STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
486
2023-2024 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
January 4, 2023
___________
Introduced by Sens. COMRIE, BAILEY, CLEARE, GOUNARDES, HOYLMAN, KRUEGER,
MYRIE, PARKER, RAMOS, RIVERA, SALAZAR -- read twice and ordered print-
ed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Transporta-
tion
AN ACT to amend the public authorities law and the transportation law,
in relation to extending and expanding the scope of the on-demand
E-hail paratransit pilot
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Subdivision 3 of section 1205 of the public authorities
2 law, as added by chapter 717 of the laws of 1967, is amended and a new
3 subdivision 9 is added to read as follows:
4 3. Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision one of this section,
5 no zonal system of fares proposed to be instituted on or after March
6 first, nineteen hundred sixty-eight for the use of the whole or any part
7 of a rapid transit facility or of an omnibus line facility or a para-
8 transit service operated by the authority and no general revision of the
9 system of transfers applicable to the use of all such facilities in
10 effect as of that date shall be established without the written approval
11 of the mayor. For the purposes of this subdivision the term "zonal
12 system of fares" shall mean any system whereby the fare payable for the
13 use of a rapid transit facility or an omnibus line facility or any para-
14 transit service operated by the authority or of any part thereof varies
15 according to distance traveled or to the location of the point of entry
16 or departure by the user, but the creation or elimination of free trans-
17 fer points shall not be regarded as the institution of such a system.
18 9. a. For purposes of this subdivision, the term "on-demand E-hail
19 paratransit pilot" shall mean the service created by the metropolitan
20 transportation authority in two thousand seventeen, through which users
21 of the authority's Access-A-Ride paratransit program can receive immedi-
22 ate rides using a smartphone app or phone service.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD01177-01-3
S. 486 2
1 b. The authority shall continue to operate the on-demand E-hail para-
2 transit pilot through March thirty-first, two thousand twenty-five, as
3 provided by subdivision five-a of section fifteen-b of the transporta-
4 tion law.
5 c. Fares for rides for the on-demand E-hail paratransit pilot shall be
6 equal to the authority's base fare for bus and subway services. Hours of
7 service for such pilot shall be the same as the authority's hours of
8 service for bus, subway, and other paratransit services. The length,
9 duration and number of on-demand E-hail paratransit pilot rides avail-
10 able to each user enrolled in the on-demand E-hail paratransit pilot
11 shall not be limited or restricted.
12 § 2. Section 15-b of the transportation law is amended by adding a new
13 subdivision 5-a to read as follows:
14 5-a. a. For purposes of this subdivision, the term "on-demand E-hail
15 paratransit pilot" shall mean the service created by the metropolitan
16 transportation authority in two thousand seventeen, through which users
17 of the authority's Access-A-Ride paratransit program can receive immedi-
18 ate rides using a smartphone app or phone service.
19 b. The metropolitan transportation authority shall continue to operate
20 the on-demand E-hail paratransit pilot through March thirty-first, two
21 thousand twenty-five.
22 c. On or before March sixteenth, two thousand twenty-four, the metro-
23 politan transportation authority shall expand the on-demand E-hail para-
24 transit pilot to include an additional one thousand two hundred Access-
25 A-Ride users; provided, however, the authority shall not pay any costs
26 or expenses related to such expansion above funding levels for the
27 on-demand E-hail paratransit pilot for the two thousand nineteen calen-
28 dar year, and may only implement such expansion with funds appropriated
29 to it by the state of New York or other governmental source for such
30 purpose. In selecting new users for the on-demand E-hail paratransit
31 pilot, the metropolitan transportation authority shall endeavor to
32 select a representative sample of Access-A-Ride users, accounting for
33 age, disability, geographic distribution throughout New York city, and
34 frequency of ridership of Access-A-Ride's other services.
35 d. Fares for rides for the on-demand E-hail paratransit pilot shall be
36 equal to the metropolitan transportation authority's base fare for bus
37 and subway services. Hours of service for such pilot shall be the same
38 as the metropolitan transportation authority's hours of service for bus,
39 subway, and other paratransit services. The length, duration and number
40 of on-demand E-hail paratransit pilot rides available to each user
41 enrolled in the on-demand E-hail paratransit pilot shall not be limited
42 or restricted.
43 e. On or before April thirteenth, two thousand twenty-five, the
44 authority shall issue a report to the governor, the temporary president
45 of the senate, the minority leader of the senate, the speaker of the
46 assembly, the minority leader of the assembly, the mayor of the city of
47 New York, the city council of the city of New York and the metropolitan
48 transportation authority. Such report shall detail ridership, usage
49 patterns, and costs of the on-demand E-hail paratransit pilot.
50 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.