In response to my previous post....
I wrote a letter.
To Whom It May Concern:
I would like to briefly address the time frames on various client pick-up times. I feel a large majority of pick-up times are unreasonable. I feel many of the other drivers who also do Dial-a-Ride (DAR) pickups may feel the same way.
For example, I usually pickup a group of about 8 people on Thursday to take them to the Nutrition Center in Brentwood. A few live out of the average service area, mainly Byron and Bethel Island. The allotted time to get to Byron, Bethel Island and back to Brentwood is approximately twenty minutes, based on the past manifests I’ve received. This is simply not enough time to drive about twenty-five miles round trip; also taking into account some of these passengers require extra time with disabilities such as walk-on lift usage and wheelchairs. This needs to be factored into the timeframe equation.
Also, traffic is a big issue now-a-days. Once I get these passengers aboard the bus, I end up having to wait in the traffic on Main Street. By the time I get to the third passenger, I’m already running almost 30 minutes late. At the end of these pickups, when I arrive at their drop off on Third Street, I could be running at least an hour and twenty minutes late.
This is just one of the many occurrences I have encountered during my time as a DAR driver. I wanted to bring this to your attention in letter form. I have also noted, previous times, on the manifest itself, but it seems changes have not been considered at this time.
Thank you for taking the time to read this over and hear what I had to say. Please consider trying to make these manifests a bit more spread out if possible or make a few more DAR bids to spread out the overabundance of client pickups.
I would also like to request that this letter be referenced in some form, so you may hear other driver’s feedback regarding manifest overloading and miscalculated pickup times.
Sincerely,
Craig Brown
To Whom It May Concern:
I would like to briefly address the time frames on various client pick-up times. I feel a large majority of pick-up times are unreasonable. I feel many of the other drivers who also do Dial-a-Ride (DAR) pickups may feel the same way.
For example, I usually pickup a group of about 8 people on Thursday to take them to the Nutrition Center in Brentwood. A few live out of the average service area, mainly Byron and Bethel Island. The allotted time to get to Byron, Bethel Island and back to Brentwood is approximately twenty minutes, based on the past manifests I’ve received. This is simply not enough time to drive about twenty-five miles round trip; also taking into account some of these passengers require extra time with disabilities such as walk-on lift usage and wheelchairs. This needs to be factored into the timeframe equation.
Also, traffic is a big issue now-a-days. Once I get these passengers aboard the bus, I end up having to wait in the traffic on Main Street. By the time I get to the third passenger, I’m already running almost 30 minutes late. At the end of these pickups, when I arrive at their drop off on Third Street, I could be running at least an hour and twenty minutes late.
This is just one of the many occurrences I have encountered during my time as a DAR driver. I wanted to bring this to your attention in letter form. I have also noted, previous times, on the manifest itself, but it seems changes have not been considered at this time.
Thank you for taking the time to read this over and hear what I had to say. Please consider trying to make these manifests a bit more spread out if possible or make a few more DAR bids to spread out the overabundance of client pickups.
I would also like to request that this letter be referenced in some form, so you may hear other driver’s feedback regarding manifest overloading and miscalculated pickup times.
Sincerely,
Craig Brown