An MTA pilot program made life easier for 1,200 New Yorkers with disabilities. But a change rolled out by the MTA last month has made it harder for those enrolled in the service to get around town.
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2023.Navigating New York City with a disability has never been easy.
Suddenly, Cruz-Cullins could take her daughter Trinity to school in Harlem from their Kips Bay apartment without waking up early to catch a bus or head to a subway station with an elevator that’s often out of service. She could easily get to work or extracurricular activities, like a New York Liberty game or her doctor appointments, whenever she wanted and as often as she liked.In late July, Cruz-Cullins received an email from the MTA stating the program would be essentially ending.
Pangilinan, who was hired last year, said the MTA was spending about $16 million a year on the unlimited rides. The vans still provide about 30% of the MTA’s Access-A-Ride trips. The rest are given through either the on-demand program used by Cruz-Cullins or a third-party broker service. “Transit is not intended to be a taxi service, but rather it's supposed to be a next day shared ride service comparable to public transportation,” Pangilinan told Gothamist.
MTA officials also said they needed to end the unlimited ride option in order to expand the service to more people. Pangilinan said about 700 of the pilot program’s original 1,200 users remain enrolled — and the agency plans to expand the service to 3,600 disabled commuters.This month, the MTA is sending letters inviting more people to enroll in the service. Officials said it’s too early to see how much the new setup will cost the agency — or what impact it will have on those who join.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
The Air Force’s big new electric taxi flies at 200 mphJoby Aviation delivered an electric flying machine to Edwards Air Force Base, where the Air Force will experiment with different jobs for it.
Read more »
Latest MTA ridership news shows how far New York City still must climbIn a somewhat grim bit of “good” news, a Partnership for New York City analysis of MTA data shows serious ridership gains at key subway stations in the Midtown and Lower Manhattan office districts.…
Read more »
Driving a McLaren at 200 mph is a thrilling, dangerous experienceThe vehicle's speedometer read 200 mph, while the GPS reported a slightly different number. Either way, it was fast.
Read more »
Florida siblings, 10 and 11, stopped by police after driving 200 milesPolice said the brother and sister grabbed their mother's car and ran away after she took away their electronic devices.
Read more »