Giving free passes to the disabled will save the MTA $96 million annually

[mark1447]

The MTA can save $96 million a year — by giving away free subway and bus rides to the disabled, officials said Monday.

 

The freebies will encourage some disabled riders to take mass transit instead of the far more costly door-to-door Access-A-Ride van service the Metropolitan Transportation Authority provides, the transit officials said.

 

But one advocate questioned that logic.

 

Disabled riders who can easily access and use mass transit already would be doing so, said Edith Prentiss, the legislative affairs vice president at Disabled In Action.

 

“People don’t use use Access-A-Ride for the fun of it,” Prentiss said.

 

Access-A-Ride ridership — and costs — have been soaring with the aging of the population. The program cost $442 million last year — about $66 a trip. Participants pay $2.25 a ride but can take an approved caregiver for free.

 

There are 170,000 residents enrolled and deemed medically eligible to use Access-A-Ride because of a variety of conditions, including heart and respiratory ailments. Only 20% of participants are wheelchair users, transit officials said.

 

Thomas Charles, vice president of the MTA’s paratransit division, said some Access-A-Ride users already opt for buses or subways for some trips. Some take mass transit on their way to the doctor, but prefer to take Access-A-Ride home after undergoing treatment, he said.

 

One of the downsides of Access-A-Ride travel is trips have to be arranged between 24 and 48 hours in advance, officials said.

 

During a presentation to an MTA committee, the authority’s chief operating officer, Nuria Fernandez, said transit authorities in Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles have successfully enacted such incentive programs.

 

Access-A-Ride carried 9 million riders last year, including 1.9 million health care aides and 500,000 guests.

 

An internal MTA audit projected that about 15% of the trips could be shifted to the mass transit system here, Fernandez said. The annual savings would reach $96 million by 2015, she said.

 

Access-A-Ride participants will be issued MetroCards with photographs to be checked by bus drivers as an anti-fraud measure, Fernandez said.

 

The MTA will also monitor computerized records showing how and where cards are being used in subways and on buses to identify potential fraud, officials said.

 

MTA board member Allen Cappelli praised the effort as “classic thinking outside the box. There’s really no downside to it that I can see.”

 

Source: http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/giving-free-passes-disabled-save-mta-96-million-annually-officials-article-1.1066359#ixzz1syrBFBY1

 

[BrooklynIRT]

But more bus ridership due to wheelchair passengers means more bus delays...............

[Grand Concourse]

Not to mention a displacement of at least 2 seated riders on a bus and they don't even pay (give their card to the b/o to dip into the farebox). I still say that if the taxis were sent to pick them up and the TLC sent the bill back to the MTA, it'd be much cheaper overall. As for the R160s, they should've had those fold up single seats. How often would there be a w/c rider on the train?

[Via Garibaldi 8]

Ugh the ... They want the disabled to use the buses and subways, yet the subways are mainly inaccessible... Considering how inaccessible the system is outside of the buses, they should ride for free. They pay taxes just like the rest of us do so why should they be discriminated against or treated as second class citizens? FYI it doesn't take much to become disabled...

[BrooklynIRT]

Passengers in walkers using the buses is no problem since the bus operator does not have to leave the seat to deal with them.

 

Passengers in wheelchairs using the buses is a problem when the bus operator has to fold up the seats him/herself and secure the wheelchair using the restraints him/herself, thus having to leave the seat to deal with the wheelchair. This happens most of the time that there is a wheelchair passenger.

 

Passengers in wheelchairs using the buses is no problem if the bus operator never has to leave the seat to deal with them except in emergency situations. That means either have either the wheelchair passenger or his/her attendant fold/unfold the seat and have the attendant deal with the restraints for non-motorized wheelchairs. Motorized wheelchairs are either not supposed to be restrained or do not need to be restrained according to MTA rules; my friend told me a few years ago that he told another bus operator that if you deal with the restraints if a motorized wheelchair boards and you get injured, it is on you because you are not supposed to deal with restraints for motorized wheelchairs. MTA rules change a lot and every supervisory entity has his/her own interpretation, so now that this has been brought up I will ask my friend what the 411 is about this stuff.

