Disabled hit plan to hike transit fare

Disability advocates on Monday packed an MTA hearing to argue against the prospect of a 25-cent rise in Access-ARide fares, saying they’d like to see the fare hold steady at $2.75

“You say, ‘Oh, it’s only a quarter more,’ ” activist Carr Massi, 87, an Access-A-Ride user, said ahead of the meeting. “Guess what? Those quarters add up.”

The MTA is to vote this week on a fare hike that will include Access-A-Ride, subway and bus service. MTA sources have told the Daily News that the agency’s board will vote on a plan to hold fares at $2.75 while eliminating the 5% discount given to people who put multiple rides on their MetroCards.

If the MTA goes with that plan, Access-A-Ride users will pay the same fare as subway and bus riders.

Sandra Butler, 34, a Far Rockaway, Queens, resident on a fixed income, uses Access-A-Ride several times a day — making any hike particularly painful.

She said holding the fare steady would be fine — but “$2.50 would be better. Sometimes, I can’t even make it to my doctor’s appointments because I don’t have the $2.75.”

Advocates also called for full funding of NYC Transit President Andy Byford’s Fast Forward plan to modernize the subway and bus system — an effort that calls for retrofitting at least 50 stations over five years to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

The News reported that transit officials are planning to scale back Byford’s proposal to 36 stations. Only a quarter of the subway — 120 stations out of 472 — is now accessible.