American Dream

Metro Learns Expensive Lesson
Updated: Thursday, Aug. 18, 2005 - 10:31 PM

By HEATHER GREENFIELD
Associated Press Writer

Quotes:

WASHINGTON (AP) - In order to stop doing business with a company it believes ripped it off, Metro will have to spend even more money, board members learned Thursday.

The board reluctantly voted to lease office space in Silver Spring, Md., to allow a new contractor for its paratransit service to set up shop in October. Metro began seeking a replacement for Logisticare after an audit revealed cab drivers and others were billing the transit agency for trips not taken.

Board member Charles Deegan balked at the approximately $225,000 annual rent.

"We're making this a real complicated thing to take a phone call and dispatch a driver. I just don't see it," Deegan said. "This operation could be run out of Pakistan quite frankly."

Metro CEO Richard White said Metro has learned from other transit systems that transition time at a high-volume call center is needed to ensure good customer service.

"These things are very difficult to move from one center to another," White said.

The new office will be in the same building as the old office. Metro said it costs $1 million to install a phone switch for this volume of calls, making other space less cost effective.

Metro has leased three floors at the Colesville Road building since 1999. Metro's customer service department uses the two other floors.

About 14,000 disabled customers use the Metro Access service. Metro provides 1.4 million paratransit trips a year at a cost of $51.4 million in this year's budget.