 

The other condition that has to hold in order for wheelchairs using buses to not be a problem is that the local/limited/SBS buses being used by the wheelchairs have to be low floor buses with wheelchair ramps. Express buses are a different animal.

 

The other way that the bus operator could be precluded from having to leave the seat is that the folding seats could be spring-loaded like those on the R142s/R142As. The only possible issue is that buses hit more bumps and vibrate more than trains do since they are lighter and less stable, which could cause the springs in the folding seats to become ineffective. This is just a maybe though. Perhaps they could survive despite the less stable conditions. Might require a little extra simple engineering at worst. The restraints would have to be solid, floor-mounted hooks or bars or something along those lines with motor actuators and the bus operator would press a button on the dashboard to open and close the hooks or bars to lock/unlock the wheels of the wheelchair. In lieu of spring-loaded folding seats, the seats could be motorized and operated from the dashboard also.

 

The problem with motorization is that if the things break maintenance will probably not fix them and then the bus operator will have to leave the seat to deal with restraints and possibly folding seats. Second thing can be fixed by just making the seats spring-loaded if possible. First thing can be fixed somehow. Where there is a will there is a way.

[Shortline Bus]

The given passes to the disabled particuarly those in wheelchairs? Yet maybe at most 100 subway stations systemwide are ada accessible. Another proof the Acess a Ride program needs to be blown up ( no pun intended lol)and start over. Not to mention 2 years ago the canning dozens of bus routes for the disabled i.e B39/B51 to/from Manhattan so as usual this agency making moves that has you head spining.

 

Not sure what the solution is, but giving out 'free passes' only helps for so much when majority of the subway those riders can't even use.

[Threxx]

The has essentially been letting B/O's do this for years...

 

Not to mention a displacement of at least 2 seated riders on a bus and they don't even pay (give their card to the b/o to dip into the farebox). I still say that if the taxis were sent to pick them up and the TLC sent the bill back to the MTA, it'd be much cheaper overall. As for the R160s, they should've had those fold up single seats. How often would there be a w/c rider on the train?

 

 

I agree w/your idea, but there aren't that many accesible taxis.

 

Also, I think this thread needs to be moved.

[Shortline Bus]

The has essentially been letting B/O's do this for years...

 

 

 

I agree w/your idea, but there aren't that many accesible taxis.

 

Also, I think this thread needs to be moved.

 

 

Young man this topic will stay here. With that said, maybe for news that involves both the subway and bus a new area could be created.

[error46146]

The MTA can save $96 million a year — by giving away free subway and bus rides to the disabled, officials said Monday.

 

The freebies will encourage some disabled riders to take mass transit instead of the far more costly door-to-door Access-A-Ride van service the Metropolitan Transportation Authority provides, the transit officials said.

 

But one advocate questioned that logic.

 

Disabled riders who can easily access and use mass transit already would be doing so, said Edith Prentiss, the legislative affairs vice president at Disabled In Action.

 

“People don’t use use Access-A-Ride for the fun of it,” Prentiss said.

 

Access-A-Ride ridership — and costs — have been soaring with the aging of the population. The program cost $442 million last year — about $66 a trip. Participants pay $2.25 a ride but can take an approved caregiver for free.

 

There are 170,000 residents enrolled and deemed medically eligible to use Access-A-Ride because of a variety of conditions, including heart and respiratory ailments. Only 20% of participants are wheelchair users, transit officials said.

 

Thomas Charles, vice president of the MTA’s paratransit division, said some Access-A-Ride users already opt for buses or subways for some trips. Some take mass transit on their way to the doctor, but prefer to take Access-A-Ride home after undergoing treatment, he said.

 

One of the downsides of Access-A-Ride travel is trips have to be arranged between 24 and 48 hours in advance, officials said.

 

During a presentation to an MTA committee, the authority’s chief operating officer, Nuria Fernandez, said transit authorities in Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles have successfully enacted such incentive programs.

 

Access-A-Ride carried 9 million riders last year, including 1.9 million health care aides and 500,000 guests.

 

An internal MTA audit projected that about 15% of the trips could be shifted to the mass transit system here, Fernandez said. The annual savings would reach $96 million by 2015, she said.

