CHAPTER ELEVEN — WHAT THE MONEY COULD NOT BUY
The special board committee announced a passenger assistance fund on the morning before the auditor’s final report.
Arthur asked Khloe to review the public description because several conditions seemed confusing.
She told him she was not a lawyer and would not approve wording on behalf of people she did not represent.
He asked whether she would at least identify questions a passenger might raise.
Khloe agreed on that basis and opened the draft on her kitchen table.
The proposed program offered reimbursement for verified expenses caused by missed rides.
It required applicants to supply receipts within thirty days and submit proof of the missed pickup.
Savannah read the requirements over Khloe’s shoulder.
She asked how a person who had waited in freezing rain was supposed to produce a receipt for the cold.
Khloe added the question to her notes.
A missed medical appointment might produce a bill, but lost sleep and fear could not be stapled to an application.
She called Beatrice to ask what documents passengers actually possessed.
Beatrice said some riders kept paper appointment cards while others relied on phone calls to dispatch.
Several could not afford smartphones, and many had never been offered written trip confirmations.
Khloe called Tomas next.
He said his lost shift appeared on a payroll statement, but he could not prove precisely when the shuttle failed to arrive.
He also worried that sending employment records to a transportation company might create another problem at work.
Khloe wrote down his concern without requesting copies of anything private.
At the committee meeting, an attorney explained that the fund needed safeguards against fraudulent claims.
Beatrice asked whether the company’s unreliable records would automatically be treated as more credible than the passengers’ accounts.
The attorney said that was not the intention.
Nadine pointed out that the existing dispatch database had already been found unreliable in several respects.
She recommended an independent administrator who could consider witness statements and alternative documentation.
Arthur supported the change.
A finance executive warned that flexible standards might increase costs.
Khloe asked whether the company had calculated the cost of denying legitimate claims to people with no other way home.
The executive said that cost was difficult to quantify.
Khloe replied that difficulty was not permission to ignore it.
Savannah, attending as an observer, raised her hand after the chair invited public questions.
She asked whether applicants would need to surrender their right to discuss their experiences.
The room became very quiet.
Arthur looked toward the committee attorney.
The attorney said the initial draft included a release for claims already compensated by the fund.
Savannah asked whether that release also restricted people from discussing dangerous stops or reporting future incidents.
The attorney admitted the language required clarification.
Khloe thought of Victoria’s original envelope and felt a chill that had nothing to do with winter.
She said passengers should not have to exchange their voices for reimbursement of expenses caused by the service.
The committee voted to remove any blanket confidentiality requirement.
It also agreed to provide free assistance with applications through an independent community organization.
The fund would consider documented missed trips even when the company’s original system falsely marked them completed.
Beatrice insisted that rejected applicants receive a clear explanation and a fair opportunity to appeal.
The committee accepted that recommendation too.
Afterward, Arthur approached Savannah and thanked her for raising the question about silence.
Savannah said she had learned to read agreements carefully while dealing with hospital bills.
Arthur asked whether she would accept a scholarship application from a charitable education foundation.
Khloe braced herself for another uncomfortable exchange.
Savannah thanked him but said she preferred to choose schools and aid programs without personal obligations to his family.
Arthur accepted the answer and wished her luck.
On the way home, Savannah asked whether she had been rude.
Khloe said declining an offer respectfully was not rude.
Savannah smiled and said she hoped the hospital felt the same way when they disputed another charge.
They walked to the station beneath a pale afternoon sky.
For the first time in weeks, Khloe did not feel compelled to check whether a black SUV was following them.
