To apply for MTA Access-A-Ride, request the two-part paratransit application from the MTA, complete your section, have a licensed healthcare provider complete the medical section, submit the packet by mail or fax, and attend the in-person assessment the MTA schedules for you. The service is New York City’s shared-ride, door-to-door paratransit for people whose disabilities prevent them from using the subway or bus, covering the five boroughs and up to three-quarters of a mile into parts of Nassau and Westchester counties.1MTA. Access-A-Ride Paratransit Service
Who Can Apply
Federal law sets the standard. Under 49 CFR 37.123, you qualify if a physical or mental impairment prevents you from independently boarding, riding, or getting off an accessible bus or subway, or if your disability makes it impossible to get to a stop or station. The operative word is “prevents,” not “makes harder.” Evaluation focuses on functional ability, not on your diagnosis and not on whether you use a wheelchair. Eligibility also reaches people whose specific impairment interacts with a barrier — distance, terrain, weather, an inaccessible station — in a way that actually blocks the trip.2eCFR. 49 CFR 37.123 – ADA Paratransit Eligibility
How to Get the Application
Start online at aar.mta.info, where the MTA runs a portal to request a paratransit eligibility application.3MTA. Access-A-Ride – Request to Apply A downloadable PDF is on the MTA’s documents page.4MTA. Access-A-Ride Service Application If you’d rather have a paper copy mailed to you, call 877-337-2017 (toll-free from New York metropolitan area codes) or 718-393-4999 from other areas.5MTA. Access-A-Ride – Contact Us and Learn More
Completing Part A: Your Section
Part A is yours. It asks for your legal name, address, date of birth, and contact details, along with questions about how you currently travel, what mobility aids you use, and how your disability affects your ability to get to and ride buses or subways.
Be concrete. Instead of “I have difficulty walking,” describe how far you can walk before you have to stop, whether you can manage stairs, and what happens for you in extreme heat or cold. Assessors are building a picture of your real-world travel limitations, not a medical summary. List every assistive device you rely on — wheelchair, walker, cane, portable oxygen — because that information affects the type of vehicle assigned to your trips. If environmental barriers like subway stairs or long distances to bus stops are part of your limitation, describe those situations specifically.
Completing Part B: The Healthcare Provider’s Section
Part B goes to a licensed healthcare professional — your doctor, psychiatrist, physical therapist, or other treating provider. The provider describes your diagnosis and the functional limitations that affect your ability to use public transit, then signs and dates the section. Before handing off Part B, collect your provider’s full contact information, license credentials, and specialty. The MTA may follow up with them directly.6MTA. Apply or Recertify for Access-A-Ride
Where to Submit the Application
Mail the completed packet — both Part A and Part B — to:
AAR Eligibility
Department of Paratransit
130 Livingston Street
Brooklyn, NY 112016MTA. Apply or Recertify for Access-A-Ride
You can also fax the pages to 718-393-4306.6MTA. Apply or Recertify for Access-A-Ride Keep copies of everything you send. If the MTA calls or writes about a missing page or an illegible section, having your own copies saves you from starting over.
The In-Person Assessment
Once the MTA reviews your paperwork, you’re scheduled for an in-person assessment. Both new applicants and people recertifying go through it. You meet with a healthcare professional for an interview and, where appropriate, complete functional testing: walking a measured distance, going up and down stairs, or navigating a simulated transit environment.6MTA. Apply or Recertify for Access-A-Ride The MTA’s criteria page lists the specific tasks assessed: going up or down subway stairs, traveling to a station or stop, boarding and exiting a bus or subway, and navigating the system independently.7MTA. Eligibility Criteria
The MTA provides free transportation to and from the assessment, so getting to the evaluation shouldn’t become a barrier in itself. The agency has operated an assessment center in Lower Manhattan at 3 Stone Street.8MTA. MTA Announces Opening of Paratransit Assessment Center in Lower Manhattan Your scheduling notice will confirm the exact location and time.
The 21-Day Decision Rule
Federal regulations give the MTA 21 days from receiving your complete application to issue an eligibility decision. If they don’t decide within that window, you are automatically treated as eligible and given service until a final determination is issued.9eCFR. 49 CFR 37.125 – ADA Paratransit Eligibility Process This presumptive eligibility is a federal protection so applicants aren’t stranded during administrative delays.
What the Decision Looks Like
The MTA doesn’t just approve or deny. The assessment places you in one of several categories:
- Full (unconditional) eligibility means you can use Access-A-Ride for any trip within the service area, any time the system operates. This applies when your disability consistently prevents you from using fixed-route transit.
- Conditional eligibility means you qualify only under specific circumstances, such as extreme cold or heat, unfamiliar routes for riders with cognitive or visual impairments, and trips that involve subway stairs or long walks to stops.10MTA. Conditional Eligibility
- Temporary eligibility applies for a set period while you recover from surgery, an injury, or another time-limited condition, and expires on the date in your approval letter.
Full and conditional eligibility last five years before you have to recertify. Temporary eligibility expires on its own schedule.11MTA. Access-A-Ride Brochure The MTA sends recertification notices by mail before your eligibility lapses, so keeping your address current with the agency matters.
Appealing a Denial or Conditional Decision
If the MTA denies your application, or grants conditional eligibility when you believe you qualify for full access, you have 60 days from the date of the decision letter to file an appeal.12ACCESS NYC. Access-A-Ride Federal regulations require every transit agency offering paratransit to run a formal appeals process, including the right to a hearing. Once you submit your intent to appeal, the agency must schedule the hearing within 30 days. You can attend in person, bring a representative, or have someone appear on your behalf. If the appeal decision isn’t issued within 30 days of the hearing, you receive full eligibility until a decision comes through.
Visiting From Another City
If you’re visiting New York City and already have ADA paratransit eligibility through your home city’s transit agency, you don’t need to go through the full application process. Bring your home paratransit ID card as proof. If you don’t have that documentation, the MTA can ask for proof of your home address and proof of your disability if it isn’t apparent. Visitor access is capped at 21 days in any 365-day period; beyond that, you’d apply through the standard resident process.13Federal Transit Administration. Visitor Eligibility for ADA Paratransit