Access A Ride Giving Rides To Empire City
Now every time I see a TV commercial for Empire City Casino @ Yonkers Raceway, my initial thought would be how much money is being wasted via Access-A-Ride trips to this gambling hot spot. I was absolutely floored & disgusted to read two reports about how Access-A-Ride vans were taking some passengers to the casino. Lets first start with the initial report which appeared on Dec 30th by Pete Donohue of the New York Daily News:
Next stop for the cash-strapped NYC Transit: the casino.
The agency’s budget-busting Access-A-Ride van and car service doesn’t just take disabled passengers to the doctor’s office, pharmacy or local supermarket.
Access-A-Ride regularly takes passengers from their door to the Empire City Casino at Yonkers Raceway to play the ponies or the 5,300 slot machines, the Daily News has learned.
“We’re here all the time,” an Access-A-Ride driver said one recent afternoon after a woman got into the back seat of his sedan for a trip home after some holiday season gambling.
“Every day, we pick up and drop off passengers at the raceway,” another Access-A-Ride driver said before driving a wheelchair user home to Flushing, Queens, in an otherwise empty van.
The casino and raceway is a popular location. It ranks 17th among the 30 most-requested destinations for Access-A-Ride users. The vast majority are medical facilities, but the list also includes the Staten Island Mall and Kennedy Airport.
The Americans with Disabilities Act requires mass transit operators provide alternate transportation to those unable to use subways or buses.
The law requires NYC Transit to provide service in the city and a short distance into Westchester and Nassau counties, where other Metropolitan Transportation Authority divisions also run some buses, transit officials said.
Access-A-Ride ridership and costs have been skyrocketing for years, and transit officials are looking to streamline operations to help close an MTA-wide budget gap of nearly $400 million dollars.
Still, NYC Transit can’t simply refuse to provide trips requested by registered users, spokesman Deirdre Parker said.
“The law is clear; we can’t prioritize trips and we do not ask what your purpose is,” Parker said. “It’s just like the bus and subway. We don’t ask where you’re going on the bus or subway. It’s public transportation.”
Click here for the complete report.
Now let’s take a look at a report from New Year’s Eve from Pete in which the feds confirmed the trips to Empire City:
NYC Transit began taking the disabled to Yonkers’ racino last year after the federal government said it had to cross into Westchester County, officials say.
For years, NYC Transit only provided trips to the disabled within the five boroughs.
The federal Transit Administration two years ago said the Americans with Disabilities Act required that Access-A-Ride take passengers just over the Bronx border into a swath of Westchester, MTA spokesman Jeremy Soffin said.
The feds also said Access-A-Ride had to extend a short distance into Nassau County from Queens, NYC Transit spokesman Paul Fleuranges said.
The Daily News reported yesterday that some gamblers were using Access-A-Ride to go to Empire City Casino at Yonkers Raceway.
The racino is the 17th most-popular destination for Access-A-Ride passengers.
Transit officials said the agency can’t reject trips based on the type of destination or purpose of travel.
Many of the most-popular destinations are medical offices or destinations, but the top 30 list also includes malls and Kennedy Airport.
Federal regulations don’t require services like Access-A-Ride to meet all travel needs of disabled residents, but to provide “the same level of service” provided by the bus and subway system, the FTA said.
Click here for the complete report.
I honestly don’t know if I should be more shocked or pissed off that money is being wasted on this nonsense. While I understand the need for the disabled to get around & why such laws as the “Americans With Disabilities Act” was created with their interests in mind, it does not change the fact that this nonsense needs to stop! I am 100% positive that when the laws of providing alternate transportation to those unable to use subways or buses were put in place, they did not mean for that to include leisure trips to the casino.
The Access-A-Ride program has been a sour spot for the beleaguered transit agency’s budget for years with it getting worse by the year. So when people call for them to not make cuts to this service, it will be a much harder fight when such fraud like this is running rampant.
While some might feel it is wrong to call these trips fraud, that is exactly what they are. Such programs like “Access-A-Ride” are not here to provide door-to-door service for every place the disabled want to go. For trips involving getting to doctors, shopping for essentials, etc…
I fully support the service. However for trips to casinos, I will never support it. The cost per ride to the transit agency is big enough as it is & that is for legitimate trips so imagine the blow when adding in such fraudulent trips like those to Empire City. I mean really, this ts the 17th most popular destination on their log! Anyone with a sense for what is right understands that this destination should not be anywhere in their trip logs!
I read many of the responses left to the articles & noticed some shared similar sentiment. However I also noticed some quick to defend these trips including one particular poster calling themselves “Leo Queen” who feels such trips are a good thing for stress relief from their painful lives. Here is what they had to say:
This article is so biased. I go to the hospital all the time for appointments and I see the lobby full of people waiting assess a ride. Many of them wait for hours, and what’s worse is that the drivers don’t come in to look for them. I have seen people in walkers and braces struggle to walk to the van, only to be told that the van is not for them. For all of you who think that this service should only be meant for going to the doctors and therapy. Have you given a second thought to those people’s lives? If the only time they go out was to a doctor’s appt or therapy – they’d be miserable. I know from experience. For the past 2 years – I’ve been going to doctors and therapy following car accidents and a stroke and it is stressful. Mental Health is a big part of recovery, so going to a casino once in a while can be a way to relieve stress. I don’t go myself, but with my elderly parents sometimes and have seen many people in wheelchairs that sit at one machine and play for pennies.
