Dial-A-Ride, Unmentioned Policies and No-Shows
This has not been a week when I feel like being particularly thankful.
Saturday I got informed by Dial-A-Ride that I had canceled too many times in the past month to close to pickup time, so they were sending me a warning letter. I scheduled 12 trips. According to them, I canceled 17% of the trips, which according to my calculator is 2.04 trips.
By my estimate, yes, I canceled twice, both times because I was sick (throwing up on one occasion), lacked stamina and was unsteady on my feet. I have virtually no immune system, as my lymphatic system does not work. So I'm susceptible to germs, and tend to get very sick very suddenly. I can be seemingly healthy one day and violently ill the next. This is not something I can change at will. I wish to God that I could.
Now, I called as soon as the DAR office opened at 8:30. (Officially, it opens at 8, but no one picks up the phones before 8:30.) I promise you that. But since my appointments were for 9:30...well, DAR has now decreed that they want more than two hours warning before a cancellation or it counts to against you. Aparently the good and the virtuous thing to do is to spread germs around and expose my already compromised immune system to MORE germs when I'm ill. Because, y'know, it's not like that could make others sick or make me worse.
I dread to think of what is going to happen in the winter when I make an appointment one day and it snows heavily during the night. What the hell do I do if I can't make it down my hilly driveway without slipping? DAR doesn't want sudden cancellations. They've made that VERY clear. And my cane and walker do not mix well with snow, sleet or ice.
Oh, and penalizing the old, the sick and the disabled for BEING old, sick and/or disabled and therefore having sudden health crises? According to the letter itself, this is a brand new policy instituted in October 2010.
Naturally, DAR did not deign to do any mail-outs informing people that the new policy was in force. There was a meeting in October to which "clients" of DAR could come. They announced the policy at the meeting. Those of us who were not at that meeting were shit out of luck. Why bother informing us until one of us breaks the rule we didn't know existed?
This is how it works. If you cancel or are a no-show for more than 10% of your rides for that month, you get the following reactions:
First offense in a rolling 12-month period -- Warning letter.
Second offense in a rolling 12-month period -- Suspended from using DAR for 7 days.
Third offense in a rolling 12-month period -- Suspended from using DAR for 14 days.
Fourth offense in a rolling 12-month period-- Suspended from using DAR for 21 days.
Fifth and subsequent offenses in a rolling 12-month period -- Suspended from using DAR for 28 days.
This would be far less irksome if I had not been marooned at the library on Sunday by--who else? DAR. Now, I was watching for the van from quarter of three on. It never came. So around 3:04 p.m., I called DAR to find out where the van was.
I was informed that the driver had shown up at 2:44 and had waited for me until 2:54.
This is a goddamned lie.
I was watching and waiting for the van anxiously, as I always do. IT NEVER CAME. In fact, nothing even resembling the van arrived. I saw nothing but cars, cars and more cars.
When I pointed out to the dispatcher that yes, I'd been waiting for the van and I'd hardly be calling to find out where it was if I had seen it, he got quite coldly angry and told me that the driver had BEEN there, and it was my fault that I hadn't shown up. He then told me that he'd TRY to get me another ride--making it clear that this was a matter of charity on his part, which I did not deserve.
I told him not to bother, I'd walk home. This seemed more logical to me at the time. DAR has already proven that it could not be relied upon; this was just its latest offense. However, I did know where I was. And I knew that I could make it home...if I was willing to pay the penalty of a couple of days in pain.
I was just furious enough to do what I said. The trip was 2.4 miles. My legs are STILL mad at me. But it was satisfying to just be able to say, "Screw you!" for once.
***
Crossposted to Gehayi on Dreamwidth and dot_gimp_snark.
Saturday I got informed by Dial-A-Ride that I had canceled too many times in the past month to close to pickup time, so they were sending me a warning letter. I scheduled 12 trips. According to them, I canceled 17% of the trips, which according to my calculator is 2.04 trips.
By my estimate, yes, I canceled twice, both times because I was sick (throwing up on one occasion), lacked stamina and was unsteady on my feet. I have virtually no immune system, as my lymphatic system does not work. So I'm susceptible to germs, and tend to get very sick very suddenly. I can be seemingly healthy one day and violently ill the next. This is not something I can change at will. I wish to God that I could.
Now, I called as soon as the DAR office opened at 8:30. (Officially, it opens at 8, but no one picks up the phones before 8:30.) I promise you that. But since my appointments were for 9:30...well, DAR has now decreed that they want more than two hours warning before a cancellation or it counts to against you. Aparently the good and the virtuous thing to do is to spread germs around and expose my already compromised immune system to MORE germs when I'm ill. Because, y'know, it's not like that could make others sick or make me worse.
I dread to think of what is going to happen in the winter when I make an appointment one day and it snows heavily during the night. What the hell do I do if I can't make it down my hilly driveway without slipping? DAR doesn't want sudden cancellations. They've made that VERY clear. And my cane and walker do not mix well with snow, sleet or ice.
Oh, and penalizing the old, the sick and the disabled for BEING old, sick and/or disabled and therefore having sudden health crises? According to the letter itself, this is a brand new policy instituted in October 2010.
Naturally, DAR did not deign to do any mail-outs informing people that the new policy was in force. There was a meeting in October to which "clients" of DAR could come. They announced the policy at the meeting. Those of us who were not at that meeting were shit out of luck. Why bother informing us until one of us breaks the rule we didn't know existed?
This is how it works. If you cancel or are a no-show for more than 10% of your rides for that month, you get the following reactions:
First offense in a rolling 12-month period -- Warning letter.
Second offense in a rolling 12-month period -- Suspended from using DAR for 7 days.
Third offense in a rolling 12-month period -- Suspended from using DAR for 14 days.
Fourth offense in a rolling 12-month period-- Suspended from using DAR for 21 days.
Fifth and subsequent offenses in a rolling 12-month period -- Suspended from using DAR for 28 days.
This would be far less irksome if I had not been marooned at the library on Sunday by--who else? DAR. Now, I was watching for the van from quarter of three on. It never came. So around 3:04 p.m., I called DAR to find out where the van was.
I was informed that the driver had shown up at 2:44 and had waited for me until 2:54.
This is a goddamned lie.
I was watching and waiting for the van anxiously, as I always do. IT NEVER CAME. In fact, nothing even resembling the van arrived. I saw nothing but cars, cars and more cars.
When I pointed out to the dispatcher that yes, I'd been waiting for the van and I'd hardly be calling to find out where it was if I had seen it, he got quite coldly angry and told me that the driver had BEEN there, and it was my fault that I hadn't shown up. He then told me that he'd TRY to get me another ride--making it clear that this was a matter of charity on his part, which I did not deserve.
I told him not to bother, I'd walk home. This seemed more logical to me at the time. DAR has already proven that it could not be relied upon; this was just its latest offense. However, I did know where I was. And I knew that I could make it home...if I was willing to pay the penalty of a couple of days in pain.
I was just furious enough to do what I said. The trip was 2.4 miles. My legs are STILL mad at me. But it was satisfying to just be able to say, "Screw you!" for once.
***
Crossposted to Gehayi on Dreamwidth and dot_gimp_snark.