Metro officials expect to spend at least $250,000 to acquire outside expert witnesses in the next few months to battle a class-action lawsuit claiming the transit agency’s beleaguered MetroAccess service is so substandard that it illegally discriminates against people with disabilities, according to budget documents released this week.
The suit was filed in 2004 on behalf of the Disability Rights Council of Greater Washington and 12 individual plaintiffs who cannot use the Metro system because of visual or mobility impairments. Plaintiffs claim the curb-to-curb van service is unreliable and riders are “deprived of the ability to schedule their everyday lives.”
Metro had planned to settle the case late last year, but pulled the deal, according to an attorney for the plaintiffs. The case now is in “active litigation,” said ThomasBrenner, a lawyer with Wiley Rein & Fielding.
Metro spokeswoman Candace Smith said Tuesday: “We will not be settling and we plan to defend ourselves against the lawsuit.”
Metro’s board of directors is expected to approve hiring the experts on Thursday — the first money to be spent on outside experts in the case.
Metro changed service providers for MetroAccess from Logisticare to MV Transportation in January, and service levels plummeted with hundreds of late or missed trips and record numbers of complaints.
In February, Metro created an ad hoc review committee and a seven-member trip management team. Excessively late and missed rides have been cut in half since February, officials said, and the service has averaged just less than 96 percent on-time performance in April.
Brenner said problems are not with the service provider but with Metro’s management. “We saw glowing reviews when Logisticare was in charge,” Brenner said. “We haven’t seen any such changes.”
Plaintiffs Requests
» The court to designate a “special master” to monitor the operation of MetroAccess.
» A third-party expert to monitor compilation of performance statistics.
