8
QUEENS WEEKLY, FEBRUARY 2, 2020
Comrie announces new legislation that would
extend the MTA’s Access-A-Ride pilot program
BY BILL PARRY
State Senator Leroy Comrie
unveiled unprecedented
legislation Monday that
would require the MTA to
expand its highly successful,
on-demand Access-A-Ride
pilot program.
Launched in 2017, the
program allows 1,200 New
Yorkers with disabilities to
get rides when and where
they need them, rather than
booking every trip 24 hours
in advance. Riders who have
used the program consistently
praise it as a significant
improvement over the notoriously
inefficient and unreliable
traditional AAR service.
“Access-A-Ride is equally
important to rail and bus
service, but its users are routinely
excluded from conversations
on how to improve
public transportation,” Comrie
said. “We are calling on
the MTA to listen to their
Access-A-Ride customers
who overwhelmingly agree
that the on-demand pilot
program has improved their
mobility and quality of life.”
The bill, known as S7371,
would require the MTA to
evaluate the true costs of the
on-demand program by extending
it for at least a year
and expanding the service to
an additional 1,200 users who
are representative of New
York City paratransit riders.
It would also extend AAR
riders a current law that
bars the MTA from charging
subway and bus riders more
for longer rides without mayoral
approval.
Dozens of lawmakers
signed off on letters sent to
Governor Andrew Cuomo
and MTA Chairman Patrick
Foye urging the agency to
“maintain and expand the
innovative On-Demand Access
A-Ride Pilot Program,
without cumbersome and
restrictive rules that will
effectively curtail the program
for current and future
users alike.” The legislators
also underscored that an ondemand
ride costs less than
half of AAR’s traditional
service.
The legislators’ letter
and bill introduction follow
major changes to the on-demand
program announced
by the MTA in November
that would cap the number
of on-demand rides users
can take to a mere 16 per
month and place a $15 limit
on the cost of each ride. Advocates
estimate that a $15
cap will only allow riders to
travel two to four miles at
most, not nearly far enough
to commute to jobs, schools
and appointments for most
New Yorkers.
“In a city where our mass
transit system is too often inaccessible
to people with disabilities,
it is essential that
we ensure our paratransit
service is enabling all New
Yorkers to move around our
city with ease and efficiency,”
Bronx Assemblyman Jeffrey
Dinowitz, who will carry the
measure in the Assembly,
said. “Unfortunately, the
plan to expand the excellent
on-demand pilot program
leaves many users behind.
Fare caps and ride limits
make it nearly impossible for
people to use Access-A-Ride
to get where they need to go
and that needs to change as
soon as possible.”
Colin Wright, a senior associate
at TransitCenter, an
organization that advocates
for mass transit accessibility,
said, “Every New Yorker
has the right to freely access
our city but new travel limits
on the on-demand e-hail pilot
program will effectively kill
the life-changing program.”
Wright added that rather
than cutting service, the
MTA should ensure that as
many people as possible can
benefit from the freedom
provided by the on-demand
program.
“I am proud to carry
S7371 in the Senate, which
would not only extend the
on-demand pilot program for
an additional year, but also
increase the number of participating
Access-A-Ride users.
I thank Assemblyman
Dinowitz for his partnership
on this legislation, as well
as the advocates in the disability
community who have
championed better transit
options for people with
disabilities.”
State Senator Leroy Comrie presents new legislation that
would extend a popular Access-A-Ride pilot program.
Courtesy of Comrie’s office
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