VIDEO: New Bill Prevents MTA from Raising Access-A-Ride Fare to $5
March 9, 2009
Video of Sunday, March 8th press conference announcing paratransit fare equity legislation with Sen. Tom Duane, Comptroller Bill Thompson, and Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer. Advocates representing the following groups also attended: United Spinal Association, United Cerebral Palsy of NYC, MS Society of NYC, Disabilities Network of NYC, Disabled in Action, Brooklyn Center for Independence of the Disabled, and the 504 Democratic Club. (Note: Some additional video footage of advocates speaking was unplayable; my apologies!)
When the MTA began operating Access-A-Ride in 1993, during the Dinkins Administration, they signed a written agreement with the City of New York promising never to raise the fare above what they charged regular mass transit users. This fall, the MTA decided to break that covenant and put forward a proposal to charge Access-A-Ride users double what they have proposed to charge everyone else. Right now, when someone with a disability uses Access-A-Ride, they pay $2; the same as when someone takes the subway or rides the bus. If the MTA has their way, straphangers will be paying up to $2.50 — a burden enough for the larger New Yorker riding public — but people with disabilities who rely on Access-A-Ride are expected to pay $5.
This is discrimination, plain and simple. Unbelievably, it is 2009 and a public agency is singling out a class of people and saying, “You should pay more based on who you are.” If this was being done to people based on their race or their gender there would be widespread outrage. But sadly, discriminatory attitudes towards people with disabilities are so deeply ingrained in our society that people still need to be reminded that it is wrong.
This week, Senator Tom Duane and I are introducing legislation to force the MTA to keep their word about treating people with disabilities fairly. Our bill prevents any transportation authority in New York State from raising paratransit fares higher than what they charge regular transit users.
It is sad that this is necessary. At the MTA’s budget hearings we saw hundreds of wheelchair users and other people with severe disabilities braving a difficult commute to tell the MTA that a $5 fare would sentence them to isolation. Articulate and passionate advocates stood before the MTA Board and reminded them of the contract they made with the City of New York and admonished them to keep their word. But the MTA hasn’t changed its mind; instead, it has dug in its heels and decided to balance their budget on the backs of the riders who can least afford it.
We will not allow this to happen. As a person with a mobility impairment myself, and as a legislator, I will not sit back and watch the MTA implement a fare structure that discriminates against a class of New Yorkers. New York has a proud tradition of equality and opportunity for all, and together we can ensure that this continues. We will not allow the MTA to use this fiscal crisis to leave the frail elderly and riders with disabilities stranded.
The New York Post ran an article (“Don’t Hike Disabled Fares: Pols” 3/7/09) about this legislation last weekend.
Heartless Proposal by MTA to Double Access-A-Ride Fares is Discrimination, Plain and Simple.
November 24, 2008
I am thoroughly disgusted with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s proposal to double fares for Access-A-Ride users. While the MTA is considering raising fares for able-bodied straphangers by as much as 50% (from $2 to $3); they are asking riders with disabilities to absorb an unprecedented 100% fare increase from $2 to $4.
This past weekend, I joined Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer, Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney, State Senator Eric Schneiderman, Assembly Member Jonathan Bing, and Councilmember Gale Brewer at a press conference along with advocates representing Disabilities Network of NYC, Cerebral Palsy Associations of New York State, Center for Independence of the Disabled NY, Disabled in Action, and the 504 Democratic Club. At the press conference we collectively denounced the proposed fare hike. Access-A-Ride is critical to those who need it, and the revenue that doubling this fare will bring is comparatively unimpressive.
The current standard of fare equity is the minimum a just society should expect. Like a good old fashioned train robbery, the MTA is ambushing paratransit riders because they know that people with disabilities have no other transportation options. This is the most regressive fare hike the MTA has ever proposed because those who can least afford to pay are being asked to shoulder the greatest burden.
