New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) announced the completion of more than one million Access-A-Ride paratransit trips for the first time in its history during October, carrying 1.4 million riders to their destinations. This record came as paratransit continues a trend of record-high on-time performance (OTP).
In October, more than 96% of trips were picked up within 30 minutes of the promised time, and more than 90% of trips were within 20 minutes. Seventy-five percent of Access-A-Ride vehicles arrived within 10 minutes of the scheduled pickup time.
Customer Satisfaction on the Rise As Well
Paratransit continues to meet and exceed key performance indicators for on-time performance, no shows, and ride time.
Additionally, customer satisfaction continues to rise in 2025, with levels in the high 70s or above every month. Satisfaction with our last trip has been at or above 84% every month this year. Access-A-Ride now transports more than 50,000 riders on an average weekday.
“Our main objective at New York City Transit is to provide safe and reliable service. Paratransit continues to deliver on these promises,” said New York City Transit President Demetrius Crichlow. “New fare payment options and new customer support tools make using Access-A-Ride easier and more convenient than ever. We’re excited that our riders have been responding with more booked trips and more positive feedback.”
Resembling New York’s Ridership Growth
The record ridership comes as New York City Transit (NYCT) and paratransit shift to the OMNY Tap and Ride fare payment system. 180,000 Access-A-Ride customers already have or will have an OMNY card by the end of November 2025.
More than 60,000 paratransit trips were booked using OMNY in October, allowing paratransit customers to pay for the first time without carrying exact change.
In addition, OMNY seamlessly integrates with the subway system and buses, allowing AAR customers to use their OMNY cards to tap and ride on subways and buses as well. And, with new accessibility upgrades at six stations in 2025 and more accessibility features rolling out on our buses, paratransit customers now have more options than ever to use the Transit system.
The majority of subway and bus customers use OMNY. As of October 2025, Tap and Ride accounts for 88% of all subway and bus trips — this includes 97% percent of Regular Fare customers, 90% of Reduced Fare riders, and 87% of Fair Fare customers. There has also been a 63% increase in student OMNY card usage, compared to 2023 when students were issued MetroCards.
