Lodi Vine Line draws some criticism at council meeting
The City of Lodi’s transportation department is taking a second look at the service provided to disabled citizens after two Dial-A-Ride/Vine Line users voiced their frustrations and concerns with the system during a recent Lodi City Council meeting.
“City staff appreciates the passengers coming to the city council and expressing their concerns. We will be investigating all the concerns and addressing each one,” Lodi Transportation Manager Paula Fernandez said.
The Vine Line system provides transportation to disabled individuals who are unable to travel on the fixed route system. Customers can reserve a ride up to 14 days in advance. The system is shared with the Dial-A-Ride service, which is mostly utilized by the elderly. In order to use the service the customer must call in advance and make a reservation. Routes are planned a day in advance based on reservations.
According to Lodi resident Kimberly Froberg, who uses a wheelchair and relies heavily on the system to get around, it is very difficult for her to get another reservation on the same day if she has to reschedule.
“I have a neurological disorder and it makes my body malfunction in really, really horrible ways. I have to change my clothes sometimes right before leaving and redo my makeup and it makes me late,” Froberg said. “And then either I get to pay double fare, which isn’t right, or I call in and I can’t get a ride to where I need to go in the same day.”
Froberg said she was under the impression that it was a requirement of ADA to provide same-day reservations, but Fernandez said it is not a requirement and that federal regulations allow Dial-A-Ride customers and Vine Line users to ride on the same bus.
Froberg said she would also like to see service hours — which are 6:10 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. on Saturday and 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Sunday — extended until 8 p.m. on weekdays.
“I’m working part-time at the library as a tutor for children with special needs, and sometimes we get off very late. And it’s a little bit freaky to sort of be stuck out there on the sidewalk sometimes wondering how I’m going to get home,” she said.
Froberg, who said the service has come a long way from when it started, suggested that the city not leave the system in the hands of MV Transportation, the company contracted to run it.
“They’re not going to the ADA at all. They’re doing what they want to do. They’re talking about it being a money issue, but it’s going to be a lot harder if somebody such as myself ends up taking it to Washington, and I don’t want to do that. I love this town, and I really do love that service,” Froberg said.
Fernandez said the city will investigate the allegations made against MV Transportation.
Cliff Weaver, a disabled Lodi resident, said that trying to book reservations can be a frustrating experience.
He also voiced concerns that the elderly are taking precedence over the disabled, noting that ADA requires the opposite.
“Being old is not in itself a disabling condition, you’re just older,” Weaver said. “Us certified handicapped individuals are required to be accommodated. That doesn’t mean when you want to, that doesn’t mean when you feel like it, or that doesn’t mean if you like us. You are required to accommodate us. They are not. They are picking and choosing when they give us same day rides.”
Weaver said he didn’t appreciate having to compete with the elderly for a ride.
“That is two separate systems. It was never meant to be put together on the same buses, but yet we are.”
Weaver also complained that Sunday can be an extremely difficult day to get a ride.
He sad the city should intervene and make sure the company contracted to provide this service is complying with ADA standards.
MV Transportation General Manager Jeff Koehlhepp acknowledged that the system is not perfect, but said efforts are being made to improve it.
Koehlhepp said the company’s financial books are completely open to anyone who has questions, comments or concerns.
According to Fernandez, MV Transportation is required to provide information to the city on a regular basis as well as recordings of employee interactions with customers. Fernandez said the city also puts secret riders on buses who issue reports on driver performance.
Fernandez said she has received compliments on the system and added that it’s unusual for someone to be denied a reservation. She said staff is looking into complaints and trying to determine how to best accommodate riders.
She speculated that the problem could be that some users often book reservations for several days and end up canceling at the last minute.
Fernandez said in the late 1970s the city started the Dial-A-Ride system to provide transportation for the elderly, those on Medicare and the disabled. In 2008, city was required to add the Vine Line ADA Paratransit system.