LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — RTC leaders used words like "unreliable," "terrible," and "abysmal" to describe the rollout of a new ride-booking app at Thursday's board meeting — words that echo what paratransit riders have been saying for weeks.
RTC CEO M.J. Maynard-Carey acknowledged the rocky start.
"The first couple weeks, the service was actually terrible for our customers," Maynard-Carey said.
Darcy Spears seeks answers from RTC leaders, RideCo CEO after paratransit riders voiced concerns:
The new app was launched in March by software company RideCo. It was supposed to make life easier for riders who can't drive, but instead, hundreds have been stranded or left waiting for hours.
RTC Board Chairman Justin Jones summoned RideCo CEO Prem Gururajan to Thursday's meeting to deliver an update on the service paratransit riders deserve but aren't getting.
"I'm pleased to share that we have made significant progress in improving the service," Gururajan said.
RTC Commissioner Jim Seebock pushed back.
"I find it abysmal — your results. To come up here and say that, 'We're making significant progress, we're making improvements,' when you haven't, as Commissioner Jones just said, even met what the old app was even achieving. And so you talk about extra benefits. You know what the biggest benefit is, is not being late. The biggest benefit is being on time, and you're not meeting any of those. So my direct question to you, sir, is, when will you meet what you're expected to deliver? How much time do we have to wait?" Seebock said.
Jones said on-time performance remains the top priority for riders.
"The on time performance is the number one concern that they have," Jones said.
Gururajan said RideCo would deliver on its promises by the next RTC board meeting. After the meeting ended, I asked him whether Las Vegas was an outlier.
"You said Las Vegas was unique. The rollout here was unique for a variety of reasons. Have you had this many problems during rollouts in other cities?" I asked.
"We're in over 85 cities, so I can't remember the nuance of every one," Gururajan said.
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RTC's RideCo app seeing improvements but riders still have concerns
While there have been improvements to RTC's RideCo app since it launched in March, some riders are still voicing concerns.
What's the deal with RTC Paratransit delays across the Las Vegas Valley?
Several RTC Paratransit riders experienced long delays and some were even stranded. They reached out to 13 Chief Investigator Darcy Spears to ask Darcy, What's The Deal?
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