By Richard Smith, Independent Newsmedia

Valley Metro may not have instilled much confidence among Surprise residents by showing up to its own June 14 meeting about transit changes 30 minutes late.

But the details released about the new-look Dial-A-Ride services starting July 1 seemed to put a few of the guests at ease.

Dial-A-Ride is, gradually, changing its name to Paratransit and will offer van services as well as expanded cab services in Surprise, through the Ride Choice program.

Total Transit — the parent company of Discount Cab — will remain an option after being the only Surprise provider. Regular, weekly users are already in Valley Metro’s database and will be sent a fare card by service provider MJ Management.

“From what I found out today, it really will not affect us. My husband will be traveling by himself, which I was concerned about. It should be a very smooth transition because they know from the records they have that Bruce uses the service three times a week, every single week,” Surprise resident Carol Wiener said.

Her husband, Bruce, has used Dial-A-Ride for five years for three weekly dialysis trips.

Ms. Weiner said she is happy also to be able to keep Discount Cab as a provider. His base price will be up to $3 a ride — from $2 — but she said that is not a major concern.

The city’s fare will now be standardized. It was $2 one way for trips in Surprise and $4 for trips outside the city.

Residents are still getting a pretty good deal. After paying the first $3 of a trip, residents can spend up to $21, with the next $18 covered by the city, before having to dip into their wallets again.

“Surprise’s program is the most generous in the region. The East Valley is capping its participation at $18,” said Ron Brooks, Valley Metro’s manager of accessible transit services.

Mr. Brooks also said to avoid confusion, the name Dial-A-Ride will not be phased out immediately when Valley Metro’s service model changes in July. The transit company will use the Paratransit and Dial-A-Ride names almost interchangeably.

“We are moving slowly toward a Paratransit branding for now. We’re trying to get away from the Dial-A-Ride moniker because people don’t dial anymore. The industry term is paratransit,” Mr. Brooks said. “At this point we are co-branding. You’ll see in parentheses (also known as Dial-A-Ride), just to help people get used to the fact that there is different terminology. All these services started in the 80s, back when Dial-A-Ride was the industry term.”

Phoenix transit provider Transdev will provide the Paratransit van fleet, which is available from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m., and is not intended for non-required trips to places like the airport. Every vehicle in the fleet is either lift equipped or ramp equipped.

Ride Choice is similar to the current cab system for Surprise Dial-A-Ride users, except like those using the service in the East Valley, seven different cab companies are options.

“That encourages all the providers in the program to compete to provide good service,” Mr. Brooks said.

Multiple people can decide to go to a similar destination through Ride Choice. Passengers also can make a five-minute stop on the way home.

Eligibility is set aside for age 65 and older, ADA qualifiers and economically disadvantaged residents — the theory being that below a certain financial threshold people likely do not have access to a car.

The vehicles are marked and drivers will have uniforms to lessen confusion on who they work for.

Most regular users will be contacted immediately to the new service with little disruption. But not all people dependent on Dial-A-Ride or public transportation are on that list.

Bruce Dimmig is not what most would consider a typical Dial-A-Ride user. But this younger man, stricken with liver disease and unable to drive because of the resulting hepatic encephalopathy, has been largely dependent on public transportation.

The Surprise resident sometimes gets rides from his fiancee. When she is working he uses what will now be called ride choice for his grocery trips.

Paratransit handles his doctors’ appointments, which are on an atypical schedule. Mr. Dimmig has imaging, blood work and doctors visits every six months.

“The information they had sent out prior to this was kind of vague,” Mr. Dimmig said. “I’m a little bit more at ease. But let’s see what happens after July 1.”

For information, call Valley Metro at 602-716-2100, visit Paratransit@valleymetro.org or email CSR@valleymetro.org. Valley Metro’s customer service number is 602-253-5000.

 

PARTICIPATING RIDE CHOICE CAB COMPANIES
AAA/Yellow Cab 480-888-8888
American Liberty 480-994-0163
Apache Taxi 480-804-1000
Discount Cab 480-248-1524
Quick Service 480-252-4843
Union Cab 480-303-9999
VIP Taxi 602-300-3000