MTA opens up Paratransit Assessment Center
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) New York City Transit (NYC Transit) has officially opened up its Paratransit Assessment Center in Lower Manhattan, N.Y. The center will be used as part of the MTA’s eligibility determination process for new Access-A-Ride (AAR) customers and those looking to recertify their eligibility. The new center provides a more convenient assessment location for paratransit applicants who live or work in Manhattan and increases capacity across the system of AAR assessment centers that serve thousands of paratransit customers each month.
NYC Transit repurposed 1,600 square feet of the MTA’s bid suite, which has seen less use since the COVID-19 pandemic, to create a convenient assessment location with three interview rooms. This location is easily accessible by bus or subway and paratransit provides free trips to and from assessment appointments to all applicants who request this service. So far in 2024, paratransit has processed 32,680 applications and 8,130 recertifications, marking nearly an 11 percent increase from 2023.
“This new facility couldn’t be coming online at a better time with customer satisfaction soaring and on-time performance and ridership way up. Just yesterday we hit a new online milestone with 40,000 trips booked,” said MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber. “No where else in the country is a mass transit service far exceeding its pre-COVID base. MTA Paratransit is unique, and this didn’t happen by accident.”
“Customers are voting with their trips and showing us that they have been seeing reliability improvements and the data backs that up,” said NYC Transit President Demetrius Crichlow. “Between a new assessment center, electric vehicles joining the fleet and a new wheelchair securement system, we have made real improvements to paratransit service, with more to come.”
The NYC Transit has reported a rise in ridership. Through September 2024, Access-A-Ride has seen 6.8 million trips, with 800,000 trips for 79,000 customers in September alone. The agency notes AAR is on pace to exceed pre-COVID service with more than nine million trips in 2024. On Oct. 30, Access-A-Ride set a daily record with 40,000 scheduled trips.
“The MTA continues to invest in improving Access-A-Ride service and providing more options for our customers, including this new assessment center and a new digital inquiry form to start the application process without a phone call,” said NYC Transit Acting Vice President of Paratransit Rachel Cohen. “The team at Access-A-Ride has made monumental improvements, and we are up for the challenge of continuing to improve service for our record-high ridership.”
The agency also reports customer satisfaction continues to increase year-to-year as customers respond to improvements to the service. For example, amid historic on-time performance, AAR adopted a more customer-friendly 20-minute standard to measure on-time pickups earlier this year.
"The growing number of New Yorkers with disabilities deserve to enjoy a full life, just like their non-disabled peers, but often face barriers to access throughout our city,” said MTA Paratransit Advisory Committee Chair RueZalia Watkins. “That is why the MTA’s opening of a new assessment center for Access-A-Ride services is a welcome and needed addition. Now, disabled persons in Manhattan and across NYC will have another option to apply for paratransit services. This will help them more easily access the services they need to go to houses of worship, medical appointments, shopping, work, the movies and more, just like other New Yorkers."
