Pace vows to remedy service problems

Mea culpas by Pace leaders failed to stem the tide of angry riders who accused the agency of mismanaging services for Chicagoans with disabilities Wednesday.

"We had an atrocious first week," Deputy Executive Director Melinda Metzger said, referring to changes the agency instituted in March.

"Our contractors are all on notice that we're not happy with their performance."

Disabled riders offered a litany of concerns including drivers who didn't know how to secure wheelchairs, stranded riders, trips that took hours and complicated dealings with multiple service providers.

"Our safety has been compromised since March 2008," said Sharon Lampe, a Pace user and transportation advocate.

Woodstock resident Kate Reich described a circuitous, three-hour trek from one end of Chicago to the other that involved multiple pickups of other disabled riders and caused her to be late for a rehabilitation therapy session.

"We are really suffering," Reich said. "This is the only way we have to get around. We want to work with you but sometimes we feel like we're not being listened to."

A state mandate required Pace in 2006 to take over public transit for individuals with disabilities in Chicago. Service was previously run by the Chicago Transit Authority.

Pace has been transitioning into its new role and in March launched a revised system dividing the city into three zones and contracting with three main carriers and two alternate providers.

The alterations came after multiple public meetings and were meant to fix problems such as chronic lateness.

But Pace ran into its own glitches when the computer system that schedules trips failed just as it started the new program.

Complaints poured into the agency but Metzger was hopeful the tide was turning, telling Pace board members technical issues were being resolved and on-time performance was improving.

The agency is monitoring other problems and is doing everything to ensure compliance by the carriers from sensitivity training for drivers to threatening legal action and withholding business, she explained.

"The trend is going in the right direction," Metzger said.

In the meantime, Pace board Chairman Richard Kwasneski announced the creation of a panel including state officials, members of the disabled community and riders. The committee will evaluate what's going wrong and offer solutions.

"Obviously some of the problems do not seem to go away," Kwasneski said.

Corrective action is essential, riders like Lampe urged.

"I've never heard folks so dissatisfied," she said.

Evanston resident Larry Biondi, a coordinator at the Progress Center for Independent Living in Forest Park, described a marathon ride home recently that began with a driver who didn't know how to fasten his wheelchair securely.

"I had a 7 p.m. pickup, but we didn't leave the parking lot until 8 p.m.," Biondi said.