I am also not convinced that this is a legal proposal. The transportation provisions of Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act cover public transportation services, like the MTA system. Public transportation authorities may not discriminate against people with disabilities in the provision of their services. So if a local authority like the MTA chooses not to adequately serve clients with disabilities in its regular system, it is instead required by federal law to create a parallel paratransit system. Decades ago when the ADA was passed, the MTA chose not to make the regular transit system accessible (today there are just over 50 subway stations of 468 that have elevators), so it was required to create the Access-A-Ride service. It goes against the spirit of the ADA to charge people with disabilities more to use a system designed to compensate them for not having access to the regular mass transit system.
I will be doing everything I can to oppose this proposal and I will continue to keep you updated. My press release on this topic can be found in the Publications area of this website.
Kellner Legislation to Create MTA Riders Council for People with Disabilities Passes Assembly!
May 13, 2008
I am very proud to announce that my bill to create an MTA Riders Council for People with Disabilities passed the Assembly today. Below is the press release from just two days ago announcing this bill (and another related bill’s) introduction. Assembly Member Linda Rosenthal was quick with the cellphone camera and snapped me some photographic evidence of the bill’s debut to the big board in Assembly Chambers moments before its passage (Thanks, Linda!)
—————————————————–
For Immediate Release: May 10, 2008
IMPROVING MTA ACCESS FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES
New York City — Assembly Member Micah Z. Kellner, State Senator Thomas K. Duane, Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer, Assembly Member Michele Titus, Chair of the Assembly Taskforce on People with Disabilities, and Assembly Member Linda B. Rosenthal, were joined today by advocates representing thousands of New Yorkers with disabilities to announce a package of bills that have been introduced in the New York State legislature to reform the way that the MTA responds to the needs of transit riders with disabilities.
The first bill (A.10734-A/S.7817) creates the MTA Riders Council for People with Disabilities, a 15-member appointed council will be geographically diverse representing riders who use NYC Transit, the Long Island Rail Road, and Metro North systems. The Council will have a non-voting seat on the MTA Board and will monitor all aspects of the MTA and make recommendations as to how to improve services. The Assembly is expected to take up this bill on Monday. The second bill (A.10420/S.7348) requires daily inspections of elevators, escalators, bus lifts, and other accessibility features in MTA facilities and establishes documentation requirements and oversight for their repair.
“The MTA has been failing the disabled community when it comes to meeting our transportation needs,” said Assembly Member Micah Kellner, who has cerebral palsy. “In 2007, I requested documents for eight elevators in ADA-compliant passenger stations to better understand how the MTA maintains features like elevators. What I found was an unacceptable number of outages, repeated breakdowns in the same station for the same problem, a disturbing lack of paper record-keeping, and a poor track record of fixing problems quickly. This is no small matter. When an escalator, elevator, or wheelchair lift is inoperable it means that a person with a disability is stranded.”
“The list of reasons why these changes are necessary is endless. For example, even the new, improved subway announcements – let alone the old garbled ones – are hard for the hearing impaired to understand,” said Senator Tom Duane. “Platform gaps on the LIRR threaten the safety of the visually impaired and wheelchair users. The recent closure of station agent booths in the subways has only worsened the situation for disabled riders who are able to overcome other obstacles to access that system, and these are only a few of the problems. The MTA needs to hear from people with disabilities and learn from their experiences. The best way to do this is to correct the lack of representation of people with disabilities on the board of the MTA itself.”
“For years, the MTA’s failure to carry out mandated inspections, as required by the building code, left frail and disabled riders in a situation resembling Russian Roulette,” said Borough President Scott Stringer. I believe the agency’s new leadership wants to make the system safe and reliable for people with disabilities – and this legislation will provide a framework for doing that. I urge the swift passage of both bills.” In 2006, Borough President Stringer released his report, The State of Repairs, which found that 74% of all elevators in ADA-compliant stations did not receive their mandated annual inspection and that the average elevator in an ADA-compliant station was out for 11 days.
“Seldom a day goes by where we do not receive a phone call or email message from someone who has had a negative experience with the MTA.,” says Lawrence Carter-Long, the Director of Advocacy of Disabilities Network of NYC. ” A breakdown in, or lack of transportation options for people with disabilities affects every other area of our lives – if you can’t get to or from your residence, place of business, or health care provider, your quality of life is diminished. Rather than solve the transportation problems faced by New Yorkers with disabilities, the MTA seems more inclined to add to them. These bills provide a necessary and overdue remedy the MTA has been unwilling to provide on its own.”
