Background Research
Our team conducted research into the transit systems of metropolitan areas worldwide.
- South Korea’s transit system includes turnstiles that automatically open upon swiping a ticket or tapping a card. After doing so, the door will automatically open, allowing the passenger to walk through and enter the station without having to manually push a turnstile like in New York.
- Spain’s transit system includes small clear doors that open after the passenger swipes in.
- Japan has varying turnstile designs in it’s different cities. For example, Sapporo uses turnstiles that are relatively different from those of New York City. The main difference is that Sapporo’s turnstiles open up like a gate instead of being a turnstile you must push through. Although this is not perfectly ideal to a disabled client (as the turnstiles are also quite narrow), they are far more forgiving to physical exertion than New York City’s. Tokyo has a similar system to Sapporo, but Tokyo has an automated gate, which allows for people to pass with extreme ease without having to push anything. The metro also uses a touchless card to pay, making it easier for handicapped people to pay without having to swipe potentially multiple times like in New York City. Osaka has a near identical system to Tokyo.
- NYC transit system includes turnstiles that have to be manually pushed after scanning a card. After doing so, you can push the turnstile and walk through. In NYC, there are currently no fully tested turnstiles that are available to disabled people that use wheelchairs, so they use the door that is near the turnstiles at the end of each side. However, the MTA has decided to fund money to create wider turnstiles for disabled people to be able to pass but this has only been tested so far. The city can definitely improve designs on turnstiles by having automatic turnstiles instead of manually pushing them.
Overall, the New York City transit system includes turnstiles that have to be manually pushed after scanning a card. There are currently no fully tested turnstiles that are available to disabled people that use wheelchairs.
The MTA has decided to fund money to create wider turnstiles for disabled people to be able to pass, but this has only been tested so far.
Priority is being given to aesthetic renovations as opposed to improving accessibility. Ultimately, more than 30 subway stations across the five boroughs will see substantial renovations through the Enhanced Station Initiative, a billion-dollar renovation scheme that was championed by former Gov. Andrew Cuomo. But even though these renovations involve the sort of substantial physical changes that would trigger compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, it appears that the MTA, which has the lowest rate of wheelchair accessibility of any heavy rail system in the country, has not revealed any plans to comply: https://www.wnyc.org/story/mta-renovations-ada/
A recent MTA study reported that 11.2% of NYCT Bus passengers are seniors and disabled: https://comptroller.nyc.gov/reports/the-other-transit-crisis-how-to-improve-the-nyc-bus-system/
Approximately 13% of the city’s residents - an estimated 1,049,494 individuals - live with a disability that may restrict their ability to use the transit system: https://wagner.nyu.edu/files/faculty/publications/Making%20Transit%20Accessible%20for%20All%20New%20Yorkers%20%283%29.pdf
80 percent of the city’s subway stations - 355 out of 472 stops - are inaccessible: https://ny.curbed.com/2017/9/21/16315042/nyc-subway-wheelchair-accessible-ada
Data from Consumer Expenditure Survey (CES) shows that low-income households
devote a greater proportion of their incomes to transportation-related expenses, regardless of
whether they use public transportation or own automobiles (Bureau of Transportation Statistics,
2021). This is important to people with disabilities since, according to the National Council on
Disability (NCD), they live in poverty at more than twice the rate of people without disabilities
(National Council on Disability, 2017). Despite taking shorter trips, non-workers with disabilities reported extended travel times, traveling an average of 23.3 miles per trip versus 21.0 minutes per trip for non-workers without disabilities (Brumbaugh, 2018): https://docs.lib.purdue.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1005&context=ugcw
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority plans to install 50 new elevators over the next five years, and Andy Byford, the subway’s leader, hired Alex Elegudin to be the authority’s first accessibility chief: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/02/11/nyregion/nyc-subway-access.html
In April, the nonprofit Disability Rights Advocates filed two class-action lawsuits against the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, one of which alleges that New Yorkers with mobility impairments are “blatantly denied” access to a high number of subway stations. The other claims the MTA does an “abysmal” job in its management of existing elevators. MTA spokesperson Kevin Ortiz told Curbed the agency cannot comment on pending litigation. The MTA, the lawsuit notes, is “the most inaccessible major transportation system in the nation.” But how did it get to this point?: https://ny.curbed.com/2017/9/21/16315042/nyc-subway-wheelchair-accessible-ada
About 29% of subway stations are accessible via elevator, but due to frequent elevator outages the number of accessible stations on a day-to-day basis is actually lower.
In 2022, the MTA and accessibility advocates reached a class action settlement agreement that affirms the MTA’s commitment towards accessibility in the subway system. The agreement will resolve two class action lawsuits (Center for Independence of the Disabled, New York, et al, v. Metropolitan Transportation Authority, et al. No. 153765/2017, N.Y. Sup. Ct. N.Y. Co.) and (De Rosa et al. v. Metropolitan Transportation Authority et al. No. 19-cv-04406, ER, S.D.N.Y.), and is subject to court approval, a notice period where class members will have the opportunity to comment, and a fairness hearing. Under the terms of the agreement, the MTA will add elevators or ramps to create a stair-free path of travel at 95 percent of the currently inaccessible subway stations by 2055.
https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/ca2/20-1433/20-1433-2021-08-23.html
https://dralegal.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Final-Agreement-with-All-Signatures-ACC.pdf
2006- East Side Access (ESA) project was originally scheduled to be completed in 2009, but was delayed by more than a decade. Full service began in February of 2023. Estimated cost of the project rose from $3.5 billion to $11.1 billion as of April 2018.
2021- OMNY was originally supposed to cost $645 million but now has a $772 million price tag, which could grow more, officials acknowledged in April. Rollout on the Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North was supposed to begin in 2021 — but now could be delayed until 2025 or later.
2024- “Officials say the Nostrand Avenue station was one of 23 promised accessibility projects that are now on hold due to the governor pausing the tolling plan in early June. The money from the program was slated to fund MTA projects, like building elevators.”
The MTA’s goal of reaching 95% elevators in stations is being questioned by many. Gov. Hocul’s decision to pause the congestion pricing program prevents more revenue from being generated, which would fund MTA projects like making subways more accessible.
“In a historic ADA settlement in 2022, the MTA committed to maximum subway compliance with comprehensive elevator access by 2055. However, the deal came with a caveat — upgrades will continue only with funding.” The pause of the congestion pricing program prevents that funding.
Overall, the impacts of the pause of the congestion pricing program was felt especially in the accessibility sector. It is clear that there isn’t effective project management, or secure funding for these projects.
In New York City alone, about 11% of the city’s population lives with disabilities. This accounts for about a million people, who struggle with not having adequate transportation infrastructure to progress with their daily lives. It is essential that we do more to address these inequities. One of the largest issues with current transit infrastructure is not just the lack of accessible stations, but also the decrepit state of the elevators that already exist. If the elevators are often out of service, what is the point to even having them there in the first place? The city should increase elevator maintenance funding in order to keep elevators available, and this simple change alone should make an immense difference in terms of accessibility in stations. It is also imperative that the MTA keep up with their goals and timeline as there were many occasions where projects were either placed on hold or delayed. Just to name a couple, the Nostrand Avenue accessibility project was put on hold in June 2024, and the East Side Access project slated to be completed in 2009 was delayed by over a decade, and full service began in February 2023. The MTA must prioritize accessibility and reliability to ensure that all riders– especially the vulnerable– are able to navigate through the city with ease and without obstacles.