Paratransit no-shows, costs and app beta-testing highlighted in GoRaleigh report

Byron Robinson, assistant general manager for Wake Access, told the authority on June 11 that paratransit taxi cost-per-trip sits at about $24.56 and that the program’s on-time performance was 88.4% for the month reported. Paratransit missed trips fell from 23 in an earlier month to nine after the program hired a verification specialist in March; staff said the specialist will receive additional training and the team will recheck counts.

Robinson said taxi cancellations and no-shows remain a concern because providers are paid for trips that are not taken unless riders cancel in time. "We will reach out and try to make contact with them. If we don't get a response, we wait 5 minutes, and then we leave, and that's called a no show," a staff member explained. The authority discussed educational outreach rather than automatic penalties because ADA rules limit suspensions and suspending paratransit riders can cut them off from essential transportation.

Staff reported deployment of a customer-service training program for dispatch and operators, and said the developer Echo Lane is beta-testing a new rider app. Board members pressed for better notification options; staff said the app could include a 90-minute cancellation reminder and more precise arrival windows to give riders the chance to cancel and avoid paid no-shows.

Board members noted the community impact of no-shows, both in cost and service availability. The authority asked staff to continue monitoring no-show trends, refine reporting metrics, and pursue app improvements and rider outreach to reduce unnecessary paid trips.

Next steps: staff will continue verification work, pursue app enhancements with the developer, and return with updated metrics and proposed customer-notification features.