Meeting Information

· There is an open position for peer counseling mentoring at Laguna Honda Hospital. This position was designed to help people who would like to leave the hospital and move back into the community. People interested in this position should contact Human Resources Services at Laguna Honda Hospital at 759-3388.

6 REPORT FROM THE DIRECTOR.

Walter Park, Director of the Mayor’s Office on Disability gave a brief report on the following:

· Richard Skaff, Deputy Director of the Mayor’s Office on Disability is in Miami Beach working on the Passenger Vessel Committee, finalizing its report.

· Staff of the Mayor’s Office on Disability attended a Laguna Honda Hospital Task Force meeting and learned that admissions into Laguna Honda Hospital are now being viewed as a short term stay rather than an extended stay. Staff of Laguna Honda Hospital are now working with the Department of Human Services for discharging patients and helping them transition out of the hospital. The hospital has a peer program that has already started peer training. This training consists of people from the disability community that are living independently visiting and talking to staff, clients and patients. There have been several formal training programs that have been conducted for staff and will be continuing.

· The Mayor’s Office on Disability has contracted Paul Travis as a part time architect in the office. Mr. Travis is with the Bureau of Architecture of the Department of Public Works and will be working on some of the Transition plan business and plan reviews among other projects.

· Carolyn Snipes, the Office Manager of the Mayor’s Office on Disability has resigned. Everyone wishes her well.

· Mr. Park will provide the name of the new contractor who will be continuing the work on the Self-Evaluation plan at next month’s meeting.

7 COMMITTEE REPORTS.

REPORT FROM THE EMPLOYMENT COMMITTEE:

Richard Rothman, Chair of the Employment Committee, gave a summary of the activities of the Employment Committee:

· Human Resources will be conducting an orientation for City staff on November 20^th to discuss reinvigorating Rule 115. Representatives of departments and employees who have used or were hired under Rule 115 will attend this orientation. The first agenda item at the November 21^st meeting will be a report about the Rule 115 orientation. The second agenda item will be a report from the City Attorney’s staff discussing bill AB2222.

· Discussions will continue in regards to hiring outside of Rule 115.

· The Employment Committee meets the third Tuesday of every month in City Hall, Room 421 at 4:00 p.m.

REPORT FROM THE PROGRAMMATIC ACCESS COMMITTEE

Susan Mizner, Assistant Director of Programmatic Accessibility with the Mayor’s Office on Disability, gave a summary of the activities of the Programmatic Access Committee:

· The Programmatic Access Committee has been continuing its discussion on the issue of the accessibility of the contracting process in the City.

· The Committee has been looking at how to increase accessibility for all people with disabilities as a regular part of the City contracting process. For example, all new bus purchases made by Muni have to be accessible.

· The Committee has been reviewing the Human Rights Commissions’ preferences for minority-owned and woman-owned businesses and is exploring that a preference is given for disability-owned businesses.

· The Programmatic Access Committee meets at the Rose Resnick Lighthouse, 214 Van Ness Avenue, on the first Friday of each month at 1:30 p.m.

Walter Park announced that Richard Skaff will be staffing a Physical Access Committee. This committee will not meet regularly but when certain large projects need public input. People interested in physical accessibility who would like to be notified of these meetings, can call the Mayor’s Office on Disability at 554-6789. Public notices will be sent out to the Mayor’s Disability Council mailing list.

8 IN MEMORIUM TO GRAYCE REGAN

Grayce Regan, Co-Chair of the Mayor’s Disability Council passed away on October 31^st, 2000 and will be greatly missed. The Mayor’s Disability Council members and the public shared their memories of Grayce.

9 FUTURE OF RAMPED TAXIS IN SAN FRANCISCO

Michael Kwok, chairperson of the ramped taxi subcommittee, gave a brief summary of expected improvements to the program:

· Better maintenance of vehicles.

· Defining the requirements for repairing vehicles and limiting the amount of repairs.

· A solution to waiting for Muni funding until 2002 for the new replacement vehicles.

Mark Soto of Intellitrans, the Paratransit Broker, gave a brief overview of the Ramped Taxi Program:

· Many people who use wheelchairs favor ramped taxis over lift vans.

· This program allows more opportunity for independence for the disability community while keeping costs low.

· One of the benefits of the Ramped Taxi Program is that it requires less administrative oversight than more traditional paratransit services.

· Ramped taxis often times are more cost effective on a per trip basis than traditional paratransit services.

· Current taxi and medallion regulations are too complex and are not welcoming to taxi companies or taxi operators to participate in.

· When a taxi medallion holder leaves a taxi company the medallion goes with them and the ramped taxi stays with the taxi provider, unless owned by the medallion holder. In this situation if the driver can’t find a ramped taxi then that medallion becomes unusable; if the Taxi Company can’t find a medallion holder then the ramped taxi remains unused.

