From the Chicago Dispatcher, November 2008
Commissioner's Corner
Thank you to drivers for making the Taxi Access Program successful.
By: Norma Reyes
I would like to say thank you to taxicab drivers for making the Taxi Access Program (TAP) successful. While the transition of the program's administration from CTA to Pace has had some bumps in the road, drivers' commitment to providing service to passengers with disabilities has provided TAP customers the ability to travel independently. Our goal is to make Chicago the most accessible city in the nation. Together, TAP, Mobility Direct, and our Central Dispatch for wheelchair-accessible taxicabs are helping us to reach our goal and have made Chicago a national leader in providing taxicab service to passengers with disabilities.
TAP provides flexibility for passengers with disabilities by giving them the choice to use taxicabs for short trips in place of traditional paratransit. Currently, the industry provides an average of 16,887 TAP trips per month. In 2007, nearly 307,000 vouchers were cashed for a total dollar value of more than $4 million. The program does have limitations and we have received complaints regarding the use and/or cashing of vouchers.
The most common complaint about the TAP program that DCS and Pace hear from passengers, drivers and affiliations alike is that the paper vouchers are time-consuming to complete and make the reimbursement process labor-intensive. If vouchers contain small mistakes, the driver may not be paid. I am happy to announce that beginning in January 2009, passengers and the industry will begin to say good-bye to paper vouchers. Between January and June, Pace will phase in the use of the card system, and paper vouchers will be completely replaced by the end of June.
Taxi Access Program: The End of Paper Vouchers
Pace took over the administration of the paratransit programs, including TAP and Mobility Direct, in July 2006. After meeting with the taxi industry and riders, Pace began to develop a program that would make the TAP program easier and more efficient for riders, drivers and affiliations. They have been working with Cabconnect for more than a year to develop a paperless TAP program.
Twelve riders are currently testing a paperless voucher system in a pilot program with Flash/Central Dispatch. Instead of the traditional paper vouchers, the TAP rider uses a card that holds the rider’s information in the magnetic swipe. The voucher is processed using electronic credit card processing systems already equipped in Chicago's taxi fleet.
The card will eliminate the need for drivers to fill out trip information on the voucher and the use of expired vouchers. The cards will remove drivers' fear that the voucher may be returned unpaid. Affiliations will no longer have to manually submit vouchers to Pace for review because the information will be transmitted electronically, which will decrease payment time.
Benefits to passengers include having a variety of options to purchase additional trips, including purchasing via the internet. Most importantly, passengers will no longer have to carry multiple paper vouchers, just a simple card.
Mobility Direct rides will also begin moving to a card system in January 2009. Fifty riders have taken a total of 1,500 trips using the new Mobility Direct card in a similar pilot program with Flash/Central Dispatch.
Over the next two months, you will be hearing more from DCS and Pace about this exciting new development for the Taxi Access Program, including more details and training availability for drivers and affiliations. We are excited about the benefits the new program will bring to both passengers and drivers, particularly, the end of returned vouchers and differences with passengers regarding expired vouchers.
Again, I want to thank drivers for the commitment to providing service to passengers with disabilities, including the TAP and Mobility Direct programs.
