The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) announced that New York City Transit (NYCT) awarded voucher-based car service contracts to eight minority-owned or women-owned companies (MWBE) based in New York City.

The awards, estimated to be worth $26.6 million over three years, dramatically increase the proportion of minority-owned and women-owned firms that are providing this service to MTA customers.

Voucher-based car service, used by the MTA since 2001, helps reduce the expenses associated with New York City Transit's paratransit service, Access-A-Ride.

Customers are provided with contact information for two car service companies. The customer selects which car service he or she want to use, and makes a trip. The customer is responsible for the normal fare of $2.25 and MTA New York City Transit reimburses the car service company directly for the cost of the completed trip. A trip using a car service is approximately $18 less expensive to provide than one provided by dedicated Access-A-Ride vehicles.

In addition to the eight MWBE firms, 16 companies have been awarded three-year contracts to provide voucher-based car service.

The awards result from a period of concerted outreach to small businesses that had not previously done business with the MTA. Over the past several months, MTA officials called companies that are or are expected to be State-certified as being minority- or woman-owned and invited them to a special pre-bid conference.

"One of my priorities when I returned to the MTA last year was to increase contract awards to minority-owned and women-owned firms and disadvantaged small businesses. These recent awards send a clear signal to the vendor community that the staff of our Department of Diversity and Civil Rights and I are working hard to do that," said MTA Chairman Jay H. Walder.