Access A Ride Strands Neighbor in Manhattan
CONEY ISLAND – A 59-year-old Coney Island resident in a wheelchair waited for hours on a Manhattan street corner for her scheduled Access-A-Ride (AAR) to pick her up and bring her home. It never did.
On August 6 at around 11:50 a.m., Charlene Davis called AAR to schedule her trip for the next day. Davis, who relies on a wheelchair to get around, was to go with her 22-year-old son with special needs to Mount Sinai Hospital in Manhattan. She scheduled for a ride to pick her, her son, and her son’s home attendant for 12:30 p.m., and to bring them back from the hospital three hours later.
Davis told Bklyner that the dispatcher said a 3 p.m. pickup wasn’t available, but they could do 3:56 p.m. Davis agreed.
The next day, on August 7, she gets a call confirming the morning pick-up and letting her know the carrier and the number of the vehicle. Everything was fine in the morning. Things took a wrong turn when she was done with the hospital visit at 3:15 p.m.
“Once I finished, I called AAR confirming my pick-up. I called them because they were supposed to call me, but they didn’t,” Davis said.”The dispatcher told me there was nothing scheduled for me.”
Davis said the dispatcher asked her to hold a minute to see what was up. It turns out, the AAR carrier (another transportation company subcontracted by AAR) never scheduled a trip to return home for her. After being on hold, the dispatcher asked Davis if she can take a taxi back home.
“No, I cannot take a taxi,” Davis said. “My son and his home attendant can take a taxi but I cannot. I’m in a wheelchair. This is unacceptable. It was one big mess.”
While she was waiting outside the hospital repeatedly calling and being put on hold, it started to rain. That is why at approximately 5:33 p.m., she called Mathylde Frontus, a candidate for the 46th Assembly District.
“I called Mathylde Frontus because I was upset, nervous and I didn’t know who else to turn to. I had no way of getting home as someone on a fixed income. I just can’t afford a $70 Uber. Moreover, I was very scared that once the rain came down it would have short-circuited my motorized wheelchair,” Davis said. “AAR treats us like we should be grateful that they take us door to door, but we’re at their mercy.”
Davis knew Frontus from the neighborhood, which was how she had her number. Frontus called an Uber for her and paid the $71.52 for the trip. As soon as she was on the Uber, AAR called her back and told her they finally had a vehicle for her — too late by then.
This was not the first time Davis has had problems with AAR. She’s been “stranded” before, which is why she tries her hardest to not call AAR to get around. When traveling in Brooklyn, she takes the bus. When she needs to go to Manhattan, she has no choice.
“It seems like everytime you take them, you get stranded,” she said.
This is what Frontus said about the situation: “Our district is one of the least accessible parts of New York City and it affects our seniors and families the most. It’s time we provide a more reliable form of transportation so our seniors can get the healthcare they need. Seniors simply cannot afford Uber and cab rides when AAR decides to not show up. It’s an affront to the most vulnerable New Yorkers.”
Users pay for AAR trips the same fee as they would for a regular subway or bus ride – $2.75, however, the average cost per trip is more in line with what Davis paid for the Uber – $70.77.
We reached out to AAR and did not get a comment.