Starting June 1, 2024, Island Transit will begin to penalize customers who don’t show up to their scheduled On Demand appointments, according to a press release shared by Marketing and Communications Officer Selene Muldowney-Stratton.
The new policy, which already existed for paratransit riders and is a standard practice among public transit agencies around the state, is designed to discourage no-shows, which cause inconvenience to other passengers and reduce the efficiency of the service, the press release says.
Under the new policy, five no-shows within a rolling 30 days of each other without proper cancellation will result in a 60 day suspension from On Demand services, though fixed route services may still be utilized while suspended from On Demand services, according to the press release.
Each subsequent five no-shows will again result in a 60 day suspension.
Passengers that no-show will not be allowed to rebook a trip the same day either by call-in or via the app, according to the policy.
Riders are also asked to avoid repeated late cancellations as they may result in the suspension of On Demand service for individual riders.
Riders are encouraged to cancel their trips via the Island Transit EcoLane app or by contacting dispatch at 360-678-7771 at least one hour before the scheduled pick-up time.
According to the policy, Island Transit will send the passenger a warning after the third confirmed no-show. After the fifth no-show, a suspension letter will be issued to the passenger stating dates of suspension, dates of no-shows from which the suspension resulted, and instructions on how to file an appeal of the suspension.
Exceptions to no-shows are considered on a case-by-case basis. If Island Transit arrives outside the 10-minute pick-up window and the passenger does not board, the trip will not be counted as a no-show.
A suspension may be appealed in writing or in person by appointment. Appeals shall be overturned only if the information that the suspension is based upon is incorrect. All decisions will be made in writing and a copy placed in the passenger’s file.
