A brand new report flags how the shortfall of wheelchair-accessible automobiles from the app-based ride-hailing giants topics New Yorkers with disabilities to longer wait occasions.
The “Left Behind Across New York” report from New York Attorneys for the Public Curiosity notes that simply 7% of practically 106,000 for-hire automobiles licensed by town’s Taxi & Limousine Fee are wheelchair accessible — a determine they are saying highlights disparities confronted by prospects with restricted mobility who e book rides by means of Uber and Lyft.
“It honestly feels disrespectful,” stated Stefan Henry, a quadriplegic buyer who makes use of a big powered wheelchair. “It just feels like they don’t think that people with disabilities need to go to work.”
In the meantime, town’s yellow taxi fleet final summer season met a years-overdue authorized mandate to make 50% of the in-service cabs wheelchair-accessible by equipping automobiles with ramps. It got here years after town blew a 2020 deadline that took place as a part of a landmark settlement of a class-action lawsuit permitted in 2014.
TLC knowledge exhibits that of the ten,694 licensed yellow taxis in service in November, 56% have been wheelchair accessible.
A livery driver on the Higher East Facet marketed their car being wheelchair accessible, Feb. 12, 2026. Credit score: Ben Fractenberg/THE CITY
“There have been some gains after years of litigation and settlements in wheelchair accessibility in the New York City taxi fleet,” stated Justin Wooden, NYLPI’s director of coverage and creator of the report. “But we have not seen the same commitment from these giant and much more profitable corporations.”
The 22-page report notes that the dearth of wheelchair-accessible automobiles from the app-based corporations can add to attend occasions for individuals who want specifically outfitted transportation.
Henry, who lives in Manhattan, stated attempting to e book journeys by means of Uber or Lyft typically ends in frustration.
“I’ve had to literally not take a ride when I needed it and had to get on the train because it was just impossible to get one,” he stated. “Because there’s simply not as much as there would be for able-bodied people.”
A spokesperson for the TLC identified that the general variety of accessible for-hire automobiles for the app-based corporations has boomed since 2019, when there have been solely 570 such automobiles in service. There are actually near 7,600 on the highway, in accordance with the TLC.
“As the most accessible fleet in the nation, we will always work to ensure that people with disabilities have the same access to transportation as everyone else,” stated spokesperson James Parziale. “Since 2019, we’ve seen a 1,200% increase in accessible Uber and Lyft vehicles and implemented rules that have significantly brought down wait times for accessible trip requests.”
The research strikingly factors out how Lyft prospects had a median wait time of 9 minutes for wheelchair-accessible automobiles — greater than double the 4.1-minute wait time for its non-accessible rides. In line with TLC numbers, Lyft automobiles accounted for 28% of the journeys taken in for-hire automobiles in November, the latest date out there.
The report notes that Uber prospects waited a median of 4.3 minutes for wheelchair-accessible service, in comparison with 2.3 minutes for non-accessible automobiles. Uber was chargeable for practically 72% of for-hire car journeys in November, TLC numbers present.
“People are constantly waiting and waiting and waiting,” stated Eman Rimawi-Doster, a senior organizer for incapacity justice at NYLPI and a double amputee. “When they try to get in touch with a dispatcher, it’s not only very difficult, but sometimes they can’t even get somebody on the phone.”
Uber spokesperson Josh Gold stated that greater than 10% of all journeys on the platform final yr have been executed in wheelchair-accessible automobiles (WAV) — greater than double since 2019. He additionally countered the report’s conclusions on wait occasions.
“While a difference exists, we also reject the premise that a roughly two-minute difference in reported wait times is significant,” Gold instructed THE CITY in an announcement. “WAV trips often require additional time for safe boarding and proper securement before a trip is formally started in the app — a step that does not apply to non-accessible trips and can influence how wait times are measured.”
Since January 2025, TLC wait-time guidelines have required dispatchers to satisfy at the very least 90% of requests for wheelchair-accessible automobiles in beneath 10 minutes — a change from the earlier mark of 80% in beneath 10 minutes.
In line with TLC, 95.5% of Uber requests for accessible automobiles had a wait time of beneath 10 minutes in November, whereas Lyft met the mark 93% of the time.
Among the many report’s suggestions is establishing a “modest per-trip surcharge” to assist incentivize drivers into shopping for new wheelchair-accessible automobiles or retrofitting their current rides. Since 2015, a surcharge on yellow taxi rides that’s now $1 per journey has gone to the Taxi Enchancment Fund, which yearly distributes tens of millions of {dollars} to medallion homeowners switching to accessible automobiles.
“There is no equivalent accessibility fund for the for-hire vehicle side,” Wooden stated.
Proposed laws in Albany would create a state authority to finance driver purchases and retrofits of accessible electrical automobiles and oversee the funding of these funds.
Gold stated the thought of including surcharges on journeys is a non-starter for Uber.
“Additional fees on rides in the highest-taxed market in the country are not necessary as WAV drivers are already paid more by law to offset the higher costs of operating accessible vehicles,” he stated.
Rimawi-Doster stated NYPLI’s push to get extra wheelchair-accessible automobiles into service is a part of the group’s to carry the tech corporations accountable.
“It’s far too late,” she stated. “But it’s still very necessary.”
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