NYC Comptroller Report: MTA Falls Short of Obligations to Express Bus Riders with Disabilities

NYC Comptroller Report: MTA Falls Short of Obligations to Express Bus Riders with Disabilities

New York, NY - A new report from New York City Comptroller Brad Lander finds that the MTA's express bus service routinely leaves riders with disabilities without reliable, safe, respectful, or on-time service, despite being designed to fill a critical gap for New York communities in public 'transit deserts'-areas with limited or no access to inter-borough rail service. The report was based on a survey of express bus riders and field observations by teams that included auditors from the Comptroller's Audit Bureau and New Yorkers with disabilities.

"All New Yorkers deserve accessible, equitable and timely service," said Comptroller Brad Lander. "MTA express bus service is often the only public transit option for outer borough communities, yet our report found it is not a viable option for many wheelchair users. The MTA must provide drivers with adequate training, equipment, oversight, and proper staffing to deliver reliable and equitable service to all."

Unlike low-floor local and Select Bus Services vehicles with accessible front door ramps, high-floor express buses require external wheelchair lifts to provide full accessibility. Since 2018, the MTA piloted only one potentially viable ramp-equipped express bus design across the transit system. As riders with disabilities and accessibility advocates highlighted in roundtables with the Office of the Comptroller-improving design is a critical step in making Express Buses more accessible.

In 2023 and 2024, the Comptroller's Office gathered insights and testimonials from advocates within the disabled community through roundtables, which informed the project's scope and its recommendations. In August 2024, the Audit Bureau distributed surveys to 458 riders at express bus stops across all five boroughs to assess rider satisfaction with express bus accessibility, performance, and communication. 81.5 percent of respondents reported riding MTA express buses three or more days per week. A staggering number of riders with disabilities reported experiencing inappropriate, rude, hostile, or threatening behavior from drivers and/or other passengers when using or attempting to ride MTA express buses accessibly.

The key findings of the survey identified:

• Of the 11 respondents who used or attempted to use wheelchair lifts:
• 5 reported frequent driver difficulties operating lifts.
• 3 stated drivers never deployed lifts.
• 5 experienced hostile behavior from drivers or passengers during boarding.
• More than a third of all respondents (34.5%) reported that buses fail to operate according to schedule during weekday rush hour. Similarly, 28.4% of respondents stated that buses do not adhere to the schedule outside of rush hour.
• Nearly 70% of respondents reported that service cancelations impacted them, with 7.6% of those affected reporting they had to wait more than an hour for the next bus.
• According to MTA statistics from January through September 2024, The MTA canceled 16,516 trips. The MTA canceled these trips because no bus operator was present (12,803 trips, 77.5%), a road call or mechanical failure occurred (2,949 trips, 17.9%), no buses were available (501 trips, 3%), and/or other reasons arose (263 trips, 1.6%)."
• 85.4% of respondents reported using the BusTime website in the last year, while 53.7% said they used the MTA app. A significant number of respondents expressed dissatisfaction with both platforms, but more so with the MTA app.
• BusTime users reported dissatisfaction or strong dissatisfaction with the accuracy (29.4%), timeliness (25.6%) of service alerts, and accuracy of real-time bus locations (23.8%).
• Similarly, MTA app users expressed dissatisfaction or strong dissatisfaction with the accuracy (36.6%) and timeliness (32.5%) of service alerts and the accuracy of bus locations.

Together with the rider survey results, the Office of the Comptroller partnered with community across the city, in a first-of-its-kind set of joint field observations that paired auditors from the Comptroller's Audit Bureau with express bus riders with disabilities, in order to gather insights on how MTA express buses perform in real conditions for wheelchair users who rely on proper MTA training and oversight to board safely.

Audit Bureau teams observed 25 sample MTA express buses. Auditors found that nearly 1-in-4 wheelchair users could not board express buses due to wheelchair lift issues or, even worse, drivers did not stop for wheelchair users waiting at designated stops. The report found that many MTA drivers lack proper training and guidance on MTA express Bus lift operation, ADA requirements, and the MTA's own standards for service accessibility. Among the 19 observed instances of riders using wheelchairs who successfully boarded express Buses, nine (47%) experienced delays. In one case, boarding took over 20 minutes for a rider. In 16 of the 19 (84.2%) instances, wheelchair users were not safely positioned onto lifts or secured inside the bus. These chronic delays highlight a clear gap in the MTA's training protocols and oversight for wheelchair lift operations.

Officials found that Staten Islanders wheelchair users were disparately impacted by poor express bus service. Citywide, wheelchair users were unable to board in nearly 25% of all observed express Buses, whereas 50% of the Staten Island riders who use wheelchairs were unable to board. Anecdotally, one rider described routinely waiting for multiple buses to travel from Staten Island to Manhattan, highlighting systemic failures in the MTA's ADA-compliant training for drivers. Auditors were paired with volunteers and observed their experiences boarding or attempting to board express Buses.

