Access-A-Ride complaints roll in

BY PETE DAVIS

Thursday, November 30, 2006 2:57 PM EST

Three months ago, Teresa Meade, 48, had just finished seeing a movie at the theatre on 42nd Street and 8th Avenue in Manhattan, and she was waiting in her manual wheel chair for an Access-A-Ride (AAR) vehicle to arrive for her 9 p.m. pickup that would take her back to her Howard Beach home.

After nearly an hour of waiting, the vehicle finally arrived, but Meade's odyssey was just beginning as she spent time in parts of Manhattan, Brooklyn and Staten Island before the vehicle finally dropped her off in Howard Beach shortly before midnight.

Untimely pickups and extremely long trips were only two of a laundry list of complaints riders of AAR voiced at a City Council hearing on Tuesday, November 21.

AAR provides transportation for people with disabilities who are unable to use public bus or subway service for some or all of their trips, offering shared ride, door-to-door services for customers who qualify for the program at the same $2 cost subway and bus riders pay.

During the hearing, Councilmembers from the Transportation and Mental Health Committee grilled Tom Charles, Vice President of the MTA's Para Transit Division in charge of Access-A-Ride, about the program's status as well as its continued expansion plans for the future.

Charles said that a number of the current Access-A-Ride contracts are up this year, and while a number of options have been picked up on carriers, he plans on adding four carriers and an additional 62 vehicles by the end of the year.

“We do have our share of problems, and that is where the expansion is coming into play so that we can provide a little more flexibility on the road,” Charles said.

Meanwhile the MTA is continuing to look to Global Positioning System (GPS) and Real Time Technology to improve its on-time service, which they say is 93 percent (the driver has 30 minutes from the scheduled pickup time to be considered on time).

“We are trying to improve the on-time performance,” Charles said. “We want to look at the rides and offer more flexibility.”

However, Queens Councilmember John Liu, Chair of the Transportation Committee, urged Charles to go further.

“Based on their own customer satisfaction surveys, the MTA consistently earns a C+ for their operation of Access-A-Ride,” he said. “We urge the MTA to accelerate the use of technology, black car vouchers, and evaluate why the operating cost is so high compared to other cities.”

Flushing resident Mary LoDolce, 89, takes AAR four days per week to and from the Clearview Senior Center in Bayside.

“Most of the time I have good rides,” she said. “Sometimes they are a little bit late . . I've waited over an hour.”

LoDolce said that when she calls in to request a ride to a doctor's appointment she makes sure to let the dispatcher know that the driver must not be late.

“You have to tell them,” she said, explaining that at times she has been driven all around the borough for what should have been a short trip. “I've learned more about Queens than I ever knew before.”

Charles testified that the average cost per ride to implement the AAR service has not risen dramatically throughout the last five years; it remains close to $50 per ride, and he expects that number to rise.

Michael Harris, who is the Campaign Coordinator for the Disabled Riders Coalition, said his organization receives between 500 and 600 complaints per week and more than half of them refer to AAR.

“I let my eligibility expire because I know too much about the program,” he said. “When you get 250-300 complaints a week, you basically give up on using it.”

Two other issues AAR users expressed their dissatisfaction with included its subscription service and vehicles being prohibited from crossing county lines.

Meade uses the subscription service, which is available to customers who take trips that begin at the same place and end at the same destination at the same time one or more days a week but she has to cancel the subscription three days in advance, if she is not going to use it, or face a possible suspension.

Meade said she can understand giving 24 hours notice, but three days is excessive.

“I've had some health issues,” Meade said. “When I have to go to the doctor, I have to go.”

Earlier this year, Assemblymember Mark Weprin introduced legislation that would enable AAR vehicles in Queens to drive into Nassau County in order to drop customers off at their destinations, but Governor George Pataki vetoed it.

Harris termed forcing customers to switch vehicles, sometimes to go an extra three or four blocks, “pathetic,” and said he hopes to see legislation introduced to not only allow vehicles in Queens to cross county lines, but also in the Bronx, Westchester and other areas throughout the state.

Weprin said that the Queens/Nassau border has many health care facilities that senior citizens often frequent, including Long Island Jewish Medical Center, which has parts that are actually in both Queens and Nassau, and he plans to reintroduce legislation in January to allow carriers to go five miles over the county line.

“We plan on pushing it again and hopefully pass it,” he said. “Hopefully we will have different luck with a new governor.”

THE QUEENS COURIER/PHOTO BY CHRISTINA SANTUCCI
Mary LoDolce, 89, was a bit late arriving at the Clearview Senior Center on the morning of Wednesday, November 29 because her driver was a half hour late.

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Reader Comments

The following are comments from the readers. In no way do they represent the view of queenscourier.com.

Michele wrote on Mar 8, 2009 11:27 AM:

" Access a ride is the most unprofessional and ignorant service i have ever had to deal with. I think they must hire high school dropouts for their customer service and convicts as their drivers. In the past year they have been late or not even shown up at least 10 times. My mom relies on this service greatly and she is often disappointed.

One driver showed up an hour late and had the only attitude and had the nerve to rush my 84 year mom out. The drivers don't even help the elderly people on and off the bus. I recently found out my mother took a little fall one day but she never reported it. They pull up in the middle of the street or too far from the curve.

Its very upsetting to see my sweet mom go through this. It would at least help if they could call and tell you that they are going to be late and give an estimate. My mothers doctor appointments are hard to arrange and if she misses one then she might not be able to see the doctor again for a couple of weeks and at 84 years old we both know those appointements are critical. I have yet to get nasty with the cust. rep or the driver but i think it is boiling down to that.

That is so not my demeanor but i have written over 20 complaints in the past 5 years to the MTA website to no avail. Its almost as if they are saying to hell with you and your $2 dollars go learn to drive. I hope they suffer the same fate when they become elderly and have to rely on this BS access a ride but oh wait MTA are millionaires so they will have limo drivers. Thanks for letting me rant. ARGHHHHHHH "