Paying for Stress-A-Ride: Funding the MTA’s crappy paratransit system is secondary to making it actually work

Gov. Hochul properly wants to fill the hole in the MTA’s farebox caused by millions of former riders not riding in this new work-from-home world. Her call for a small uptick in the payroll tax is warranted, as would be a higher piece of the sales tax. The other dedicated taxes could also be adjusted or perhaps a new one could be found.

But looking for MTA money from City Hall isn’t a new revenue source, since Mayor Adams has to find the cash, which ultimately comes from taxpayers. The biggest part of what Hochul wants from Adams is for the city to eat 100% of the cost of Access-A-Ride, the notoriously bad service for people with disabilities, instead of the fair 50-50 split that’s been in place since 2020.

That doesn’t sound like a “cost-sharing” arrangement and it doesn’t make sense for an integral part of the state-run MTA to be funded entirely by the city, which would not be in charge. But whoever pays for it, Access-A-Ride must change.

For two hours yesterday before the City Council, NYC Transit President Rich Davey and Access-A-Ride boss Chris Pangilinan were peppered with sharp questions, including how in October the Manhattan U.S. attorney, Damian Williams, had found that the MTA “has failed to provide paratransit services at a level of service comparable to the level of service provided to individuals who use the [regular subway and bus.]”

Davey said the feds were using old data and opened his remarks saying, “I want to emphasize how important Access-A-Ride is to the MTA. We consider it equal to our bus and subway services.” But equal it is not, where a pick up 29 minutes late is considered on time. Pangilinan is changing that to 19 minutes in September, but does Davey think that a bus or subway 19 minutes late is just fine?

Plagued with 20-year-old dispatching software, why not ask Uber or Lyft for help? And why not take over ambulette rides and tap into that Medicaid funding? Repair Access-A-Ride instead of handing Adams the bill.