DART Commission Meeting
Unapproved Minutes
March 20, 2012
Present: Mary LaForet, Char Williams, Donna Swain, David Carlson, Patricia Keeler
Staff Present: Karen Murphy, Jan Yuergens
Char Williams called the meeting to order at 12:50 pm
Meeting Minutes from the March 2011 meeting were approved.
Member Update
City Council has renewed Mary LaForet and Donna Swain terms on the DART Commission.
Budget Update
The commission reviewed the attached information on Dial-A-Ride fares, ridership and other agency fare comparisons. City staff was requested to explore more information on if a fare increase would be appropriate.
Staff Update
A full time DART Dispatcher/driver retired from Dial-A-Ride on March 31, 2012. This position will be replaced by a full time DART Dispatch Supervisor.
Bus Replacement
Yuergens reported that federal grants have been applied for to replace four (4) Dial-A-Ride busses that meet age and or mileage requirements. Grants have been requested previously for three of the four busses.
MDOT Update
Murphy reviewed the 2013 Accessibility plan. Hours of service, service area and the number of busses in the fleet have not changed. The accessibility plan was unanimously approved by the commission.
ARRA Funding Update
The City of Midland received a $90,000 ARRA grant for the purchase of new dispatch software and mobile data terminals. The process to evaluate bidders, award the funding and negotiate an acceptable contract that meets both MDOT and FTA approval has been lengthy. As of March 19, 2012 we believe we have come to an agreement with the vendor selected, the City of Midland and MDOT. We hope to implement the new dispatch software system and the mobile data terminals by the end of 2012.
DART Commission Meeting Minutes
March 20, 2012
Page 2
After Hours Phone
Service
Community Mental Health advised Dial-A-Ride they can no longer provide after hours phone service. Dial-A-Ride will implement a new after hours phone number on April 16, 2012 to be used for emergencies and missed rides outside of DART regular phone service hours. The new Dial-A-Ride after-hours emergency phone number is 989-837-6999.
The emergency number will be operated Monday thru Friday 6:00 am – 8:00 am and 5:00 pm – 11:00 pm and on Saturday from 1:00 pm – 8:30 pm. During these hours riders who have missed their established pickup can contact 837-6999 and talk with a DART Employee. Emergency pickups will be provided to riders who have been dropped at a destination by Dial-A-Ride and have missed their return pickup or were not picked up due to a service failure.
Canceling Rides
Evening rides scheduled Monday – Friday must be cancelled directly with the DART office by 5 pm. Saturday rides must also be cancelled directly with the DART office by 1 pm. Morning riders wishing to cancel a ride scheduled prior to 8:30 am can call the hotline number outside of DART phone service hours to leave a message on the answering machine to cancel their ride. A one hour cancellation notice is required for the rider not to be charged for a cancelled ride.
Meeting was adjourned at 1:45 pm.
Respectfully,
Jan Yuergens
Assistant Director of Public Services
MDOT Required Signature
Charlotte Williams
Chair, DART Commission