LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — James Jenkins and his daughter Christina Cole have been using Lextrans' Wheels service for years. Over the past few months, they say some things have been off.
Jenkins says, "This past Friday night and last Friday night, they were supposed to pick me up and they called me and said they were gonna be an hour, an hour and a half late, and wanted to know if I still wanted to go and I told them yeah, and they never did show up."
Jenkins says this has been happening a lot. In October 2022, the Wheels service was transferred to a new France-based company, RATP Dev. Since then, these riders have had concerns about long-customer service call times, long pick-up times, and long commutes. Christina Cole is unable to drive because of her cerebral palsy. She's relied on this service her entire life. Just this morning, Cole, who lives 15 minutes away from her dad, says it took her nearly two hours to get here.
"I was aggravated but it wasn't the driver’s fault, it was whoever, you know, scheduled it or whatever,” says Cole.
Long-time Lextrans' Wheels customers who really rely on the service day-to-day say that months later they're still waiting to see improvements from that transition.
Jenkins says, "They take me to karaoke, they take me to the VA, or wherever. Whenever they do, yeah."
Jenkins explains that he's loved music for the last 30 years. Every week, he joins friends in town to enjoy karaoke. Since his stroke nearly two decades ago, this is his primary way of getting around.
We asked the company about the long wait times several customers have told me about. They said, "RAPT Dev has improved on-time performance month over month since service began in Lexington, have added customer service staff and on boarded new drivers, and continues to recruit safety-minded employees committed to providing quality service. Lextran remains in daily communication with the subcontractor, as both parties continue to strive towards improvements in safe and reliable service."
Jenkins says, "They always make the same excuse. They ain't got no drivers, no buses. And it's just the same excuse, over, and over, and over again and they never correct it."
These customers are looking for answers and for improvements in Wheels' service.
