New York City’s federally-mandated Access-A-Ride program that costs the public an estimated $451 million per year is confronting some critical issues in scheduling the transportation of 20,000 people with disabilities who use the system per week (40,000 round trips per week). But United Spinal Association believes that the City can relieve the growing pressure placed on Access-A-Ride by making all subways and taxis accessible, along with encouraging people with disabilities to use mass transit.

“I think Access-A-Ride is run by people who are committed and dedicated to providing transportation, but have an almost impossible job,” said Jim Weisman, general counsel for United Spinal Association.

One of the major issues faced by Access-A-Ride is scheduling drop-offs and pick-ups around customer appointments and activities. That huge task is placed on New York City Transit, part of the Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA), who also contracts private carriers to provide transportation and drivers for the program.

According to Weisman, making all subways and taxis accessible would alleviate this burden. New York City’s paratransit costs the MTA $66 per person per ride in comparison to a $2.25 mass transit fare. Even long expensive taxi trips would still amount to less than half the cost of a paratransit trip.

As Weisman points out in an October 2009 blog post on www.spinalcordadvocates.org titled If All New Taxis Were Accessible, riders who would otherwise use demand-response paratransit vehicles (i.e., Access-A-Ride) would be able to travel more freely without scheduling delays and reduce the demand for publicly-operated paratransit, in turn saving taxpayer money and increasing trip capacity. Even more savings would be realized by state vocational rehabilitation agencies, Medicaid, the Department of Veterans Affairs and other government entities that provide benefits-related travel through ambulette services that cost $80-150 per trip in the New York region. Further, people who use paratransit that live with mobility impairments that make it difficult to get to mass transit, would be chauffeured to bus and rail lines by local taxis.

A Fox 5 News New York investigative report, which aired on Tuesday, January 26th, uncovered a few rather embarrassing situations for Access-A-Ride, including its vans being spotted traveling around New York City’s boroughs for hours without passengers and drivers sleeping on the job while passengers awaited pick up. Focusing more on the ramifications instead of the underlying causes for Access-A-Ride’s problems, the Fox News report painted a very ugly picture of what many already consider a broken system.

The Taxis For All Campaign (www.taxisforallcampaign.org), a coalition of disability rights organizations and advocates formed in 1996, including United Spinal Association are on the front lines of the fight to fix accessible transportation in New York City. Its goal: to make all yellow cabs wheelchair accessible and many black car and car service cars wheelchair accessible following the principles of universal design.

Terry Moakley, a United Spinal board member who also represents the organization on the Taxis For All Campaign, discussed the most recent initiatives to increase availability of accessible taxis in New York City. “Taxis For All continues to work with the City Council and the State Legislature on accessible taxi legislation. It has been Taxis For All advocacy that led to the 231 wheelchair-accessible taxis now operating in New York City. In addition, manufacture of the Vehicle Production Group’s MV-1 accessible taxi and paratransit vehicle (formerly the Standard Taxi) begins in October of this year. New York City Transit’s Access-A-Ride paratransit program has placed an order for 25 MV-1s, and Taxis For All expects that the New York City Taxi & Limousine Commission will quickly approve the MV-1 for taxi service in the City. Since the company that will manufacture the MV-1 has worked closely with New York City taxi industry leaders, we expect the MV-1 to become the ‘taxi of choice’ in New York City and other metropolitan areas in the United States and Canada in 2011,” Moakley said.

In another attempt to improve Access-A-Ride service, last fall New York State Assembly Member Micah Z. Kellner proposed to the MTA that Access-A-Ride users be issued debit or credit cards to use in City taxis, black cars, and liveries that could potentially save $50 million per year–$10 million more than the MTA reports it must cut from its budget. The MTA showed initial interest, but has yet to take action on the proposal. “I have heard from the for-hire vehicle industry that they are excited about what this could mean for their businesses, and they have worked out a plan with credit card providers to make it work. Instead of proposing outrageous cuts, how about using this crisis as an opportunity to spur innovation?,” Kellner commented in a recent press release.

Beginning in July of 2008, the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission (NYCTLC) also selected United Spinal to train taxi drivers in proper use of wheelchair securement devices (i.e., safety and tie-down procedures) and provide tips on interacting with people with disabilities. The program was created to assist in driver education for the City’s new Accessible Dispatch Program which links passengers who use wheelchairs and other mobility devices with accessible vehicles through a central dispatcher.

Tom Scott
Editor
Marketing & Communications
United Spinal Association
tscott@unitedspinal.org