The MTA opened a new assessment center for paratransit users Thursday, marking the first time since 2022 that Manhattanites won’t need to travel outside the borough to qualify for accessibility services.
“It seems like a small thing, but it’s a big thing for our friends in the accessibility-advocacy world,” MTA Chairman Janno Lieber said Thursday.
“We are committed to full accessibility — this is a personal passion,” Lieber added. “I’m thrilled to watch the accessibility operation grow and prosper.”
The MTA operates about 1,100 Access-A-Ride vans, which are meant to provide an alternative transit system to New Yorkers whose disabilities make it difficult for them to use the MTA’s subway or bus system.
The agency also operates a “broker program,” in which it subsidizes point-to-point trips in taxis, Ubers or Lyfts for a small subset of paratransit users — a program the MTA says its trying to expand.
Those who apply to use the service are required to undergo an eligibility assessment at one of the MTA’s five assessment centers.
The new center — located at 3 Stone St., just around the block from MTA’s lower Manhattan headquarters — replaces a center on W. 13th St. that closed in 2022, sending disabled riders as far afield as Staten Island in search of assessments or renewals.
The new center comes as the MTA says a growing number of New Yorkers are using the service.
As of the end of September, paratransit had seen 6.8 million trips this year. Ridership hit a daily record this week, MTA officials said, with 40,000 trips booked Wednesday.
The ubiquitous blue-and-white vans require riders to book a trip a day in advance — and riders have historically complained about Access-A-Ride’s late arrivals and delays.
The vans are also the subject of an ongoing class-action lawsuit in federal court, in which regular riders say the system’s circuitous routes fail to provide comparable service, in violation of the state’s human rights law.
Meanwhile, MTA officials said paratransit users report 78% customer satisfaction. Roughly two-thirds of paratransit trips are currently made via subsidized taxis, Lyfts or Ubers.