I rely on Access-A-Ride service to get around every day since I can’t use public transit, but the service is terrible. It usually takes a tremendous amount of time to get home, and since the time slots to book a trip are inflexible and determined by a computer, I can’t always leave when I need to. The time slots available don’t give me enough time to get prepared at the beginning of the day, or return me home to get enough sleep at night. Even when I do get a trip booked at a convenient time, Access-A-Ride doesn’t seem to account for traffic in planning the trip, so I can end up waiting for a long time outside for a van to arrive, and I often don’t make it home from school until 2AM.

Someone from NYC Transit told me that I should try Access-A-Ride’s subscription service, where you can schedule rides in advance for the same time every day, to make things better. But I can’t do that since I’m a student and I don’t have the same schedule every day. Subscription service is good to have, but many people, like students, have irregular schedules.

Better Access-A-Ride service would benefit me and my friends a lot.  We’re students, we’re humans, we have personal lives, and we have to fight for our rights. We deserve an Access-A-Ride that understands that.