MTA Access-A-Ride user makes case for improvements

NEW YORK -- New York's congestion pricing pause may be saving drivers money, but it means commuters with disabilities have to wait longer for improvements to the paratransit system .

Only 30% of New York City subway stations are considered accessible, according to the MTA. Revenue from congestion pricing tolls in Manhattan was supposed to help pay for capital improvements to station elevators and Access-A-Ride buses.

But the tolling plan was abruptly and indefinitely paused by Gov. Kathy Hochul weeks before its June 30 start date.

Most drivers would've been charged $15 for entering Manhattan below 60th Street from 5 a.m. to 9 p.m. on weekdays and 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. on weekends. A less expensive toll would've been charged during off-peak hours.

Rider frustrated with MTA Access-A-Ride service

Eman Rimawi-Doster, one of 180,000 New Yorkers eligible for MTA paratransit service, says she hasn't taken the subway since 2013 because of limited accessibility.

"If I go to the train station and the elevator's not working, then what's the purpose of going over there with my motorized wheelchair?" she said.

Rimawi-Doster scheduled a ride from her occupational therapy appointment at New York Presbyterian on Thursday a day in advance, but the bus arrived early and left without her.

"I have had this happen so many times," Rimawi-Doster said. "When you confirm with the driver, they're supposed to wait for 10 minutes for you, but he didn't."

According to the MTA app, the driver marked the ride as "Completed." Eventually, another driver arrived.

"Our no-show rate is less than 1 in 1,000"

Rachel Cohen, the acting VP of Access-A-Ride Paratransit, said situations like this are rare.

"Our no-show rate is less than 1 in 1,000 trips right now ... We really work hard to make sure those no-shows never happen," she said. "We're really eager to get congestion pricing moving ... the more we're investing in making our fixed route system accessible, the better off our New Yorkers with disabilities are gonna be."

Rimawi-Doster said expanding accessibility to all is not a luxury.

"I should be able to use my paratransit anytime I want, how I want to use it. Not in some weird restrictive type of thing, and congestion pricing was gonna help with that. So I'm not sure what's gonna happen," she said.

In the meantime, the MTA said it's still working on making the transit system 95% accessible, which is expected to take at least 30 years.