ART’s Phone Line for Seniors, People with Disabilities Goes Down, Prompting Headaches

(Updated at 3 p.m.) Arlington Transit’s phone system to connect disabled and elderly riders to bus service has been hobbled by technical problems all week, prompting big headaches for people who rely on the program.

ART’s “Specialized Transit for Arlington Residents” service, commonly known as STAR, has been dealing with “technical difficulties” at the agency’s call center since Tuesday (June 26), according to a series of alerts sent out to riders.

The main STAR phone line hasn’t worked since then and remains down today (Friday). County transportation spokesman Eric Balliet says ART is working on the issue with service provider Verizon and even the state’s technology agency, with a temporary solution on the way.

“The temporary solution, estimated to be in place later today, will forward the main STAR number to a number provided by Red Top Cab, which dispatches service for STAR,” Balliet wrote in an email. “STAR personnel have been taking calls on this temporary line and will continue until the issue is resolved.”

The phone system is designed to connect riders who might have trouble using ART’s regular service with a scheduled, shared-ride service to take them wherever they need to go around the county. Accordingly, this week’s outages have created big problems for riders with disabilities, in particular.

I have been trying to stay quiet, but I am close to reaching my breaking point. I am an Arlington resident who is #blind, and my county is failing me.

— Tiffany Jolliff (@TiffanyJolliff) June 29, 2018

Since last week, STAR, Arlington county's #paratransit system has been inaccessible to customers. The phones are down, meaning that no trips can be scheduled. This places an undue burden on people trying to access employment, healthcare and recreation in the DMV.

— Tiffany Jolliff (@TiffanyJolliff) June 29, 2018

The worst part is, STAR customers have not received any communication from Arlington about what is happening, or when a resolution will be in place.

— Tiffany Jolliff (@TiffanyJolliff) June 29, 2018

ART has also dealt with a series of problems with its real-time alert service in recent weeks, not to mention a host of bus maintenance woes necessitating some service disruptions.

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