Pace audit doesn't come cheap

Regional Transportation Authority directors agreed Thursday to spend up to $129,000 for an audit of Pace's handling of paratransit in Chicago.

The review follows complaints by riders about changes instituted by Pace in March 2008 that include dividing the city into three zones and glitches with Trapeze, the computer dispatch system.

Paratransit is a ride service for individuals with disabilities who aren't able to use fixed routes.

The RTA is hiring TransSystems, a national firm with offices in Chicago, to conduct the audit. It should take about four months.

Tasks include evaluating Trapeze, looking at Pace's performance, holding four public meetings in Chicago and the suburbs, and analyzing costs.

The Chicago Transit Authority provided paratransit in the city until 2006 when the state gave Pace the job.

The audit should help clear the air and provide an independent look at a subject that's become a hot one in the disabled community, officials said.

Even issues such as how much information was provided on the zoning system changes have become rancorous.

"One complaint we hear (from riders) is that they were not informed of the magnitude of the changes," said Grace Gallucci, deputy executive director of research, analysis and policy development. Yet "Pace says it worked with Chicago alderman and held 70 public meetings," she added.

"The reality is people are still unhappy," RTA Director Michael Scott of Chicago said.

RTA Chairman Jim Reilly said another worry is the escalating cost of paratransit and whether fares charged by Pace are sufficient.

"By Labor Day, we'll have some hard decisions to make," he predicted.

Pace itself convened a "blue ribbon" committee to study the paratransit concerns, which made a number of recommendations in December that included reviewing the zoning system. The Pace board has yet to vote on those suggestions.