Thousands of potential applicants for New York City's Access-A-Ride
paratransit service informally withdraw their applications every month
by missing their appointment for an in-person assessment.
About half of the people who call Access-A-Ride to register have missed their eligibility appointment since March 2007, when the Metropolitan Transportation Authority changed the application process. The new policy requires in-person interviews and physical tests to prove that people are functionally unable to use buses and trains, according to criteria in the Americans with Disabilities Act. Prior to the change, Access-A-Ride registered half of its applicants by mail and referred half for assessments, leading to hundreds of withdrawals per month rather than thousands.
Published on Transportation Access. Read the story.
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