I understand the angle they are going with as it has some general validity behind it. However even with that in mind, this does not change the fact that these trips should not be made via “Access-A-Ride” services. There are millions of us in some sort of pain whether it be emotionally, physically, or spiritually, does that entitle us for door-to-door service to destinations that could help with relief? Obviously the answer is no.
For anyone who supports these trips, answer these questions for me & others who share my sentiment. If they are healthy enough to walk around in a casino all day, why are they not healthy enough to ride public transportation like everyone else? If they can afford to spend money gambling, why can’t they pay for cabs?
Seriously think about this for a second, you are too weak to ride public transportation but are strong enough to have fun gambling in a casino all day. If that is not a complete sham, then I don’t know what a sham really is.
Before I get the hate mail, understand that I am not saying all the A.A.R. trips are fraudulent or that the service should be scrapped. I am just saying that all unnecessary trips should be banned as that would be the right thing to do & I honestly know a case for anything less can’t be made. Let A.A.R. provide trips for the truly needy & to the places that are truly needed.
xoxo Transit Blogger
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- NYC Comptroller Editorial On Access A Ride
- MTA To Invest In Wheelchair Friendly SUV’s
- Access-A-Ride Users Spared Huge Fare Increase
- MTA Denying More Access A Ride Claims
Welcome To 2010
I wanted to take this moment & thank all of the readers who made 2009, the biggest year yet for Transit Blogger. I truly appreciate all the support & hope you have enjoyed the coverage I try my best to bring to all things involving the MTA.
In the meantime, I encourage you to support fellow transportation advocates, bloggers, etc…. by visiting their sites, commenting, spreading the word, & much more. I am sure they will appreciate it as much as I do.
Speaking of which, I want to thank one of my best friends who informed me about some dead links. I have removed the dead links & added new sites that I suggest you check out. Also if you happen to run any sort of public transportation site or blog, I would definitely want to exchange links with you. Just use the contact form & provide all the necessary information.
So once again, let me thank each & every single person who visited Transit Blogger in 2009, I hope you will continue to do so in 2010!
xoxo Transit Blogger
You might enjoy reading these related entries:- Welcome To TransitBlogger.com
- Mack Backpedals
- Service Diversions 04-07-11
- Talk About Creepy
- Intentional Walker
Service Diversions 12-31
I just updated the “Service Diversions” page with the latest plans scheduled for this weekend & following week (beyond in some cases). I suggest you print out a copy to carry with you or access the page directly from your portable device while out traveling. May all of you have safe travels during the holiday season & upcoming new year. HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!
xoxo Transit Blogger
You might enjoy reading these related entries:- Service Diversions 12-24
- Service Diversions 01-08-10
- Service Diversions 01-22-10
- Service Diversions 01-14-10
- Service Diversions 07-09-10
Mayor’s Inauguration To Affect Service
Besides tomorrow marking the start of a new year, a fraudulent start to a decade, it will also mark the inauguration of NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg. While this inauguration should legally not involve him, I will look past that & report the transit news involving it. As one would expect, the inauguration will affect bus & potentially subway service in the area. Here are the details hot off the press from MTA NYC Transit:
The Inaugural Ceremony for Mayor Michael Bloomberg is scheduled for Friday, January 1, 2010 at City Hall between 11:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. As a result, Broadway between Chambers and Vesey Streets will be closed to traffic by the New York City Police Department. While we have been informed that buses will likely be let through the area, they will not make regularly scheduled stops between Chambers and Vesey Streets. Also, the buses will experience delays, since they will be inspected before being allowed through. Local and express bus routes likely to be affected are:
M6, M22, M103, X1, X10, X17, X27 and X28
In addition, some entrance/exits in the City Hall R and Brooklyn Bridge/City Hall 456 may be temporarily closed during the ceremony by the NYPD.
xoxo Transit Blogger
You might enjoy reading these related entries:- Service Advisory For 2010 NFL Draft
- Tree Lighting Ceremony Affects Service
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- Service Advisory For Presidential Visit
X20 Extended & Rerouted
Just a few minutes ago, MTA New York City Transit announced via a press release that starting on Monday, January 4, 2010, the X20 will be extended & rerouted. Here are the complete details from the press release I received:
MTA New York City Transit officials announced today that the X20 bus route will be extended from its current terminal at South Beach to Father Capodanno Boulevard/Seaview Avenue, and rerouted to operate via Hylan Boulevard between Sand Lane and Narrows Road effective Monday, January 4, 2010.
These changes will provide South Beach and South Shore customers with another express bus option from the successful NYC Parks Department Park & Ride lot to Lower Manhattan and increase ridership on an express bus route with existing capacity. In addition, the reroute simplifies service as it will create a consistent bi-directional route path to replace a confusing one-way loop while maintaining service to all X20 only express bus stops.
In the Manhattan-bound direction, the X20 will begin at Fr. Capodanno Blvd./Seaview Avenue, run northbound on Fr. Capodanno Blvd. past Fr. Capodanno Park and Ride, via Sand Lane, Hylan Blvd., Olga Place, Hylan Blvd., and Narrows Road South to Fingerboard Road, then via its regular route to Lower Manhattan. From Lower Manhattan, the X20 will travel on its regular route to the Verrazano Narrows Bridge, then exit onto Narrows Road North, via Hylan Blvd., Olga Place, Hylan Blvd., Sand Lane, and Fr. Capodanno Blvd. past the Fr. Capodanno Park and Ride and then onto Seaview Avenue to terminate at the Psychiatric Center East Entrance.
New bus stops will be instituted along the new route, and the changes will not affect the service frequency or span of service. Also, X20 service in Manhattan remains unchanged.
xoxo Transit Blogger
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