MTA Guide to Accessible Transit

MTA Subways and Buses

An aide secures a woman's wheelchair to the bus floor. Paratransit is available for those who cannot use other MTA transportation. The Reduced-Fare Program
Fare Information
Traveling on MTA Subways
Traveling on MTA Buses
Travel Training
Accessible Station List

Reduced-Fare Program

If you have a qualifying disability or are 65 years of age or older (60 years of age or older for LI Bus riders), you are eligible for reduced-fare travel on MTA subways and buses (with certain restrictions on express bus service, see below) in New York City and on Long Island. You pay reduced fare on subways and buses when using a Reduced-Fare MetroCard, on subways by purchasing a Single Ride Ticket and receiving a return-trip coupon, and on buses by paying the reduced fare (half the regular fare) in cash.

To pay reduced fare with cash or to purchase a Single Ride Ticket you must present one of the following forms of identification:

Reduced-Fare MetroCard
Paratransit card (Access-A-Ride or Able-Ride)
New York City Department for the Aging ID card
MTA Reduced-Fare ID card (issued prior to 1995)
Medicare card (Medicaid cards not accepted)
On Long Island Bus you can also use a Disabled Individual Leisure Pass, issued by Nassau County Recreation and Parks Department

You can save even more by taking advantage of MetroCard discounts when you use a Reduced-Fare MetroCard.

Reduced-Fare MetroCard, a plastic photo-ID card, can be used to pay your fare on New York City Transit subways and local buses, MTA Bus, MTA Staten Island Railway, and MTA Long Island Bus. You can also use a Reduced-Fare MetroCard as valid identification to pay reduced fare on the Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North Railroad.

Reduced-Fare EasyPay MetroCard is an option for purchasing your Reduced-Fare MetroCard through an account that allows you to pay with a major credit card or an electronic debit from your checking account, or by check or money order. You can use EasyPay to purchase a pay-per-ride card or weekly or monthly unlimited ride cards. To get an application for Reduced-Fare EasyPay MetroCard, call the Reduced-Fare Office at 718-243-4999 or 718-596-8273 (TTY). More information is available on the Reduced-Fare MetroCard page and on the EasyPay MetroCard page. If you are enrolled in EasyPay, you can check your balance 24 hours a day toll-free by calling 1-877-323-RIDE.

Applying for Reduced-Fare MetroCard

Note: Be sure to request the appropriate Reduced-Fare application form: qualifying disability (use for AutoGate) or senior citizen.

By phone: Call the Reduced-Fare Office at 718-243-4999 or 718-596-8273 (TTY), Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
By mail: Write the Customer Assistance Division, 2 Broadway, 11th Floor, New York, NY 10004.
In person: Visit the MetroCard service center at 3 Stone Street, New York, NY, open Monday though Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; call 718-330-1234 for directions. Or stop at one of the special buses and vans that sell MetroCard. Please call the Reduced-Fare Office or the LI Bus Travel Information Center at 516-766-6722 to find a convenient bus or van location.
On-line: Download the application from the MTA website.

Your Reduced-Fare MetroCard will arrive in the mail four to eight weeks after your application is received.

Top

Fare Information

MTA New York City Transit, MTA Long Island Bus, and MTA Bus Fare Information

If you have a qualifying disability or are 65 years of age or older (60 years old for LI Bus), you are eligible for reduced-fare travel on MTA subways and buses. The base fare for reduced-fare customers is $1.00 on New York City Transit subways and local buses and for Long Island Bus, MTA Bus, and Staten Island Railway.

Subways accept MetroCard payment only; purchases can be made at station booths with cash, at MetroCard Vending Machines with cash or credit/debit/ATM cards, or at MetroCard vendors. Buses accept exact change or MetroCard.

Reduced-fare customers may also take advantage of MetroCard discounts:

Pay-Per-Ridea 20 percent bonus is added to the value of a Pay-Per-Ride MetroCard for all purchases or additions of $10.00 or more. For example, a $20 purchase gives you $24 on your card. That's 24 reduced-fare trips for the price of 20.

