Access a taxi cab, Bloomberg says

Last week, Mayor Michael Bloomberg along with MTA Chairman and CEO Jay H. Walder and City Council Speaker Christine C. Quinn announced a plan to use the city’s yellow taxi cabs as a part of the Access-A-Ride Program.

The City currently employs wheelchair-accessible buses and vans for Access-A-Ride’s 150,000 customers, costing the city $49 a trip. Mr. Bloomberg’s office estimates that 75 percent of disabled people do not need wheel chair lifts and having them use taxis will save the City 70 percent of the cost of transporting them.

According to a press release, the program would provide those disabled residents who cannot use the public bus or subway system a door-to-door service and would cost $2.25 a ride, taken from a pre-paid debit card.

The announcement comes on the heels of the implementation of a new eligibility requirement that no longer guarantees door-to-door service to about 40 percent of Access-A-Ride users.

The City announced that it would begin its taxi pilot program with 400 participants for three months.