· A Ramped taxi currently costs $14,000 more than a traditional, non-accessible taxi.

· Because of the complex maintenance that is required for ramped vehicles, there is less financial incentive for taxi companies and individual vehicle owners to want to purchase ramped taxi vehicles.

· There are plans to issue 500 more taxi medallions.

· Intellitrans through Muni has a strong commitment to expand the Ramped Taxi Program and to attempt to successfully address concerns.

· Intellitrans can’t control the design and the flaws in ramped taxi equipment or control and change the regulations that exist.

· Regulatory issues, vehicle designs issues, and maintenance issues are the main challenges that face the Ramped Taxi Program.

Frank Marone asked if there is a central source to call that would give a person access to any available ramped taxi. He also asked what the average wait time is for a ramped taxi to arrive. Mr. Marone wanted to know which taxi companies in San Francisco have ramped taxis.

Mr. Soto pointed out that a person who wants a ramped taxi would have to call one of the taxi companies directly. The wait time for a ramped taxi is from 30 minutes to 2 hours depending on the time and day of the call. There are numerous companies that have ramped taxis but Yellow, Luxor, and Town taxi are the only ones that have county-owned vehicles. Discussions have been made regarding a central dispatch for ramped taxis.

Co-Chair Sergio Alunan wanted to know the number of disabled consumers that ride ramped taxis and how many ramped taxis are currently on the street.

Mr. Soto said the number of consumers riding ramped taxis at the close of the last fiscal year on June 30, 2000 was approximately 26,000 one-way ramped taxi trips that were funded through paratransit. There are 75 medallions authorized for ramped taxis. Out of these, around 16 - 18 are pending issuance, 40 for Yellow, 9 for Luxor, 5 for Town, 3 for Desoto, 1 for Black and White and 1 for National and the rest are pending. All taxi companies have to adhere to county ordinance stipulating three pickups per shift using a ramped taxi.

Paul Gillespie, Taxi Commissioner gave an update on ramped taxis:

· Mr. Gillespie has proposed that 20% (100) of the 500 new medallions be mandated for ramped taxis.

· In the last three years 300 vehicles have been added and 100 more vehicles under the current allocation have yet been issued.

· The most recent recommendation for cabs is a process where there will be an environmental impact review that will go to the Planning Commission.

· The estimated time frame for getting more applications processed and cabs on the street will be approximately 20 a month over the next two years.

· Mr. Gillespie would like to see that the 500 new taxis not only include ramped taxis, but also natural gas, cleaner fuel vehicles.

Frank Marone wanted to know the percentage of ramped taxis available. Mr. Marone asked about the advantages and disadvantages that ramped taxi drivers face.

Mr. Gillespie said that there are 75 ramped taxis out of 1400 taxis. If 20% of new ramped taxis are put on the streets then that would be about 175 out of 1900. Mr. Gillespie explained that the waiting list is extremely long to drive a taxi, but the opportunity to drive a ramped taxi is more available. People who are on the waiting list to drive a regular taxi have to pay lease fees whereas with a ramped taxi medallion holder the fees are greatly reduced. Some companies like Yellow even allow for medallion holders to become a part of the co-op.

Mr. Marone asked the reason a driver would choose a regular medallion over a ramp medallion.

Mr. Gillespie explained that drivers of regular taxis are not being forced to buy their own vehicles (unless it’s a small company), as is the situation with ramped taxi drivers. Some drivers complain about the time it takes for them to operate the ramps without being able to have the meters on during this period. Mr. Gillespie would like there to be some financial incentives for drivers of ramped taxis.

Mr. Gillespie discussed the fact that there is a rule that if a ramp taxi order has not been filled within 20 minutes, then there is supposed to be a call back to the person. If this rule isn’t being enforced then there is a violation. Mr. Gillespie is prepared to make this same rule a motion extended to all taxis and strictly enforced.

Vincent Behan wanted to know if the cab companies would be willing to purchase vehicles because of the 500 medallions issued.

Mr. Gillespie explained that it is in the financial interest of the cab companies to purchase more cabs. More cabs mean more to lease and more shifts to charge. More than likely the cab companies would make more money with more vehicles on the streets.

Mr. Gillespie discussed the results of their first survey on how taxi companies are doing regarding dispatching. Four out of nine services had a dismal record of dispatch. Mr. Gillespie also mentioned that paratransit is trying to get all the companies involved to take paratransit scrip.

Mr. Simon Jones with Liberty Motor Company gave an overview of the manufacturing of ramped taxis:

· Liberty Motor Company manufactures rear entry mini vans for distribution.

· The three areas to consider when selecting ramped vans are safety, reliability and cost.

· The rear entry mini van is less intrusive and there is no cutting of the unibody frame, so that the structural integrity of the vehicle is equivalent to the original mini van.

· The ramps are a manual system and are spring balanced making them light.

· There is no hydraulics, which prevent breaking down and causing passengers to become stranded.