Unlimited Ride	Regular Cost	Reduced-Fare Cost
7-Day Unlimited Ride MetroCard	$24.00	$12.00
30-Day Unlimited Ride MetroCard	$76.00	$38.00
7-Day Express Bus Plus MetroCard	$40.00	not available

EasyPay

By using EasyPay to purchase your MetroCard, you can cap monthly spending at $38, the reduced-fare cost of a 30-day card. By tracking usage, New York City Transit provides each EasyPay customer with the least expensive payment option retroactively; frequent users pay the monthly rate, others receive the advantages of weekly or per-ride rates.

MetroCard Vending Machines (MVMs)

MetroCard Vending Machines are installed at all subway stations. The machines accept credit cards, ATM/debit cards, or cash. Customers with visual impairments may use an audio feature that will prompt them through the use of the machine. You must use your personal headset, such as those used with tape players, to access the feature. Braille instructions for the use of the feature are located at the base of the screen.

Reduced-Fare AutoGate MetroCard

AutoGate is an automatic entry/exit gate that allows customers who have ambulatory disabilities, are accompanied by a service animal, or use wheelchairs to enter and exit the subway system. AutoGate units are available in all accessible subway stations in Manhattan, Queens, Brooklyn, and the Bronx. They are located at subway station booths and in station areas where no station agent is present.

A customer must have the specially encoded Reduced-Fare AutoGate MetroCard to open AutoGates or conventional turnstiles. Customers with mobility impairments pay a reduced fare and receive the same free two-hour transfer as all MetroCard customers. MTA New York City Transit issues a special Reduced-Fare AutoGate MetroCard to subway riders with qualifying disabilities.

Reduced-Fare AutoGate MetroCard also serves as identification for customers who wish to pay a reduced fare on these other MTA services: Long Island Bus, Long Island Rail Road, Metro-North Railroad, MTA Bus, Westchester County Bee-Line buses (certain exclusions apply), and Staten Island Railway.

You need a Reduced-Fare AutoGate MetroCard to enter or exit the subway system through the AutoGate.

To apply for a Reduced-Fare AutoGate MetroCard, complete a Reduced-Fare MetroCard application. Please click here for application information. If you have a qualifying disability, you will be issued a Reduced-Fare AutoGate MetroCard. This card has the words “AutoGate MetroCard”printed on the front.

If you have a standard Reduced-Fare MetroCard and it does not say “AutoGate MetroCard,” it is not one. If you need the AutoGate feature, contact us at 718-243-4999 or 718-596-8273 (TTY), Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Interactive Voice Responsive System

If you are visually impaired, you can call 800-861-9614 toll-free and follow a menu to check the balance on your Reduced-Fare MetroCard, its expiration date, date of last transaction/use, and other information.

Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North Railroad Fare Information

Reduced-fare customers pay half the one-way peak fare at all times except during morning rush hours and may purchase tickets on board the train without paying the on-board fare (you will pay the same price as the one available at ticket windows and ticket machines). On LIRR, morning peak trains are those arriving weekdays at Penn Station, Flatbush Avenue (Atlantic Avenue Terminal), Hunterspoint Avenue, or Long Island City between 6 and 10 a.m. On MNR, morning peak trains are those arriving weekdays in Grand Central Terminal between 5 and 10 a.m. and those departing Grand Central Terminal weekdays between 5:30 and 9 a.m. Check timetables for morning peak service on West-of-Hudson trains.

Top

Traveling on MTA Subways

Accessible Stations

New York City Transit subway and Staten Island Railway (SIR) currently have 76 accessible stations. All accessible subway stations in Manhattan, the Bronx, Queens, and Brooklyn are equipped with AutoGate, an automatic entry/exit gate that allows customers who have ambulatory disabilities, are accompanied by a service animal, or use wheelchairs to enter and exit the subway system.

