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Source: Milwaukee Journal SentinelJan.存倉 01--Milwaukee County's paratransit service for people with disabilities gets high grades from its clients, but lack of video surveillance in vans used for the trips is cause for concern, according to county auditors.A random telephone survey conducted in June with 121 clients found satisfaction with the Transit Plus paratransit service by 88% of the respondents, according to a December audit report. About one-third said, however, that they had had problems with the van showing up on time or the trip taking much longer than expected.The survey also found 82% of paratransit users were able to schedule a pickup at their desired time and 93% said they always felt safe using the service.The county provides the service through subcontracts with two firms, Transit Express and First Transit. Those companies were hired through the county's main transit provider, Milwaukee Transport Services.Nearly 680,000 paratransit rides were expected for 2013, on a budget of $19 million.A review of company records found that Transit Express drivers were late for pickups on 5% of its rides, while First Transit was late for 3.2% of its rides.Those figures exceeded the performance standards set for the services in their contracts, the report said.The audit recommended that continuously running surveillance cameras be installed in all 160 paratransit vans the next time bids are solicited for the service. That would cost up to $800,000, the report said.Vans in use now have video cameras on board, but they are designed to activate only in case of a vehicle accident.The camera recommendation was prompted by an April 9, 2012, complaint about a man who reportedly slipped in his wheelchair while in a Transit Plus van "and was hanging by his neck from the seat belt affixed to the vehicle."The man, Chester Bande, became unresponsive that night and died three days later.Van service officials said the seat belt had not been "in contact with the client's neck," the report said. Auditors said they could not determine whether Bande was hanging by his neck by the vehicle儲存s seat belt.Michelle Bande-Sigfried, Bande's daughter, said in an interview her 85-year-old father was found hanging by his neck twice the same day in a Transit Plus van. She said her nephew found Chester Bande had slipped off his wheelchair and was held up by a seat belt under his neck when Bande arrived home.Bande-Sigfried said she was happy auditors recommended installation of continuously running cameras in Transit Plus vans to help deter problems similar to those her father endured.Bande-Sigfried said her father was in hospice care when the seat belt incident occurred and she didn't know whether that contributed to his death. She said the family didn't sue the county over it, but raised concerns to prompt installation of better cameras in vans.Barbara Beckert, manager of the Milwaukee office of the Disability Rights Wisconsin advocacy group, said the county's paratransit service needs to reform its procedures for investigating complaints such as the one involving Bande."It was one of those situations with the fox guarding the henhouse," Beckert said, because Transit Plus did its own investigation. "There's something wrong with that approach to addressing a serious safety situation."Becker and Bande-Sigfried said the audit survey might not fully convey concerns many paratransit users have about the service."A lot of clients don't want to voice any complaints because they are afraid of retaliation by the drivers," Bande-Sigfried said.The county transit system will require continuous surveillance cameras in vans when the service is put out for bids, Michael Guigno, managing director of the system, said in a response to the audit.He also agreed to develop better procedures for handling client complaints.A recommendation last summer to shift the transit system operator to the Dallas-based MV Transportation is under challenge by two losing bidders.Facebook: fb.com/steve.schultze3Twitter: twitter.com/SteveSchultzeJSCopyright: ___ (c)2014 the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Visit the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel at .jsonline.com Distributed by MCT Information Services迷你倉