By Carla Zanoni
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
NEW YORK — Disabled straphangers are suing the MTA for service cuts that the agency implemented two months ago, saying they have had a disproportionately negative impact on riders with handicaps.
The plaintiffs accuse the transportation agency of violating the Americans with Disabilities Act when it slashed service by 89 bus lines on June 27, but failed to provide the same level and kind of service to disabled riders that it provides to non-disabled riders.
The group, a coalition of disabled riders and two nonprofit disability advocacy groups, Disabled In Action of Metropolitan New York and the Brooklyn Centerfor the Independence of the Disabled Inc., said in the suit that the service cuts have forced disabled riders to go longer distances to find alternative bus or subway routes.
The suit adds that traveling further is an option that is impossible for many riders because of the inaccessibility of many subway stations that have been designated as alternatives to terminated bus routes.
The situation has been made worse, they say, becausew the MTA failed to set aside additional funding for Access-A-Ride, the city’s paratransit system, to make up for increased need.
The group is seeking an injunction forcing the MTA to “restore bus service and maintain Access-A-Ride service necessary to provide to people with mobility impairments access to public transportation comparable to that provided to non-disabled riders,” according to a statement put out by the group.
“Either they didn't analyze the impact that these cuts were going to have on people with disabilities or they just don't care,” said plaintiff Clara Reiss.
A spokesman for the MTA said that the agency does not comment on pending litigation.
Last month James Weissman, senior vice president and general counsel for the United Spinal Association, said he would file a suit against the MTA regarding its decision to not make the Dyckman 1-train station ADA accessible after its $24 million complete reconstruction.