Paying Your Fare

To use the subway turnstile, swipe your Reduced-Fare MetroCard and your fare will be deducted when the word GO flashes on the turnstile screen.
To use cash, show your identification to the station agent and ask for a free return trip ticket when you purchase a single ride ticket. The return trip ticket is good for 90 days from the date of issue. On your return, give your ticket to the station agent and you will be buzzed through the service entry gate.
To enter through the service entry gate, ask the station agent to open the gate.
Reduced-Fare AutoGate MetroCard offers the same free two-hour transfer as any other MetroCard and serves as identification for customers who wish to pay a reduced fare on these other MTA services: Long Island Bus, Long Island Rail Road Metro-North Railroad, MTA Bus, Westchester County Bee-Line buses (certain exclusions apply), and Staten Island Railway.
Boarding, Riding, and Leaving Trains

To ensure that you have a safe, comfortable, and convenient ride, follow these guidelines:
- Wait for the train near the center of the platform, where the car with the conductor normally stops. The conductor will be able to see you more easily and keep the doors open while you board. There are boarding area signs at all accessible stations.
- All fully accessible and renovated stations have two-foot-wide yellow tactile edge-warning strips. Make sure that you stay behind these strips until it is time to board the train.
- If you are in a wheelchair, position it about three feet from the edge of the platform and facing the tracks, with brakes locked. Never position your wheelchair between a station column and the platform edge. This creates an obstacle to passenger flow and is a safety hazard for you and the other passengers.
- At most stations there is a gap, about four inches wide and two inches high, between the platform edge and the subway car; on curved platforms the space can be wider. Please be extra careful when crossing these gaps. (The vertical gap on accessible subway station platforms is lower only near the center of the platform, near the conductor's position.)
- Once on board, position your wheelchair close to either end of the car and near but not blocking the doors. Remember to lock your brakes.
- If you miss your stop at an accessible station, stay on the train until you reach a station where you can transfer on the same platform to a train in the opposite direction and ride back to the station you missed. Ask the conductor or train operator if you need help.
Tactile Signage and Visual Displays

All fully accessible stations and newly renovated stations have tactile-Braille signage that is located on the left side of the station booth and on the platform columns nearest the stairs as well as on other columns throughout the station.

Elevator/Escalator Hotline

We work hard to keep elevators/escalators in good repair, but sometimes they are not operating. Call the special hotline at 800-734-6772 or 718-596-8273 (TTY) to find out in advance whether the elevator/escalator at your accessible subway station is working.

Personal Care Attendants

Personal Care Attendants (PCAs people employed to assist individuals with disabilities) are eligible to ride the subway system free when accompanying a person who is carrying a paratransit card that designates PCA assistance is required.

Service Animals

Customers with disabilities are permitted to bring their service animals into all MTA transit facilities. The animals must be securely leashed for the safety of all customers.

Service Changes and Emergencies

For information about service changes, particularly on weekends, look for a white board in the station booth or ask the booth agent. If your train is being rerouted from an accessible station, ask the station agent or a conductor to help you choose an alternate route. The conductor sits in the middle car of the subway. If you are hearing or speech impaired, you may obtain information from transit personnel using handwritten notes.

If a mid-trip disruption in service makes it difficult or impossible for you to reach your destination, inform a conductor or station attendant. The MTA will make arrangements to get you to your destination or help you return home.

Transit personnel will help you if an emergency requires evacuation. Please follow the instructions of these trained personnel and the police. Some emergencies require that stretchers be used to help customers in wheelchairs leave the train. When this happens, wheelchairs are removed separately and returned to the owners as soon as possible.

Top

Traveling on MTA Buses

Accessible Buses

New York City Transit, MTA Bus, and Long Island Bus serve local and express bus routes throughout the five boroughs and in Nassau and western Suffolk counties. These routes connect with many subway and commuter rail stations, as well as key transportation hubs.

The nearly 4,700 buses in NYC Transit's fleet are accessible to people who use wheelchairs and have a kneeling feature that lowers the front entrance of the vehicle to within inches from the ground for easy access by any customer with mobility impairments or difficulty using the front steps.

MTA Bus provides limited wheelchair-accessible service. For information call 718-445-3100.

LI Bus provides wheelchair-accessible service on all of its 54 routes and has equipped its fleet of 333 buses with wheelchair lifts and kneeling ability. Nearly all LI Bus vehicles are equipped with systems that provide interior and exterior recorded announcements of routes and stops.

Timetables for all bus routes are available in pdf format, or by calling NYC Transit at 888-692-8287; MTA Bus at 718-445-3100; or LI Bus at 516-228-4000 (TTY 516-228-4002). You can also pick up schedules at the NYC Transit MetroCard Service Center, 3 Stone Street, New York, NY, Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., or at the Hempstead Transit Center, located between Jackson and Columbia Streets in Hempstead, weekdays, 6 a.m. to 11 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday 6:30 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Paratransit is available for those who cannot use other MTA transportation. See the paratransit section.

