The MTA denied 13 percent of Access-A-Ride applicants in 2013 — almost 7,000 New Yorkers — more than double the denial rate from five years ago.
And it’s no coincidence the agency began enforcing stricter eligibility requirements for disabled riders at the same time its overall $12 billion budget shrank $900 million in 2010.
“When we slashed the budget, everything took a hit,” MTA spokesman Adam Lisberg said. “Para-transit took a hit too . . . We started enforcing medical eligibility more strictly. Our medical professionals were reminded of the existing rules and criteria.”
Other changes included re-assessing eligibility on a trip-by-trip basis and steering participants to subways and buses.
The crackdown is not sitting well with rejected applicants.
“What’s the sense in having Access-A-Ride if they keep you from getting it?” said Rita Gibson, 65, who claims to suffer from a herniated disc and uses a walker to get around.
“I did what the assessors wanted me to do during the assessment test, but I was in too much pain to climb the fake bus lift. So they denied me. I appealed the denial and was denied in my appeals too.”
The MTA claimed Gibson “refused” to climb the steps.
“The medical professional noted an inconsistency between her medical condition and her declaration that she could not travel on buses and subways,” Lisberg said.
Gibson and advocates for the disabled claim the MTA’s denials are about saving money. The para-transit budget last year was $450 million, down from $462 million in 2010. In 2010, the MTA estimated that reducing services would save $23.9 million.
Access-A-Ride, which the MTA took over from the city in 1993, provides cars and vans equipped with lifts. Approved customers book trips in advance and pay $2.50 per ride — the same price as a subway fare — while the MTA pays $67.33 on average per trip.
The Americans with Disabilities Act requires that people with handicaps who can’t use mass transit be given the option of using para-transit. The MTA’s new requirements are legal under the act, Lisberg said.