Nadia Ibrahim, a policy adviser for the Labor Department, gets to work from her Rockville home by taking MetroAccess, a paratransit service operated by Metro. Ibrahim, who has cerebral palsy, uses a wheelchair and a service dog.

Her disability is permanent.

But every three years, she must go through a time-consuming process that will cost Metro more than $1 million this year to prove a basic fact of life for her and thousands of other riders: Her disability makes it difficult for her to ride Metrorail or Metrobus and therefore qualifies her for curb-to-curb MetroAccess service.

“I find it sort of insane that you take MetroAccess to get recertified to show that you need MetroAccess,” said Ibrahim, 37. “It’s a process that doesn’t make logical sense.”

Metro officials said the process is necessary because eligibility for the federally mandated shared-ride service depends on a person’s physical ability. People do not automatically qualify because they have a permanent disability.

One of the issues that was being sidelined by the furore over MV Transit’s taking over of the service two years ago was the recertification process itself.  At the time, WMATA seemed to be tightening up the eligibility criteria, making it much more difficult for people to qualify for MetroAccess service.

We believed at the time (and still do to some degree), that the changes to the certification criteria was intended more towards reducing the number of eligible riders in an attempt to reduce costs by reducing number of trips made, more than anything else.

So we’re glad that the entire certification process may finally be looked at in more depth.

The question is: Who will be looking at it?

“We are considering broader changes to the application and eligibility assessment process for the coming year, but they will require a substantial amount of public discussion, planning and, in some cases, board approval before they will be implemented,” said Christian Kent, Metro’s chief of disability services, which include MetroAccess.

This would be the WMATA Board, presumably.

Which does not, as far as we’re aware, include a single person with disabilities.

I doubt very much that one single board member regularly uses MetroAccess, or has to go through certification.

Even though we have “one of our own” at the helm of MetroAccess, and Christian Kent has shown himself to be a conscientious advocate of disability transportation in the DC Metro area, they are not the “final decision makers” when this issue comes up for changing - the changes will be made solely on the say-so of a bunch of able bodied “managers”, in effect.  The most we, the disabled community, will be able to do in the process is “advise”.

This is totally unacceptable.  A bunch of people, none of whom uses or depends on the service, are once more going to be put in the position of being able to judge our needs from a position of ignorance.

No-one is likely to say that the eligibility process is not in need of review and changing - but the disabled community needs to stay on top of this and put pressure on WMATA at all levels to ensure that this doesn’t turn into yet another cynical ploy to reduce eligibility to reduce costs.

As long as the final arbiters (the Board) of any profound changes remains an elitist group, with no members who actually use the service, our practical needs risk being sacrificed to try to save money at our expense so able-bodied MetroRail and MetroBus riders can have new floors, cell phones that work in tunnels, flickering video ads on walls, or LED signs outside stations.

When MV Transit took over the contract, WMATA tried to marginalize us and dismiss our concerns over the reduction in practical service as somehow being “perks”.  We must now stand together and pointedly, publicly, and loudly at the beginning of public awareness growing, tell WMATA’s Board “Nothing about us, without us”.

We should demand to know if the costs WMATA hopes to make to reduce MetroAccess costs will then be diverted to providing “perks” for that majority ridership.

We need to ensure that our voices are effectively prominent in the decision making process to come regarding eligibility, to protect those riders who otherwise will be disenfranchised in the name of “cost cutting”, savings that most likely will be spent on the “majority” ridership’s “perks”.

We need to reposition the argument, and ask them - how many disabled riders do they consider “acceptable” to disenfranchise through changes to eligibility, in order to divert the savings to those stupid cosmetic goodies planned that benefit only the majority able-bodied ridership.

Legitimate changes to optimize the system benefits everyone, including the community itself.

Changes made that enhance the ability of able-bodied riders to better annoy the hell out of each other talking loudly on their cell phones, whilst disenfranchising and further marginalizing members of the disabled community benefits no-one.

We must force the board and WMATA in general to prove its commitment, not only legal but moral, to providing effective comparable transit to people who legitimately need it in the DC Metro area - and expose them if prejudice penalizes us to give perks to the rest.

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