Local

AT&T ‘glitch' leaves many Access Lynx riders unable to schedule pickups

An AT&T glitch has left many Orange County residents who depend on Access Lynx to get rides to doctors' offices and other important appointments without transportation.
Lynx decided to consolidate phone-bank workers from two locations into one, but shortly after the phone lines were transferred, riders found they could not get through to schedule a ride.
Julio Rocher relies on Access Lynx to get his disabled daughter to and from important medical appointments, and the phoneline crash was a serious issue for him.
Calling the service “crucial,” Rocher said he couldn’t get his daughter to the doctor without it.
“It’s a safe transportation in a wheelchair,” he said. “That’s something that we cannot provide.”
Lynx COO Thomas Stringer said the situation has caused a lot of problems and that AT&T has been giving the service hourly updates about its efforts to resolve it.
“It is very frustrating because, as we move to the mobility management setup, we expected to have a seamless operation,” Stringer said. “We started the morning very well, then this occurred in the evening where we had this glitch.
“We are working with AT&T and we’ve escalated this to the highest possible level, because we recognize the importance that our customers can communicate their trip availability.”
While some Access Lynx customers have been able to get through to schedule a pickup, many are greeted by silence when they call.
Lynx officials urged riders to keep trying to call, and if they are not able to get through, to email Lynx, use the company’s website or send a fax.
Steve Barrett

Steve Barrett, WFTV.com

Reporter Steve Barrett returned to WFTV in mid-2017 after 18 months in the Twin Cities, where he worked as Vice President of Communications for an Artificial Intelligence software firm aligned with IBM.