More Senior Ride Options Coming To Queens, Committee Says

KEW GARDENS, QUEENS -- Queens seniors can look forward to more transportation options going into the new year, whether it's a free ride to the doctor's office or using Uber technology to order an MTA Access-A-Ride on demand.

Those were among the biggest updates announced at the Queens Interagency Council on Aging Meeting on Wednesday, where politicians and MTA representatives fielded questions from dozens of Queens seniors on what is being done to improve access to transportation that many complain the borough still lacks.

"We're trying to address the issues that are most important to the senior community, and every year transportation is one of them," Miriam Burns, the council's co-chair, told Patch. "Seniors in Queens are particularly vulnerable because almost every place they go, they need to get a bus and a train, and there's just not that much available."

City Councilman Paul Vallone (D-Bayside) is hoping to expand transportation options for at least one critical service - doctor's appointments. Vallone, who represent's the city's 19th district, launched a ride-service pilot with the Selfhelp Clearview Senior Center in April to allow seniors in his district to schedule free rides to doctor's appointments through the senior center. Starting on Jan. 1, that ride service is slated to expand to seniors throughout Queens, Vallone said at the meeting.

"It's strictly for medical appointments and you have to be able to get into a cab because we are using a car service," a spokeswoman for the program said. "If that's a struggle for you, which it is for some people, this program is not perfect for you."

The ride service also won't cover patients on medicaid, which technically already pays for patients' transportation to doctor's appointments, the spokeswoman said.

For those who don't qualify for the free rides to doctor's appointments, or simply need a ride somewhere but can't access public transit, the MTA is updating its Access-A-Ride program with new technology aimed at eliminating scheduling conflicts and making the rides easier for everyone.

The MTA will start piloting E-hail services for its Access-A-Ride program at the end of the year, using the same GPS technology on ride-sharing companies like Uber or Lyft to transport seniors and others with handicaps who require a ride in lieu of public transportation.

Donna Frederickson, a community liaison for MTA's Access-A-Ride, spoke to the crowd of Queens seniors about the updates, whose GPS system will allow customers to schedule rides or change pick-up times from their smartphones in real time without a service delay.

"If you have a problem with service, say you're waiting at the location and a car never picked you up, I can use the GPS right now to see exactly where the vehicle was at the time," Frederickson said in the meeting. "Right now, there's a slack because that real-time information isn't offered."

The real-time location updates would ideally improve scheduling for the ride-service, which one Queens senior at the meeting called "absolutely terrible."

Other seniors at the meeting asked about whether a prescheduled Access-A-Ride for group trips to popular destinations could be set up, rather than each individual rider having to set up their own in advance.

Frederickson said that while the request is common and something the MTA has discussed, it doesn't have the funds to provide such a service for all five boroughs.

"It's very important, but we just don't have the budget to do it right now," she said.

But Vallone said the idea was something he could look into on a local level. He suggested coordinating with the MTA on scheduled rides throughout the week to toe most asked-for destinations among Access-A-Ride patrons.

"Whether it's the Bay Terrace Shopping Center, the Flushing Theatre or wherever it may be, maybe we could make funding for some designated routes that we know are needed," he said.

Lead photo via Patch Reporter Danielle Woodward.