· There are a variety of vans available that are able to accommodate simple manual wheelchairs and the longer motorized wheelchairs that often times exceed the minimal requirements of the American’s with Disabilities Act.

Vincent Behan questioned the rear entry vans being able to accommodate two motorized wheelchairs.

Mr. Jones pointed out that there is an 84-inch length open for a wheelchair. Two manual wheelchairs or one large electric wheelchair will be able to fit in a rear entry van. The vehicle is designed to hold one wheelchair and five passengers.

Mr. Park announced that two vehicles were available for anyone to inspect during or after the meeting outside at the Grove Street entrance of City Hall.

Kate Toran, Paratransit Coordinator at Muni, discussed Muni’s outlook on ramped taxis:

· There is an increasing demand for ramped taxis and work is being done to increase the supply.

· A plan needs to be made to make sure that the vehicles are properly maintained.

· Research needs to be conducted regarding the development of a central dispatching center like the one operating in Chicago.

· MUNI is pursuing funding for ramped taxis.

Mr. Evans commented that side entry taxis should be used instead of rear entry taxis for safety reasons.

When the vehicles are cut through after manufacturing, structural integrity is compromised. An idea being presented is that instead of getting a vehicle already manufactured and having it retrofitted just have the manufacturer build a new vehicle. The idea of allowing tipping in the paratransit program using scrip is an idea being proposed as an incentive to drivers of ramped taxis.

10 MEMBER REQUESTS FOR FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS.

· Frank Marone requested that the election of co-chair be an item on January’s agenda.

· Ed Evans would like the Building Inspection Department to attend a future meeting to discuss the need for additional inspectors and the number of backed-up disability complaints.

· Mr. Evans would like to invite the Department of Public Works to a future meeting to discuss the need for sidewalk construction, additional inspectors and to discuss their disability committee panel. This would be a good time to meet the new Director of the Department of Public Works.

11 CORRESPONDENCE.

12 COMMENTS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS.

13 PUBLIC COMMENT

· Peggy Coster thanked Mark Soto and the staff of Intellitrans for making positive changes. Ms. Coster feels that the taxi drivers should be involved in the negotiations to discuss their needs and what would make their jobs easier. She also feels that ramped taxi drivers pay should be increased.

· Jim Kennedy, a ramped taxi driver, wanted to know what provision was going to be put into place that will replace his ramped van that will be taken off the streets next month due to Proposition K.

Mark Soto explained to Mr. Kennedy that there is no law stating that Muni has to replace the vehicles after three years. This is a goal and objective of Muni to put into action in the near future.

· Bruce Oka expressed his dissatisfaction with the lack of responsiveness in getting ramped taxi medallions authorized as part of the 500 medallion allocation. Mr. Oka pointed out that he has seen ramped taxis serving the able-bodied public rather than the disability community.

· Wayne Sherman pointed out that last week he waited over an hour for a ramped taxi after calling in his request. Mr. Sherman wants the Taxi Detail to go through the records. They will see that the required three wheelchair passengers are not being picked up per shift.

· Mary McGuire, a Taxi Commissioner wanted to know why the taxicab company representatives weren’t in attendance at the meeting. Ms. McGuire pointed out that the Board of Supervisors passed a resolution that future ramped taxi medallion holders must have been a ramped taxi driver for six months. Ms. McGuire would like to get some funding assistance to the medallion holders because purchasing their own vehicles may be a reality in the near future. She also notified the public that you can call a taxi company to place an advance order ahead of time with such companies as Yellow and Luxor.

· Tara Houseman feels that Muni and the City need to put effort towards helping ramped medallion holders obtain vehicles. She feels that Muni policies need to become more flexible when working with Paratransit services. Ms. Houseman feels that better benefits should be given to ramped taxi drivers and that a surcharge should be applied to radio calls, or an extra bonus given for each ramp call.

· Simon Jones recommended that a survey be taken to determine what style of lift van people from the disability community prefer.

· Sergeant Vince Simpson, Supervisor of the SFPD Taxi Detail discussed how each complaint is investigated by going back into the dispatch and employee records. Mr. Simpson announced that The Taxi Commission and the Board of Supervisors passed a fine schedule for violations and that hopefully this can be used for disciplinary matters as well. The Taxi Detail has received approximately 1500 complaints so far. To report a complaint with the Taxi Detail call 553-1447. Mr. Simpson agreed to send a complaint form to the council members per the request of Ed Evans.

Vincent Behan wanted to know the complaint number for Intellitrans.

For any type of paratransit complaints call 351-7000.

Mr. Soto pointed out that he recently hired two field monitors who will be doing some extensive spot checks on dispatch logs and ramped taxi services. An agreement has been made with Muni to conduct Intellitrans’ first independent professional survey on all paratransit services around March or April 2001.

14 ADJOURMENT.

The meeting was adjourned at 3:50 p.m.