By: Diane Benjamin
I filed a FOIA request with Connect Transit for some payments they made. This is the only one I’ve received so far.
Connect Transit has been paying LifeCil $6,874.42 a month. Payment was authorized at the September 22, 2015 meeting: september-22-2015-regular-session-proceedings
The discussion starts on PDF page 11.
LifeCil was the only bidder when an RFP (Request For Proposal) was issued for a contractor to determine who is and who isn’t qualified for FREE rides under the Americans With Disability Act (ADA).
The total contract approved is for a maximum of $257,837 spread over 3 years. $257,837 divided by 36 months is $7,162.14 a month, I don’t know why the payment is different.
Another FOIA request has been filed for the number of people who have qualified under ADA. (FOIA received – see this post: https://blnnews.com/2016/11/10/more-connect-transit-and-ada/)
The contract has a cancellation clause, I don’t know if it has been cancelled since Connect is still planning a shut down January 1st.
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$7,162.42 per month to determine who is a qualified ADA rider? How do you get these jobs? That works out to about $5,000.00 per hour based on how long it would take me to make that determination. The best part is I would still have time in the day for a couple of other government conulting jobs.
You would think someone getting paid that much could make a determination or give guidance. Rather than pay for fare systems and consultants; it may just be cheaper to give everyone rides and get rid of the travel budget for the leadership/staff there. It would probably be bigger savings than what is collected in fare revenue. You could even put a donation box on the busses in case anyone feels the need to cover the cost of their ride.
FACT: Connect transit is a BIG money sucking vortex!!!! YES, some people DO need to ride the bus to work, etc, but it could be done in a MUCH more economical way than what the current S.O.P. is that’s is NOT even funny! It’s a waste and NOT even sustainable!!
One wonders:
1. who owns or has stock in LifCil
2. how difficult it is to just have passergers’ Drs certify their ADA eligibility
3. if all the ADA rides each month would total the monthly LifCil payment
4. and doesn’t wonder why they are shutting down
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