 

Access-A-Ride participants will be issued MetroCards with photographs to be checked by bus drivers as an anti-fraud measure, Fernandez said.

 

The MTA will also monitor computerized records showing how and where cards are being used in subways and on buses to identify potential fraud, officials said.

 

MTA board member Allen Cappelli praised the effort as “classic thinking outside the box. There’s really no downside to it that I can see.”

 

Source: http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/giving-free-passes-disabled-save-mta-96-million-annually-officials-article-1.1066359#ixzz1syrBFBY1

 

 

No.

[NX Express]

$66 makes the express buses look efficient. Why is it so expensive to run?

 

 

No.

You can do better than a Forest Glen-esque answer, I'm sure.

[Brighton Express]

This may actually be a good idea.

[checkmatechamp13]

Ugh the ... They want the disabled to use the buses and subways, yet the subways are mainly inaccessible... Considering how inaccessible the system is outside of the buses, they should ride for free. They pay taxes just like the rest of us do so why should they be discriminated against or treated as second class citizens? FYI it doesn't take much to become disabled...

 

And how do you know they pay taxes? If all you're living off of is Social Security and a small pension, your income is likely low enough that you pay close to nothing in taxes. If you're disabled, then aren't you collecting taxpayer money (not saying they shouldn't be, but I'm pointing that out)?

 

In any case, paying taxes doesn't entitle you to take the most expensive service. The Upper East Side has the most crowded subway line in the system, and yet I'm sure the riders getting on there pay a lot of taxes, and yet they pack into the subway.

 

$66 makes the express buses look efficient. Why is it so expensive to run?

 

 

I really don't know. I mean, it probably includes some of the bureaucracy involved in the service (scheduling the service and making sure it picks up the person at the right time), but even then, I don't see how expensive the service can be to provide. I mean, the buses are smaller and everything, so even if there's only one passenger, I don't see how it could go up to $60. Maybe if the seniors are all making long trips across the city, but I highly doubt that's the case.

 

They had a plan to replace some trips with a taxi voucher. I'm not sure if they implemented it or not, but if they didn't, they should.

 

In any case, I don't have a problem with them giving out free MetroCards to the seniors and disabled. You might lose some revenue, but you'd eaily make it up by saving on some Access-A-Ride costs.

[Grand Concourse]

I would rather there be taxi 'vouchers' instead of free cards. It makes sense for everyone: regular riders won't be inconvenienced by w/c riders being loaded on the bus and a loss of some space, while elderly and w/c riders have a 1 seat ride to where ever they need to go.

[checkmatechamp13]

I would rather there be taxi 'vouchers' instead of free cards. It makes sense for everyone: regular riders won't be inconvenienced by w/c riders being loaded on the bus and a loss of some space, while elderly and w/c riders have a 1 seat ride to where ever they need to go.

 

 

Just to be clear, the elderly should at least keep their 1/2 fare MetroCard (or get a free one). Most of them don't take that long to get on, so it's not too big a deal. Wheelchair passengers should be encouraged to take a taxi with a voucher (but then again, if you got a B/O who's good with the lift and it's a small wheelchair that the passenger can fasten themselves, even that doesn't take too long).

 

I mean, I don't think a door-to-door service should be completely free. I mean, if it's that convenient, you could have them taking more trips, which adds to the costs. I mean, obviously it still saves time for the passengers, but I think the cost just wouldn't be worth it.

 

As much as I hate it when a wheelchair passenger slows the bus down, I think the current system of having Access-A-Ride priced higher than if they took the bus is the lesser of two evils.

[Grand Concourse]

Of course I meant w/c riders, but for the elderly, some would be better off taking a taxi if they have to travel from one borough to another especially if the subway stop doesn't have elevators. Not sure if even climbing up the stairs of an MCI d4500 would be easy for them either.

[KeystoneRegional]

The has to figure out a way not by giving out free passes and wasting their money on these stuff. I think there should be a logical and smart solution that will encourage disabled (meaning physically disabled) riders to ride public transit, Access-A-Ride is still needed either way but I think 24-48 hours is a bit too much, I think perhaps 2-3 hours in advanced is better and have these vans have a spot to return to after lets say a run, also let these vans have GPS too...