Transportation Access

Long Island Bus Selects Operator

    Nassau County has chosen an operator for Long Island (LI) Bus, taking the next step in its plan to form a private-public relationship to replace the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA)’s role in the service.

    A panel formed in 2010 to evaluate bids for a public-private partnership with the county has selected Veolia Transportation Inc. to operate LI Bus operations starting next year. The company was chosen from three bids. It is unclear how Able-Ride paratransit service will be affected by the change.

Parents Group Works to Improve Transportation

    A group of parents have joined forces to seek improvements to school bus transportation for students with disabilities.

    Parents to Improve School Transportation (PIST) is working for long-term improvements to special education school busing provided by the Department of Education's Office of Pupil Transportation (OPT) and seeking to prevent potential budget cuts that could impact service.

Americans with Disabilities Act Anniversary

    On July 26, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) will have a 21-year anniversary. The landmark legislation mandates equal rights for people with disabilities in the areas of transportation, employment, public and commercial buildings, housing and telecommunications.

    The ADA was introduced in Congress in 1988 and signed into law in 1990. It was the result of years of activism through individual and community efforts to advocate for the rights of people of all ages with disabilities and oppose institutionalization. Section 504 of the 1973 Rehabilitation Act, which banned discrimination against people with disabilities by groups that receive federal funds, paved the way for the landmark legislation.

Education Department Celebrates Fifty Years of Travel Training

    Last month, the New York City Department of Education (DOE) celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of its travel training program, which teaches people with disabilities how to use the New York City transit system.

    The event took place at St. Francis College in Brooklyn and included presentations by program leaders, students, parents and advocates.

    Peggy Groce, director of travel training at the DOE, presented a Pioneer Award to Jack Gorelick for founding a program for siblings of people with disabilities that is still running at the AHRC, where he worked for forty years. It is the longest running program of its kind in the nation. Gorelick is also a founding member of the National Association for Travel Instruction.

State to Provide Funds for Long Island Bus

    The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) is postponing proposed cuts to Long Island Bus following a pledge by the New York State Senate to fund the service through the end of the year.

    The Senate has promised an additional $8.6 million on top of the $52.4 million already allocated to the serve in the 2011-12 state budget. The additional funds will enable the MTA to continue running Long Island Bus service through the end of 2011, at which point Nassau County plans to privatize the service.

MTA Proposes Long Island Bus and Able-Ride Cuts

    The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) is proposing service reductions to Long Island Bus and Able-Ride that could impact half of the bus lines in Nassau County.

    Long Island Bus currently operates like a private bus service through a contract with Nassau County, which expects a $24 million budget shortfall this year for the service.

Bus Riders Sue City Over Inaccessible Vans

    The United Spinal Association and two bus riders filed a lawsuit charging the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC) with discriminating against people with disabilities by providing transit service along cancelled bus routes that is not accessible to people with disabilities.

    The lawsuit, filed November 9 in federal court for the Eastern District of New York, says the TLC is violating the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) by providing private, livery van service along selected former bus routes that were discontinued by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) in June 2010. The ADA requires the provision of public transit to people with disabilities.

City Council Holds Hearing on Access-A-Ride Cuts

    The New York City Council examined impacts of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s (MTA) cuts to Access-A-Ride at a hearing October 7.   

    The Council’s committees on aging and disabilities questioned Joseph Smith, senior vice president of New York City Transit (NYCT) Buses and Steve Lopiano, acting vice president of paratransit about service changes.

    Forty percent of Access-A-Ride (AAR) customers have already experienced service changes and the MTA plans to expand the changes throughout the system next year.    

Transit Advocates Announce Lawsuit Against MTA

   By Emily F. Keller

    Transportation accessibility advocates have used public forums and rallies to protest t he Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s (MTA) wide-ranging service cuts. Now they are taking legal action.

    Activists stood outside Brooklyn Borough Hall August 17 to announce that they are suing the MTA and its New York City Transit (NYCT) division for cutting and restructuring 33 Brooklyn bus routes, including the elimination of the B39 and B51 routes.

    The cuts took effect June 27 and include changes to subways and Access-A-Ride, which has implemented a reduced trip length for riders who are deemed able to walk from a subway or bus station to their destination.

    The plaintiffs in the case are RueZalia Watkins (pictured), Anthony Trocchia and Clara Reiss – who are unable to use subways due to mobility impairments – as well as Disabled in Action of Metropolitan New York (DIA) and the Brooklyn Center for Independence of the Disabled.

    “Everyone in New York has to have access – not access by appointment,” Watkins said, referring to Access-A-Ride, which requires advance reservations to use. “As long as we sit and stay in our homes and we don’t stand up, they will continue to make cuts," she said about the protest.

MTA Protest: Advocates Demonstrate at Borough Hall

    The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) has made wide-ranging service cuts despite citywide community and political efforts to stop them, including an 11th hour protest at Brooklyn Borough Hall on behalf of people with disabilities and seniors.

    The MTA has cut the V and W subway lines, decreased train frequency, eliminated more than 30 bus routes and reduced service on others. The cuts are part of an effort to plug an $800 million budget gap and are expected to save the transit provider $93 million annually.

    The MTA backtracked on a plan to withdraw funding for student MetroCards.