On August 16, 2005, a Philadelphia paratransit driver steered his van off the designated route, parked it, and sat down next to his severely disabled female passenger.

The passenger, strapped into a wheelchair, was unable to escape as the driver exposed himself and asked her to perform oral sex, according to court papers.

The passenger, left partially blind and brain-damaged after a childhood auto accident, later sued the driver and his employer, MV Transportation, alleging the company had failed to perform background checks on its workers.

The woman's complaint is perhaps the most egregious of those lodged against MV, the California-based company that began providing service on Chicago's North Side in March.

But it is far from the only complaint. A review of news reports and lawsuits in other jurisdictions, as well as interviews with paratransit riders and advocates, suggests that along the way to becoming the country's largest provider of paratransit services, MV Transportation has not always put passengers first.

In Chicago, riders have vocally criticized the company's service at several recent transit meetings, saying drivers arrive late, get lost, don't know how to operate wheelchair lifts and are discourteous to the handicapped.

Fancie Moeller, an ADA adviser to the state of California who dealt with MV after complaints arose over its service for the Santa Rosa Transit System in 2003, says she isn't surprised.

"We have had unbelievable battles with these people," says Moeller. "They treat the disabled like they're cattle."

A company spokeswoman however, says the complaints are not representative of the service MV provides throughout the country.

"For every complaint or service issue you can find, there are many more commendations, positive comments and special recognitions from riders, transit agency staff members and board members about the great job MV does everyday," spokeswoman Nikki Frenney said in an e-mail.

Frenney acknowledged problems during the transition, but says the company's record for on-time performance is now higher than that of the two other providers in Chicago. "We acknowledge that the service is not perfect, but every day we are committed to improving," she wrote.

She said she could not comment on the Anthony Davis lawsuit, and others that have accused MV of negligence, inadequate training and driver screening processes and violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Paratransit services provide transportation to riders whose disabilities leave them unable to use traditional buses and trains. In 1990, the ADA mandated that all transportation agencies receiving federal funds provide such services to eligible riders.

Pace took over paratransit operations from the Chicago Transit Authority in July 2006 as part of a legislative effort to streamline regional paratransit service.

Last December, Pace split Chicago into three service zones and awarded a $33 million, five-year contract to MV to cover Chicago's North Side. That contract went into effect in March.

The Fairfield, Calif.-based company has 190 contracts in 24 states and Canada and is the largest provider of ADA paratransit services in the nation, according to Frenney.

But since MV's contract went into effect in Chicago, criticism from local riders has been fierce.

"Every encounter I've had with MV has been an experience," says Jill Verdich of Jefferson Park, who has been using paratransit services for the past eight years.

Verdich says that for years, paratransit drivers have been flexible and done their best to accommodate her needs. However, she says, since MV Transportation was contracted to serve her region in late March, things have changed. Now she endures unbearably long trips with drivers who refuse to stop and let her use a bathroom or return home if and when she becomes ill.

"One time, on a Saturday morning, they were driving way out of my direction," she says. "I could feel myself getting sick, so I asked them to just take me to Illinois Masonic or take me home, but they said they didn't have enough vehicles."

"I threw up right outside of Uno's Pizza," she said. "It was so embarrassing."

Wendy Klancher, a transportation planner at the federally designated planning agency for the D.C. metro area, has heard similar stories. She calls MV "the Wal-Mart of paratransit."

"Their modus operandi," she says, is "to be the low-bid contractor and outbid the other competitors and then actually end up getting more money because it turns out they can't operate within the bid."

Moeller said her experience with the company in Calfornia fit the pattern. "Immediately after getting the bid, they started cutting services because they couldn't afford to keep up with the contract," she said.

In Washington D.C., MetroAccess ended up spending over $6 million on top of MV's original $204 million contract, to help them maintain standards of service, according to Klancher and published reports.

Complaints included the same litany of stranded riders, long trips, and inconsiderate behavior, she said.

In the spring of 2006, an independent audit of the company's service in D.C. found that MV overstated their on-time performance and undercounted the number of times riders were left stranded, according to news reports.

But Pace officials believe the company has turned the corner on its problems in Chicago.

Pace spokesman Patrick Wilmot acknowledges that MV had some start-up problems in Chicago, but says many of them were addressed within two weeks.

