Special Budget Committee MeetingPart 1

I attended this morning’s Special Budget Committee Meeting. What struck me most was the questions that didn’t get asked, as opposed to the ones that were. I believe that a rider’s perspective is desperately needed in all the Board’s sessions with interaction with WMATA staff.

The first part of the meeting was dedicated to … you guessed it … the MV Transportation transitional effort to support MetroAcess as prime contractor.

Jim Graham, got a little bit closer to asking the question, that I proposed in my last post on the topic.

What where you doing during the three months of transition from September 2005 through January 2006? However, I didn’t hear a response that would help Metro to learn from it’s mistakes, and MV Transportation’s mistakes, and Logisticare’s mistakes.

Where you riding the MetroAcess Vans? Where you shadowing the Logisticare dispatchers, and call center? Where you collecting your own data about ridership, policies, procedures, and special needs? What where you doing during the three months of transition from September 2005 through January 2006?If I as a member of the RAC was a non-voting member of the Board of Directors, I could have asked that question. I truly had an urge to jump out of my seat and ask the question myself.Where you riding the MetroAcess Vans? Where you shadowing the Logisticare dispatchers, and call center? Where you collecting your own data about ridership, policies, procedures, and special needs?What where you doing during the three months of transition from September 2005 through January 2006?If I as a member of the RAC was a non-voting member of the Board of Directors, I could have asked that question. I truly had an urge to jump out of my seat and ask the question myself.Where you riding the MetroAcess Vans? Where you shadowing the Logisticare dispatchers, and call center? Where you collecting your own data about ridership, policies, procedures, and special needs?

Do we know that on the next contract the Metro awards that we aren’t going to have transition problems through lack of proper planning?

As a Federal Contractor, I’ve been on both sides of contract transitions and it is very easy to blame the other guy. What is not easy is forming a coalition to smoothly transition operations from one vendor to another. This is where the organization, WMATA, needs to play a critical role in the transition process. No one wants to fail. It is not in the best interest of the departing contractor, the new contractor, the organization, or the customers being served.

No matter the circumstances, it’s going to be difficult. The question is: How do you get everyone to understand the goals, objectives, and obstacles that must be overcome?

I spoke briefly with Christian Kent, and he would definitely like to sit down with a group of RAC members and talk through this issue. Not just form this contract's perspective ... but from the perspective of WMATA moving forward.