Easy Lift provides thousands of rides each year to about 1,600 passengers. As a non-profit organization with limited resources, we depend on highly efficient computer scheduling in order to fit the maximum number of rides into our fleet of vans.
On average, a ride on an Easy Lift van will last about twenty minutes. But if you think about it, the amount of time that it takes to travel from your home to your destination is only one part of the trip. First, the van must travel from its last drop-off point to your home. Keeping this travel time as short as possible is absolutely necessary for Easy Lift to run efficiently.
What is Efficient Scheduling?
It is our goal to be as efficient as possible when scheduling rides. This way we can use our limited resources to provide our passengers with as many rides as possible. The more efficient we are, the more rides our passengers can take. It is far more efficient to pick a passenger up with a van that is already in the area rather than sending one from across town. In fact, if a van must travel a long distance to pick up a passenger, it means that it will be busy for that period of time and not be available for other passengers to ride. This would be a tremendous waste of time and fuel, and would not be very efficient.
Ride Windows
It is important to realize that the ride windows that the operator gives you may be influenced by our need to schedule efficiently. When you book a ride with Easy Lift,
please be prepared to be flexible. Generally passengers are given pick up windows very close to what is requested; in accordance with the ADA, Easy Lift must offer times within an hour of what is requested. However, Easy Lift is a community transit system and not a taxi service. Passengers should be prepared to share rides with other clients and accept flexibility in pick-up and drop-off times.
As an example, if a van is in your neighborhood a half-hour before you would ideally like to leave for your appointment, it may be necessary to book you on that van rather than sending another vehicle from across town. The reason for this is that if a van must travel out of its way to pick you up, then it will be unavailable for other passengers to use during that time. So, even though you would get your ideal pick-up time, a different passenger would lose a ride altogether. This approach is the only way Easy Lift is able to book so many rides with a relatively small fleet of vehicles.
When our reservations assistants give you a pick up time, this time is subject to a “30 minute ride-time window.” This means that your Easy Lift driver may arrive at your scheduled pick-up location anytime within 15 minutes before or after your pick-up time. You are expected to be ready to board the bus when the driver arrives. For example, if you are given a pick-up time of 2:00 pm, your driver may arrive anytime between 1:45 pm and 2:15 pm, and you will be expected to board the bus within five minutes of the driver arriving. If your driver arrives at 1:45 pm and you do not board the bus by 1:50 pm, the driver will leave and the ride will be marked a no-show
Adjustments to your scheduled pick up and drop off times may need to be slightly altered in order to accommodate other passengers. For instance, if your scheduled pick up time is at twelve noon we may need to change it to 11:50 am in order to pick up another passenger in the same general area. You will be notified of these changes a day in advance. We avoid changing your pick up time whenever possible, but we ask that you please be flexible when it is necessary for us to do so.
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