Photo Courtesy of MTA
The MTA unified smartphone application for all Access-A-Ride services is being developed now for a mid-2016 release.
By Forum Staff
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority on Monday indicated that it is advancing “a number of technological initiatives to improve the experience for Paratransit customers,” including the launch of a pilot program to provide the first ever on-demand e-hail trip bookings, GPS-based vehicle tracking and the accelerated development of a unified smartphone application for all Access-A-Ride services.
The e-hail app pilot launches this month. According to the MTA, it will allow Paratransit customers to electronically hail yellow or green taxicabs on demand, similar to popular on-demand ride services such as Uber, Lyft and others. Paratransit, a division of MTA New York City Transit’s Department of Buses, has contracted Verifone to support the technological services required to disseminate trip requests to approximately 13,500 Taxi & Limousine Commission-licensed cabs throughout the five boroughs. The New York City Taxi & Limousine Commission has also been a partner in developing and launching this program, the MTA said. The pilot will test the app with 200 Access-A-Ride customers to gather feedback, with plans to expand the pool of users and ultimately to increase significantly the number of on-demand e-hail trips.
According to the MTA, during the first phase of the pilot, half of the initial group of 200 customers will use a customized smartphone app to hail their rides either on-demand or to reserve a trip up to 24 hours in advance. The other volunteers will book their trips by calling a dedicated line at the Paratransit call center specifically for on-demand and same-day rides. Paratransit will collect customer feedback through surveys and focus groups.
In addition to testing the e-hail smartphone app, Paratransit is also accelerating the development of a single unified Paratransit app for release by mid-2018. The app would incorporate all aspects of customer service, from trip management such as scheduling rides and tracking vehicles to customer service such as giving feedback or updating account information. While Paratransit continues to develop this smartphone app, the existing Paratransit web portal is being updated to incorporate new customer service functions such as trip management and vehicle tracking with real-time Google Maps locators and continuous updates for estimated arrival times.
“We’ve been working hard to improve the quality of service and convenience for Paratransit riders, using advanced technologies from the private sector and incorporating feedback from our customers,” said MTA President Patrick Foye. “Real-time, on-demand, GPS-based trip booking and tracking will bring significant improvements to the Paratransit experience.”