To address these alarming issues with express Bus service citywide and improve transportation accessibility, the Comptroller's Office offered the following recommendations:

1. Immediately conduct refresher trainings on wheelchair lift operation, as well as ADA and MTA requirements for providing service to people with disabilities. This includes immediately informing Bus Command Center (BCC) of lift issues, safely boarding customers, securing wheelchairs, making bus stop announcements as required, and appropriate etiquette.
2. Ensure that all express bus drivers receive annual hands-on training in operating wheelchair liftsand provide express bus drivers with field instructions for operating wheelchair lifts.
3. Separately report MTA express bus wheelchair lift deployments, including the number of failed and successful deployments.
4. Pilot additional low-floor entry buses or other accessible bus designsand consider implementing those buses when the MTA retires older vehicles.
5. Make meaningful efforts to engage the accessibility community on new bus designs, including designs that provide ramp entry. Those efforts should include, but not be limited to, selecting buses to pilot, accessibility features and bus design, and revenue service pilots. When piloting new bus designs, ensure the MTA equips demonstration buses with the accessibility features it proposes to implement and engages a diverse and large enough sample of people with disabilities so their feedback can reflect the broader needs of riders with disabilities.
6. Compare MTA express bus scheduled pick-up and drop-off times to actual times and revise bus schedulesas necessary to ensure they are realistic and as accurate as possible.
7. Address bus driver shortages and mechanical failures to minimize the impact of service cancelations. If shortages cannot be addressed, revise schedules to reduce cancelations
8. Improve MTA communication applications to ensure that they provide customers with accurate and timely information on service alerts, bus locations, and estimated bus arrival times.

The Comptroller's Office urges the MTA, City officials, and key stakeholders to prioritize these recommendations and work together to create a transit system that truly serves all New Yorkers.

Read the Comptroller's report here for more:

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"This audit confirms what disabled bus riders have known for far too long-New York City's express bus system is failing them. No one should be left stranded at a stop because a driver won't engage a wheelchair lift or because a bus never arrives. Reliable, accessible, and respectful transit is necessary to ensure that every rider, regardless of ability, can move through our city with dignity. The MTA must take immediate action to address these failures and ensure that all riders receive the safe and dependable service they deserve," said State Senator Nathalia Fernandez

"Access to safe, reliable public transportation is a right that all New York City residents deserve, but this report confirms that we're too often failing to provide it for disabled New Yorkers," saidAssemblymember Emily Gallagher."When people who use wheelchairs can't access the bus - or worse, bus drivers don't stop for them because they haven't been properly trained to use their lift operation - we send a signal that NYC does not value people with disabilities. No one's worth is defined by their ability. We must invest in accessible buses, driver training, and service improvements to ensure all New Yorkers can rely on our public transit system, regardless of ability."

"The findings of this audit are deeply troubling and confirm what those in the disability community have long known: express bus service is often unreliable, inaccessible, and inequitable. No one should be left stranded because of a broken lift, an untrained driver, or a bus that never arrives. Thank you to Comptroller Lander for shining a light on these systemic failures and for pushing for safer, more dignified, and timely service that all New Yorkers deserve," said Assemblymember Jo Anne Simon.

"The findings in this report are unacceptable," said NYC Council Majority Leader Amanda Farías."Our city's transit system must serve all New Yorkers equitably, which means ensuring reliable and accessible express bus service for riders with disabilities. No one should be left stranded or subjected to unsafe conditions while trying to get where they need to go. I urge the MTA to implement these recommendations quickly, from improving driver training to modernizing bus design, so that every rider, regardless of ability, can depend on our transit system with dignity and confidence."

"As someone who has faced mobility challenges throughout my life due to Lupus, an autoimmune disease, buses are often my only accessible mode of public transportation. This report, however, exposes alarming disparities that disabled riders face on express bus routes across New York City," said Council Member Shahana Hanif. "To make express bus service truly equitable, we must ensure drivers receive proper accessibility training and improve service reliability. I'm grateful to the Comptroller's office for investigating this issue and offering critical recommendations to make MTA bus ridership more inclusive for all New Yorkers."

"It is unacceptable that MTA Riders in wheelchairs are consistently dealing with problems in boarding buses on express routes, and are sometimes completely disregarded," said Council Member Darlene Mealy. The MTA Drivers need to be vetted and trained in dealing with riders in wheelchairs as well as how to operate the necessary machinery. We need to make sure we value all of our New Yorkers equally and that riders in wheelchairs can rely on MTA buses to get where they need to go in an efficient and respectful manner. The statistics are showing that buses are consistently delayed, off schedule, and cannot be reliably tracked by the digital tools that accompany the bus. We need to start having conversations about what is necessary to improve the MTA Buses into an efficient and reliable system, as right now the standard is disappointment. It is pointless have a city-wide transport system that isolates certain New Yorkers and cannot be properly utilized the public with faith that they will arrive at their destinations on time."

"I am deeply troubled by the findings of the Comptroller's audit on the challenges disabled NYC bus riders face," saidCouncil Member Mercedes Narcisse."It is shameful that we continue to neglect the very community that often needs public transit the most. The lack of reliable, accessible transportation for disabled riders is a clear injustice. No one should be left behind when it comes to accessing public transportation. Improvements are urgently needed, and the MTA must prioritize making express bus routes fully accessible to all New Yorkers. We cannot allow a system that is supposed to serve the public to continue disregarding the needs of its most vulnerable members."

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