Paying Your Bus Fare

To pay with a Reduced-Fare MetroCard, dip the card in the fare box with the stripe facing you. To pay a reduced fare in cash, you need to have your identification and the exact fare ready.

If you board an NYC Transit bus via the wheelchair lift, the driver will give you a postage-paid, pre-addressed envelope to pay your fare by mail. On MTA Bus pay in cash or with Reduced-Fare MetroCard. On LI Bus customers in wheelchairs can pay the driver directly with cash or a Reduced-Fare MetroCard.

On LI Bus, you can transfer between any designated bus route. The transfer is free if you pay your fare with MetroCard and 10 cents if you pay in cash.

Please note that all customers pay full fare on morning inbound peak (6 to 10 a.m.) and outbound peak (3 to 7 p.m.) express buses.

Boarding, Riding, and Leaving the Bus
- Wait near the bus stop sign where the driver can see you and you can signal to the driver.
- Make sure you have the correct bus by checking the front destination sign, listening to the recorded announcements on many LI Bus vehicles and some NYC Transit and MTA Bus vehicles, or asking the driver.
- The driver will position the bus to deploy the lift safely or operate the kneeling feature.
- Priority seating for customers with disabilities and senior citizens is located behind the driver. Other passengers must make these seats available upon request. Please remember that some passengers may have disabilities that are not visible.
- If you are in a wheelchair, position yourself near the rear doors, where the lift is located on most buses. The driver will activate the lift, allow you to board, and secure your wheelchair on the bus. For added safety, please back your wheelchair onto the lift and lock your brakes. Once you are in position on board the bus, lock your brakes again. All new buses have seat belts and shoulder harnesses for extra safety. (Lifts can accommodate customers with wheelchairs, scooters, or other devices with a combined weight of 600 pounds; the device and customer must fit into a space 30 inches wide and 48 inches long.)
- When you reach your destination, please wait until the bus comes to a stop before unlocking your brakes. The driver will free your wheelchair from its position on the bus and activate the lift to let you disembark.
- If you have a visual impairment, please listen closely for your stop when it is announced by a recording or by the driver, who will call out stops at major intersections. You can also ask the driver to notify you when your stop is next.
- Please alert the driver when you want to exit by pressing the strips located in the area surrounding the windows. If you miss your stop, tell the driver and he or she will drop you off at the next stop.
- NYC Transit and MTA Bus have a Request-A-Stop late-night service that offers customers the convenience of getting off the bus at a location along the bus route other than a bus stop, as long as the driver deems it safe. The service is available from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m., seven days a week. Just tell the driver where you want to get off.
Personal Care Attendants

Personal Care Attendants (PCAs people employed to assist individuals with disabilities) are eligible to ride MTA buses free when accompanying a person who is carrying a paratransit card that designates PCA assistance is required.

Service Animals

Customers with disabilities are permitted to bring their service animals into all MTA transit facilities. The animals must be securely leashed for the safety of all customers.

Top

Travel Training

New York City Transit's Travel Training Program teaches customers with disabilities to use the subways and buses. To participate in the program, customers must be registered with Access-A-Ride, NYC Transit's paratransit service.

Training is one-on-one and is customized to meet the individualized needs and goals of each customer. Consequently, the duration of training varies among trainees. At first, a trainer will accompany you on your travel. As you become more independent, the trainer will offer less and less assistance during the trip, until you are able to travel safely and independently.

Trainees master the following skills:
- Planning a trip (use of maps, schedules, signs, telephone, information services, and landmarks)
- Remembering and following directions
- Traveling safely at all times
- Identifying the correct bus stop, bus, subway station, or subway at the point of origin, transfer, and destination
- Coping with service disruptions, delays, and emergencies
- Correctly using mobility aids, such as wheelchairs and scooters
- Requesting information/help from appropriate sources
Customers interested in applying for the Travel Training Program should call Michael Levy at 718-393-4148 or write to NYC Transit, Paratransit Division, 3300 Northern Boulevard, Long Island City, NY, 11101.

Top

Loading Translation Services...