Transporting the Handicapped

The Washington Post's four-part examination of the Washington region's METRO system continues today with a close-up look at the MetroAccess service for the disabled. The METRO contracts with a third-party provider, LogistiCare, to transport the disabled to work. The program maintains a fleet of 176 vehicles, and relies upon taxi service for overflow.

According to the Post, "The agency pays LogistiCare $23.22 for each MetroAccess trip, and the passenger pays $2.50. METRO underwrites the service with tax dollars and revenue from bus and rail fares. MetroAccess's annual budget of $51.7 million has nearly tripled since 2000, when fares were cut and demand began to skyrocket."

METRO has paid LogistiCare $2.7 million in bonuses since 2000, despite the fact that its drivers failed to pick up scheduled passengers 5,500 times in the first half of 2004 alone.