ST. LOUIS – Metro Call-A-Ride, which provides transportation services to St. Louis and St. Louis County paratransit customers, improved their service denial percentage for those who qualify for paratransit under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). 

“In February 2023, when there were nearly 5,100 ADA denials recorded out of more than 11,000 trips requested,” said Charles Stewart, Metro Transit chief operating officer. “This resulted in an ADA denial percentage rate of 45.2%. In contrast, Metro Call-A-Ride delivered nearly 8,100 trips the week of September 30 (2024) with zero ADA capacity denials.”

After making a number of changes since July to improve reliability, the ADA denial percentage rate has been around 1%. 

“ADA denials are down and trip capacity is growing. Metro Call-A-Ride customers are experiencing better service. That is a huge step in the right direction.”

During April 2023, Metro Transit modified Call-A-Ride service area boundaries to focus exclusively on the required federal footprint of providing paratransit service to ADA customers. The area Call-A-Ride services is ¾ of a mile around an existing operational MetroBus route or MetroLink service. Trips that begin or conclude outside the service area boundary are not eligible for Call-A-Ride service.

“I’m proud to say we are able to honor our commitment to providing more reliable service to eligible Call-A-Ride customers, helping to better meet the needs of this important group of customers,” said Taulby Roach, president and CEO of Bi-State Development, which operates Metro Transit for the region.

In the past year, Call-A-Ride recruited operators with a $5,000 signing bonus. That offer for operator recruits is still in place. With more operators, Call-A-Ride is able to provide a more reliable service. They’ve also improved the phone system, offering new texting tools, and are preparing to launch a new software system for reservation and dispatch by the end of 2024.