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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2018-10-24 Commissioners of Trust Funds Minutes Ngrq o Town of Reading Meeting Minutes x oPP Board - Committee - Commission - Council: RF :^' ll Commissioners of Trust Funds MI NOV 29 PM 4: 05 Date: 2018-10-24 Time: 7:00 PM Building: Reading Town Hall Location: Berger Room Address: 16 Lowell Street Session: Open Session Purpose: General Business Version: Final Attendees: Members - Present: Elizabeth Klepeis, Neil Cohen and Endri Kume Members - Not Present: Andrew Friedman and John Daly Others Present: Jane Burns Minutes Respectfully Submitted By: Endri Kume Topics of Discussion: Mr. Cohen called the meeting to order at 7:08PM. Video Conference with Ben Sisko, LVET Local Marketing Manager Mr. Ben Sisko introduced himself over video conference and gave a brief Introduction about his role as Lyft Local Marketing Manager for New England. He mentioned that he reports to the General Manager whose office was in Boston. Some of the resources that Lyft has available for clients are analytics team, direct line customer support and local offices that provide walk in services if needed. He mentioned that most of the support staff was located locally in Boston. Mr. Sisko stated that Lyft provides transportation solutions to different Institutions such as non-profits, hotels, hospital and a few local municipalities. He asked the Commissioners to introduce themselves so he could better understand what their roles were. Mr. Cohen introduced himself as the Chair and gave a brief explanation on how the Trust Funds were created and funded. He also explained the role of the Hospital Trust Funds and how they pay for expenses related to transportation services for elderly residents. Ms. Klepels introduced herself and mention a few challenges that the Reading Transportation program was facing. Mr. Kume introduced himself and mentioned his role as the administrator for the Trust Funds. Ms. Burns introduced herself and explained how her staff manages the day to day operations for the Reading Transportation program. Mr. Sisko introduced the Concierge App from Lyft, a dispatch application that connects drivers to passengers. The Concierge App allows a user or staff, book or schedule rides for a person in advance. This app was designed to be simple and easy to use. Once a ride was booked the person received a text message that provided an ETA for the driver. This text message acts as confirmation that the ride had been scheduled. Mr. Sisko went into details how to use the app. The information needed was basic such as pick up and drop off location, customer name and phone number and the car option needed for the ride. Lyft provided different car options such as 4 door sedan, and SUV or a luxury vehicle. Data reporting that the app offered was straight forward and allowed for export in Excel. Reports provided number of rides, pick up and drop off destination addresses, who Page 1 1 requested the ride, distances and price. Bill payment options that were accepted were credit card or paper Invoice. An interesting option that Mr. Sisko explained was the flexible rides which enable organizations to schedule and cover the cost of a ride and allow a passenger to manage the return trip. The process worked as follows: - Staff enters passenger's info including name, phone number, and pickup and drop- off locations. - The flexible ride request options'Send flexible ride' is selected from the dropdown menu and then the link is send to the passenger by clicking `Send ride link.'The passenger will receive an SMS text with a ride request link, and will have up to 24 hours to use the request. - Once the passenger is ready to go back to the original destination they can click the link on their phone and a driver will be on the way to pick them up. Mr. Sisko mentioned that Lyft recently Introduced other exciting features to enhance the Lyft Concierge experience for both passengers and organizations, such as ride maps that allow a passenger to easily locate their driver, and map pins that allow for a more exact pickup. Plus, Concierge passengers will soon have the ability to rate their drivers, just like passengers using the normal Lyft app. Mr. Sisko asked if there were any questions. - Ms. Burns asked how far in advance you can schedule a ride. Mr. Sisko answered 48 hours. The app has the ability to send specific Information to the driver. - Mr. Cohen asked who will be entering the special Instructions and Mr. Sisko indicated that it will be the user or the dispatcher responsibility to enter the special instructions. Ms. Burns Indicated that this could be an issue. The person scheduling the rides may not always be at their desk. Ms. Burns mentioned that her staff usually has other responsibilities and are not always at their desk. - Ms. Burns asked If the flex ride can be setup and managed by the passenger or the client, Mr. Sisko noted that this will have to be managed by her staff or scheduled in advance from a user. Ms. Burns Indicated that she was a little worried that some of the