MetroAccess drivers will soon be driving for 12 hours a day as they shuttle around disabled riders, and their union is accusing the transit agency of removing seats in the vans and swapping out vehicles to skirt federal rules against such long hours. Drivers of the federally mandated Metro service for those with disabilities will work 13-hour shifts, including a one-hour break. That means 12 hours of driving, which is two hours longer than federal regulations for commercial vehicles that can carry a driver and eight or more paying riders.
MetroAccess’ contractor, MV Transportation, acknowledges that it removed seats on 13 vehicles out of a 600-plus fleet, making them have only seven seats for riders instead of eight. But MV spokeswoman Nikki Frenney said it did so to accommodate customers who use larger wheelchairs.
Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1764 President Wayne Baker condemned the move, calling it a clandestine way of being able to justify longer shifts. “Had they kept those vehicles, they clearly would have been in violation,” he said.
Already, he said, drivers have had problems with fatigue on their 10- and 11-hour shifts. “God forbid something happens,” he said. “Drivers are going to be fatigued and that’s my concern.”
Baker said the recent deadly Sky Express bus crash on Interstate 95 offers a reminder of the dangers of long hours. Virginia investigators have said the crash that killed four on May 31 was likely caused by driver fatigue.
Earlier this spring, Baker said he raised the issue of the federal fatigue regulations when the MetroAccess contractor tried to change the hours. He said a company official told him then MetroAccess had more than 100 vehicles for eight riders.
The company delayed the change, he said. But then, he said, the agency removed seats or brought in new vans to skirt the rules. Drivers were asked to change their schedules last week.
Metro spokeswoman Angela Gates defended the shift change. “MV’s new shift configuration for MetroAccess drivers provides adequate rest time and is consistent with accepted work rules and safety best practices,” she said.
MV Transportation had switched some of its drivers to a 12-hour schedule last August, Frenney said, and decided to make a three-day work week for all MetroAccess drivers. The change keeps drivers working during the busiest times and reduces the down time for the vehicles, she said. “Giving drivers a short work week gives them the time needed to rest and rejuvenate,” Frenney said.
Furthermore, she estimated that drivers are actually driving for only eight hours, not the full 12, given lags between pick-ups and drop-offs. But Baker said drivers can’t truly rest or take a nap during that time — one driver was fired for doing so.