“We believe holding the MTA to greater accountability on elevator and escalator repairs as well as the creation of a MTA Riders Council for People with Disabilities can only improve the accessibility of NYC Transit and assure riders with disabilities that it is safe to ride the subways,” said Carr Massi, President of Disabled in Action of Metropolitan New York.
“BCID has been requesting a seat at the MTA table as a representative of the community of people with disabilities for many years,” said Marvin Wasserman, Executive Director of Brooklyn Center for Independence of the Disabled (BCID). “The passage of this legislation will guarantee full representation from the whole community of people with disabilities, not just a select few working within the community.”
“Appropriate access for people with disabilities is a civil right and a human right. It is time the ADA [Americans with Disabilities Act] applied to mass transit,” said Janice Schacter, Chair of the Hearing Access Program (a consortium of the Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, the League for the Hard of Hearing, and Hearing Loss Association of America).
“Hearing directly from people with disabilities through the proposed MTA Riders Council for People with Disabilities is a needed reform. The MTA needs to address the problems of accessibility, signage, and staff training to make transportation in NYC truly available to all,” said Nancy D. Miller, Executive Director of VISIONS/Services for the Blind and Visually Impaired.
“Access to public transportation is critical for people with disabilities to live fruitful and productive lives and it is essential that public transportation is accessible, reliable, and safe all the time. We appreciate the efforts of Assemblyman Kellner and Senator Duane in support of the needs of NYC citizens with disabilities,” said Susan Constantino, President and CEO of Cerebral Palsy Associations of New York State.
“Guide Dog Users of New York is primarily eager to have consistent tactile edge markings at all subway stations. These small raised domes warn blind and visually-impaired people when they are nearing the platform edge and can save lives,” said David De Porte, President of Guide Dog Users of New York.
“We strongly support the quick enactment of both bills. An MTA Riders Council for People with Disabilities will give our community direct and sustained input to the MTA Board of Directors about making its entire system more friendly to wheelchair users and other aging and disabled passengers. Making subway elevator and escalator maintenance a higher priority is essential and long overdue. There is zero access to the subway system for our wheelchair-using members if elevators are always broken,” said Terence J. Moakley, spokesperson for the United Spinal Association.
“The NYC Chapter of the National MS Society fully supports legislation to create the MTA Riders Council for people with disabilities. Our members experience a variety of challenges using mass transit, including inaccessible subway stations, non-working elevators, inadequate signage, and dangerously large gaps between platforms and trains. As a result of these problems, people living with MS often cannot get to work or visit their families. It is crucial that people with disabilities have a voice on the MTA,” said Robin Einbinder, Executive Vice president of Programs and Services at the NYC Chapter of the National MS Society.
“We have long called for the MTA to increase elevator/escalator inspection, repairs and maintenance, as well as requiring a higher degree of accountability. We believe they also need to improve their communication with riders. Many passengers with disabilities refuse to use the subways because they are fearful of being stuck when an elevator/escalator is out of service,” said Edith M. Prentiss of the 504 Democratic Club.
“When people with disabilities believe they are able to travel safely and expediently on the subways, this saves the City and the MTA money. Both of these initiatives will help to increase the number of wheelchair users who ride buses and trains with confidence, thereby decreasing reliance on Access-A-Ride,” said Joe Rapporport of the Taxis For All Campaign.
“Elevator and escalator outages rank near the top among the myriad of barriers faced by persons with disabilities when attempting to use our mass transit system,” said Michael Harris, Executive Director of the Disabled Riders Coalition. “Sadly, the MTA has historically failed to recognize that we are fare-paying customers and deserve the same consideration as our non-disabled peers. Not only will this legislation force the MTA to address the issues of elevator and escalator maintenance, more importantly it will finally give riders with disabilities a seat at the table. I look forward to being in Albany on Monday where I hope to watch the Assembly pass this important legislation.”
###
- Via @MicahKellner + @MMViverito NYPD, never sensitive to Trans NYers, but if these allegations true its beyond the pale http://t.co/UGWWI9Tn
10 hours ago from ÜberSocial for BlackBerry
