Report: Help MTA riders with disabilities using congestion-pricing tolls

Many New York City subway stations lack accommodations for riders with disabilities and the MTA must tap into the projected millions generated by congestion pricing to achieve “universal accessibility,” according to a new report.

Congestion pricing, a tolling system that, beginning in April, will charge most drivers to ride into parts of Manhattan, is projected to add $15 billion to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's capital budget, said the report released Tuesday by the NYU Rudin Center for Transportation Policy and Management.

The transit system can then use some of those funds to meet its legal obligation to make 95% of its stations fully accessible to all riders by 2055, the study said.

As of the start of 2024, nearly 60% of the city's roughly 475 subway stations, and about 20 Staten Island Railway stations, were inaccessible to riders with disabilities. Roughly 30% are fully accessible, the study said. Two percent were partially accessible and 8% were under construction. 

Since 2020, the MTA has retrofitted an average of 6.5 stations a year, the study said. From 2015 to 2020, the MTA averaged 2.8 a year. 

“Investing steadfastly in universal accessibility will enhance daily rider experiences and pave the way for a more equitable and interconnected future for New York City,” said Sarah Kaufman, an author of the study and a director of the Rudin Center, in a statement.

At a Brooklyn forum Tuesday on the report, the MTA's chief accessibility officer, Quemuel Arroyo, said his “leadership team is fully committed to ensuring every customer can navigate our subway and bus network, and to the decades of work and billions of dollars of investment it will take to realize this vision.”

The report’s findings come amid an ongoing debate over congestion pricing, which has come under fire for its cost but also has been lauded for its promise of improved environmental and traffic conditions.

“So, ensuring that people can travel more quickly — regardless of their ability — is one of the goals of congestion pricing, too,” said Lisa Daglian, executive director of the Permanent Citizens Advisory Committee to the MTA.

Still, the report said considerable work needs to be done. City public transportation systems often have inadequate lighting and lack Braille and large-print signs for visually impaired riders.

Nearly 90% of LIRR stations had at least wheelchair ramps and/or elevators as of February 2020, the report noted. 

But some stations don’t have platforms that align with subways doors, making it difficult for sight-impaired riders to get on and off trains. Some stations also lack “discernible audio and/or visual signals for train arrivals.” 

Chris Rosa, president and CEO of The Viscardi Center, a Searingtown-based nonprofit that helps those with disabilities, said the changes that the MTA has made over the years are “heartening,” but he remains concerned about the full impact of congestion pricing on drivers with disabilities.

Although some transit advocates say there will be an exemption for drivers with disabilities, Rosa said congestion pricing could be an additional financial challenge for many low-income people with disabilities.

“I don’t have a really clear picture … of actually how that will unfold,” he said, later noting that it caused him “a great deal of anxiety.”

A comment period on congestion pricing is currently open.

By Tiffany Cusaac-Smith

tiffany.cusaac-smith@newsday.com@T_Cusaac

Education: Howard University 

Tiffany Cusaac-Smith came to Newsday in 2023 after being a race and history reporter at USA TODAY, where she wrote enterprise and spot articles examining how the past shapes the present. Previously, she worked as the race and justice reporter at the USA TODAY Network of New York, covering issues such as criminal justice reform, housing, environmental justice, health care and politics. At The Journal News/lohud.com in Westchester County, she covered Yonkers, the state's third-largest city. She also worked at The Associated Press in Atlanta.

Honors and Awards: Criminal justice reporting fellowship with the National Press Foundation;  New York News Publishers Association award for distinguished investigative reporting;  Contributed reporting for Best of Gannett honor; Member of Table Stakes, a program funded by the Knight-Lenfest Local News Transformation Fund and managed by the American Press Institute to transform local news.