elderly passenger don't have cellphone or have one but cannot use it due to sight or other restrictions. How would these passengers be picked up and dropped off in these cases? Mr. Sisko confirmed that the app works with a cellphone and is heavily dependent on one. He suggested starting with passengers or clients that have cellphones and can use it. - Mr. Kume asked what the typical ETA for a pick was, Mr. Sisko answered usually 4- 15 minutes. - Ms. Klepeis asked about pricing and what the best way to estimate a trip was. Mr. Sisko mentioned that the online pricing estimator that Lyft has online, was the best tool to use for pricing. He also indicated that the concierge app will provide you with a fair price estimate on the top left corner of the app. - Mr. Kume asked about safety of the drivers and if they were insured. Mr. Sisko confirmed that all the drivers go through a state and federal background check. The ones that done have a clean record are not selected and the drivers do go through a CORI check. When it comes to insurance Lyft has a $SM blanket Insurance on top of the each Individual car insurance. - Ms. Burns asked if there was a second check on the drivers once they pass the initial screening, Mr. Sisko said that Lyft dose a yearly review of all driver but if something happens to a drivers record they will get notified and that driver will be dropped off. In addition Mr. Sisko mentioned that the analytics team will review the rating system and look at bad comments that are exchanged between passengers and drivers. In case a bad comment is found it will get investigated and proper action will be taken. - Mr. Kume asked what the wait time was for a driver to pick up a passenger. Mr. Sisko confirmed usually 5 minutes. Mr. Kume asked a follow up question If that was door to door and Mr. Sisko confirmed it was only curb to curb. - Ms. Klepeis asked if there was any flexibility with the way that the Service Agreement was written. Mr. Sisko mentioned that the Agreement was standard but there was some room for adjustment if needed. Mr. Cohen thanked Mr. Sisko for his time and stated that we will reach out to him in the near future. Page 1 2 Mr. Cohen opened the floor for discussion related to the presentation, he asked if there was any comments or concerned at this point. Ms. Burns commented that the process was heavily dependent on technology and we need to be selective at the beginning and engage only elderly that can use cellphones. She suggested starting using Lyft for early appointment when MassTran doesn't provide service. For the return trip we could still use MassTran as long as the return trip was within the hours that MassTran provides service. Her main concern was that the she has no staff that can do this on a full time basis. This solution was very helpful for elderly that are going through extensive treatment and need to get at the hospital early in the morning. Ms. Klepeis added that the nurse or the aid escorting the elderly can use the cellphone on their behalf in order to provide transportation for some of the elderly that don't have a cellphone. Ms. Klepeis asked Mr. Kume to forward the Service Agreement to Town Council for review. Ms. Burn expressed that she would like to try out the service first hand to see how it all works. Mr. Cohen confirmed that it was not a bad idea. With no further discussion the following motion was made. On a motion by Ms. KlepQ15. sgronded by Mr. Kum% a oroaram try out with Lvft to suoolement morning rides pending review of Ma55Tran oroaram was approved by a vote of 3-0-0. Open Session for topics not reasonably anticipated 48 hours In advance'of the meeting Not any. Meeting Notes Ms. Klepeis made a friendly amendment and moved with a motion to approve the meeting notes of 9/13/18 as amended. On a motion by Ms Klepeis seconded by Mr. Kume the Mints of the 9/13/18 meeting nates were approved. as amended, by a vote of 3-0-0 Review Portfolio. Discuss investment changes Mr. Cohen postponed this topic for next meeting. Review Cash Flow and Trust Balances Reports Mr. Cohen postponed this topic for next meeting. Reading Response Program Ms. Klepeis gave a brief liaison report. She Informed the board that all Hallmark staff had been laid off. Ms. Klepeis had a conversation with Mr. Daly and they both agree that the contract with MassTran will have to be revisited and possibly renegotiated. There are a few essential services that Philips Lifeline was not providing. One of them was the technology support that Hallmark had and the help that they provided with equipment Installation. Now Philips charges a technician fee of$55 per call, Hallmark did not have this fee. The transition happened one month ago and it was still early to make any decisions. We will see how the new company will handle the accounts that were transferred and revisit this topic in the next meeting. Next Meeting Next meeting was scheduled for November 281h, 2018 at 7PM. On a motion by Ms KI o is 5eronded by Mr. Kume the Commissioners voted to adiourn its meetinu at 8.43 p.m. by a vote of 3-0 Respectfully submitted, Secretary Page 1 3