LOUISVILLE, Ky (WDRB) -- Louisville's transit authority is considering new options, including the use of ride share companies, as a fallback for special needs passengers, after some of them recently were left stranded during a contract dispute.
Transit Authority of River City Executive Director Ferdinand Risco apologized for those disruptions Tuesday to the Metro Council Public Works Committee and said the agency is taking steps to assure that riders have a backup from now on.
“We will not solely rely on one provider," Risco said. "So as we build mobility as a service, we will have multiply providers on the platform."
TARC contracts out para-transit service, or public transportation, for those who can't ride a traditional bus. TARC is switching providers from First Transit to MV Transportation, but in early February, zTrip taxi drivers went on strike. Those cabs are a backup when there's no TARC 3 bus available for a run.
The striking cab drivers said the new contract with MV Transportation switched them from a meter rate to an hourly rate on TARC 3 passengers, and it cut their pay in half for those runs.
Risco told the committee Tuesday that now that the strike is over, drivers have returned to work — though some have not. He reassured the committee that TARC would hold job fairs to hire more drivers and would implement other changes in the near future to increase customer service.
"I can tell you very candidly that we continue to look at the customer service organization to see what we can do differently, and that is from a quality assurance standpoint as well as a cost-savings measure,” Risco said.
He also told the committee that a new agreement with 30 new drivers and customer service reps will be in place by April 1.
Committee Chairman Brandon Coan, D-8, said the committee could be "reasonably assured" that TARC's work has corrected the problem and that it won't resurface.
The public works committee plans to meet with TARC officials again in the next few months to monitor progress.
Related Stories:
- Louisville cab drivers end strike that left many disabled TARC 3 passengers stranded
- Messy dispute between TARC, contractors leaving some disabled riders stranded
- TARC repairs service for disabled riders after strike strands some
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