Advocates say the MTA’s Access-a-Ride paratransit system discriminates against disabled New Yorkers by making them wait longer and take less direct routes than riders on the subway and bus systems, says a class action lawsuit filed Wednesday.
The suit in Manhattan Federal Court by three paratransit users and New York Integrated Network, an advocacy consortium for disabled New Yorkers, alleges that Access-a-Ride fails to provide service “comparable to the level of service provided to individuals without disabilities who use the fixed route system,” in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
New Yorkers seeking a ride on the system’s blue-and-white vans are generally required to schedule any trips a day in advance, and to accept a pickup time as much as an hour earlier or later than the requested time.
“You basically have to know your day in advance. It leaves no road for disabled people to have a spontaneous change in plans,” said Britney Wilson, director of the Civil Rights and Disability Justice Clinic at New York Law School Legal Services Inc., which represents the plaintiffs.
Even when the scheduling system works, the suit alleges, delays abound.
“Access-A-Ride delays often last hours,” the complaint reads. “In theory, once Access-A-Ride passengers wait a full thirty minutes, they are permitted to call to request authorization to take a taxi or car service.”
Those car rides will be reimbursed, but “the reimbursement process takes months,” the suit alleges.
“I give Access-A-Ride a 6:30 pickup time to make it to work for 9 AM, just to make up for the time I know I’ll spend either waiting for my ride or going to the Bronx when I live in Manhattan, only a 30-minute drive away from my job—also in Manhattan,” plaintiff Luz Paulino-Santos said in a statement. “A lot of the time, I still get to work late.”
The suit also slams the paratransit system for a lack of established routes, claiming Access-A-Ride users are “routinely…
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