RTD Changes Claim Rules After Award

The Southern California Rapid Transit District--fearing more cases like that of a Van Nuys man who won a $270 refund because slow buses made him late to work--has changed the handling of such claims, officials said Thursday.

Lylle Weiss, an air-conditioning equipment mechanic at the Federal Court Building downtown, earlier this month demanded and received a refund of the cost of three monthly passes, claiming that RTD buses delivered him late to work 15 times. He contended that that violated an implied promise by the RTD to provide on-time service.

His claim was approved by HCM Claim Management Corp. of Glendale, which processes small RTD claims that are typically settled before they go to court.

From now on, such claims will be handled by RTD officials, spokeswoman Andrea Greene told an RTD Board of Directors meeting Thursday.

RTD General Manager Alan Pegg blamed late buses on traffic congestion and the district’s general counsel, Suzanne Gifford, told the board that the RTD is not required to indemnify passengers for late buses. She expressed confidence such a stand would hold up in court.

Greene said Weiss’ claim was paid because it was inadvertently referred by an RTD employee to HCM, which normally handles accident complaints against the RTD, and the firm made a “judgment call” to pay it.

RTD board member Nick Patsaouras earlier expressed fears that Weiss’ claim might spur similar claims against the RTD, the largest bus carrier in the nation, which transports 1.3 million people daily.

Greene said no tardiness claims have been filed since Weiss was awarded his check earlier this month. Future claims, she said, would be handled on an “individual basis.”

Greene said the RTD receives only about two written complaints each year from passengers on the No. 418 line Weiss rides, which carries 216,000 passengers annually.

Pegg told the board the district will monitor the line to determine if service can be improved.