"Some of the issues we faced right off the bat were that MV did not have enough staff or management in their call center and dispatching area," he said. "Also, they were short on vehicles in their fleet that were needed for start up. Those were two of the major issues that should have been settled before the transition took place and were not."

He says MV agreed that "performance was unacceptable at that point," and responded by replacing their Chicago manager.

"Those issues have been addressed now," Wilmot said. "I believe we are right where we need to be in terms of fleet and call-takers."

According to Wilmot, the company's on-time performance was above 90 percent during the month of June, up from 70 to 80 percent in its first weeks. "It has gotten better every week," he said. "The system is stabilizing."

Wilmot says Pace does not believe that MV's record is cause for concern.

Around the country, some passengers feel differently.

In 2007, wheelchair-bound passenger Ken Lombardo of California, filed suit alleging disability discrimination after incidents that included being left at a bus stop by a driver who said he didn't have time to help him board.

On another occasion, according to the suit, Lombardo was stranded after his wheelchair was damaged by improper fastening. The driver removed Lombardo from the bus, and told him another bus would come. An hour and a half later, the suit says, Lombardo called the wheelchair company, which sent someone to pick him and repair the chair.

Lombardo, an amputee as the result of a car accident, has since died. "Ken really felt like it wasn't just about him, it was about other people who were disabled and really relied on public transportation," said his attorney, Gail Flatt of Santa Rosa, Calif.

Flatt says MV settled the case out of court, but did not admit liability.

In May, Georgia Cooper, 77, of Portland, Oregon, filed a lawsuit against MV after a driver failed to properly engage the van's wheelchair lift, causing her to fall face first onto the ground. The driver, according to the lawsuit, did not come to the rear of the vehicle to help Cooper, who is both deaf and mute.

Her lawsuit says she suffered two black eyes and injuries to her knee, hip, chin.

In Belchertown, Mass., paratransit riders prompted MV and the local transit agency, the Pioneer Valley Transit Authority, to cut a contract short in the wake of passenger complaints and the March 2007 death of a rider who fell down a staircase after being left at the wrong location.

According to Frenney, "MV and the transit agency could not agree on the way in which to best provide the service and decided it was advantageous for both parties to sever their ties."

In the Philadelphia case, the driver, Anthony Davis, was charged with indecent assault and false imprisonment, among other crimes.

Davis was convicted of indecent exposure, but appealed, and was acquitted during a second trial, says Devon Clark, the Philadelphia assistant district attorney who handled the case.

Clark says that, absent physical evidence, the case hinged on the victim's ability to explain what had occurred.

"She had a very severe speech impediment," Clark says. "There were issues in trying to explain exactly what had happened."

The woman later filed a $150,000 civil rights lawsuit against MV and the city transit agency. She and the defendants settled out of court.

The Daily News is withholding the woman's name because she was allegedly the victim of a sex crime.

In other instances, MV has satisfied its critics.

Ed Eames, chairperson of the Fresno Area Express ADA Advisory Committee in California, says that when MV took over service in 2005, they also had a rough transition, but that conditions improved with time.

"One of the problems we were having was lack of communication between passengers, providers and the city," Eames said.

But now, Eames says, complaints have begun to level off - an improvement he attributes to a series of meetings between MV, riders and Fresno city transit officials.

"Now, we're seeing a significant increase in all levels of service including on-time service," he said.

Those conversations, he said, led MV to update their maps and better accommodate riders going to medical appointments, particularly for dialysis. He says MV also began hiring local riders to conduct disability sensitivity training, which helped build trust.

Eames says the talks also made riders more tolerant of mistakes by helping them understand the complexities of the system.

Frenney also encouraged riders to make their concerns known to the company's managers. "To those riders who have experienced challenges on our service, we sincerely apologize and encourage them to work with our managers," she wrote.

A "blue ribbon committee" established by Pace to investigate the complaints in Chicago hopes to reach a resolution. Its recommendations are expected in December. MV, however, does not have a seat on the committee.

Many riders, including Dr. Ayo Maat of IMPRUVE, the Independent Movement of Paratransit Riders for Unity, Vehicles, Equality, have criticized the committee, whose composition, process and goals were established by Pace. They also feel the response does not address the urgency felt by many paratransit-dependent riders.

"December is too far away," says Maat. "This isn't us trying to be difficult. For many of us, this is a matter of life and death."

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