Paratransit demand is growing faster than budgets
New York's Access-A-Ride now carries about 50 percent more trips than before the pandemic, and its costs are projected to pass $1.2 billion a year by 2030.
An MTA policy brief published in October 2026 reports that Access-A-Ride delivered 11.5 million trips last year, about 50 percent above pre-pandemic peaks, and was serving around 50,000 riders on a typical weekday by June 2026, double the June 2022 level.
The average operating cost is $78 per trip against a $3.00 fare, although the inflation-adjusted cost per trip has fallen from $94 in 2019. Annual costs are projected to exceed $1.2 billion by 2030, and the MTA estimates its deficit could grow by about $300 million a year from 2028 if city funding reverts when current legislation expires in July 2027.
ESS view: scheduling and eligibility tools for paratransit should be judged on rider outcomes and auditability, because every efficiency gain here also carries a civil-rights obligation.