MBTA EYES SAVINGS, BETTER SERVICE WITH CENTRALIZED "RIDE" CALL CENTER

By Andy Metzger
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE

BOSTON, JUNE 7, 2016....Consolidating three dispatch services into a centralized call center for scheduling paratransit rides, the MBTA moved forward Monday toward a $38.5 million multi-year contract with GlobalContact Services.

The MBTA Fiscal and Management Control Board voted unanimously to authorize General Manager Frank DePaola to execute a contract with GlobalContact for a centralized call center for The Ride.

Michael Lambert, the deputy administrator for transit, told the control board the shift would save money, improve customer service and simplify oversight of paratransit calls.

Lambert said the contract is expected to result in $38.5 million in net savings over its life - essentially turning the $38.5 million expenditure into the same amount saved. He said the contract would achieve annual savings of $12 million to $17 million starting in fiscal 2018.

The contract would run from July through 2020 with the option to extend it another two years, according to Lambert. The two-year extension would cost roughly $19 million, according to Owen Kane, an attorney for the board. Net savings would be higher during the two-year option, according to MBTA spokesman Joe Pesaturo.

The new call center should begin taking its first phone calls next January and become fully operational July 2017, according to Lambert.

The Ride offers door-to-door scheduled service for people with disabilities, and the T has begun experimenting with an on-demand program offering discounted taxi trips for Ride customers. T officials are also seeking to link up with smartphone-based ride-hailing apps to provide service to riders with disabilities.

Three vendors currently provide paratransit service: Greater Lynn Senior Services, Veteran's Taxi and National Express.

Savings will be achieved through more efficient routes and a reduction in overlap, according to Lambert.

Control Board Chairman Joseph Aiello encouraged Lambert to develop a communications plan to alert customers to the change.

Lambert described the vendor as "a strong performer in the call-center industry," and said the current plan is to establish a dispatch and scheduling center in Medford.