Passenger Bus, Rail and Motorcoach Industry News

To encourage the use of public transit as the region slowly recovers from the devastating effects of Hurricane Sandy, NYC Subway and Bus network, Long Island Rail Road, Metro-North Railroad, and Access-a-Ride services will be free for Thursday and Friday.

Wadsworth Car Service admitted to using a fraudulent billing scheme between June 2009 and January 2010. In the summer of 2009 the company’s billings doubled in one month.

Staten Island-based Access-A-Ride customers' issues include being stranded at their destinations and difficulty in scheduling with the customer service department. The service recently implemented a number of cost-cutting measures.

The agency has teamed with the New York City Taxi & Limousine Commission to provide affordable taxi rides to some Access-a-Ride users. The 90-day pilot program is expected to save N.Y. MTA nearly 17 percent in program costs, or 70 percent per trip.

Agency plans to reduce paratransit costs by $40 million this year and $80 million next year. The United Spinal Association is filing a lawsuit against the MTA, saying it’s not doing what’s necessary to make the subway system accessible.