Queens senator pushes for better Access-A-Ride coordination
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Queens State Sen. Leroy Comrie, along with Bronx Assemblymember Jeffrey Dinowitz, the Access-A-Ride Reform Group and other advocates, announced legislation last week that would amp up a successful Access-A-Ride pilot program. Photo courtesy of Comrie’s office.
By Victoria Merlino
A Queens state senator is pushing the state to expand a popular pilot program that allows residents with disabilities to order Access-A-Ride trips on-demand, rather than in advance.
State Sen. Leroy Comrie, along with Bronx Assemblymember Jeffrey Dinowitz and the Access-A-Ride Reform Group, or AARRG!, announced legislation last week that would expand the on-demand Access-A-Ride service and require the MTA to evaluate the costs of the program. It would also extend a law that bans the MTA from charging riders more money for longer rides to the Access-A-Ride program.
The on-demand program, which began in 2017, currently serves 1,200 residents. Access-A-Ride typically only allows residents to book trips at least a day in advance for $2.75, the price of a subway ride.
The bills comes after the MTA announced major changes to the pilot program in November that would cap the number of rides a resident could take, as well as charge the residents for rides above a $15 limit, as measured by a taxi meter.
“This on-demand offering structure is consistent with models in other cities like Boston, Chicago and Washington, DC,” MTA chairman Pat Foye wrote in a letter to Mayor Bill de Blasio’s office, as reported by the Daily News. “No other agency offers an uncapped, fully subsidized option.”
In November 2019, Access-A-Ride users took 679,000 trips, according to the most recent data from the MTA. Queens riders accounted for 142,000 of those trips.
“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 in a statement. “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.”
