Hi Susan:

Access-a-ride is a kind of bus door to door service for people who can't take trains and subways. It's called by various names in different cities. In California it's called Get A Lift.

One has to fill out an application, they then arrange an appointment for you. On that day, the bus picks you up (you are responsible for the fare, back and forth, it's 2 bucks each way, for Access-a-ride here in the 5 boros including NYC).

Then the bus brings you to the Access-a-ride center where you are interviewed by a physician, made to walk back and forth 10 times over a carpet, then you are sent into a room to be interviewed by a psychiatirst. (this is a fairly new development), Started here (the psychiatrist part of the exam) within the last year. The psychiatrist asks you all kinds of questions.

So many people apply for Access-a-ride, they don't accept everybody. I got it 10 years ago. I am re-evaluated every two years or so.

But, when it works (like if you have a 10 o'clock pick up, and they show up on time or even 10 minutes late), you only pay $2.00 and you go where you have to go. Then, at an appointed time, they come and pick you up and drop you off right in front of your door. You really can't beat that for $4.00 (that's the whole fare for the going and returning. Door to door service, in all kind of weather. There's no beating this (when it works). But when they leave you stranded till 1 .am. in Staten Island,) like they did to me and Alan about 6 years ago, well we made it our business to never get an appointment after 9 p.m. We are just afraid to be stranded.

So we do all of our appointments, visiting people, whatever we have to do, well we do it up to 8 p.m in the evening. The latest appointment time for a return trip would be 8:30 p.m. Maybe even 9 p.m. but no later.

And people mistakenly think you have to be disabled to use this service, and only go to doctor's appointments. I must have told my friend Esther a million times. "Apply for it", you can go anywhere in the 5 boros", and she would say "But I want to go to the Staten Island Mall, to Applebees", and I would say "I've already told you, they take you ANYWHERE you need to go for only $2.00". She still thinks she can only go to doctor visits.

Sigh.....................

Maybe someday she'll get it.

My son Frank was signed up (in California) for the Get a Lift program, but he cancelled it because they never came on time.

That's the one bad thing about these Reduced fair programs. YOu really can't depend on them. They give the drivers something like 5 minutes to get from one place and then drive clear across town to pick up the next party.

Oh, once, on Christmas Eve, I was in Staten Island and we had just finished dinner, and Alan and I were playing poker with my whole family. This was about 5 years ago. We were scheduled for a 9 p.m. pick up. We were in the middle of playing poker, and I had a winning hand and the doorbell rings and it's the Acess-a-ride driver (they are actually forbidden to ring doorbells), but this guy came at 8 p.m. Everybody looked at me. Now I was within my rights to let him wait a full hour for us. But I went down and there were 6 other people on the bus. Could I make them wait outside in winter from 8 pm until 9 p.m.???? Of course not. So I just folded my hand and Alan and I had to go.

That was the last time we went anyplace on Christmas.

You really can't depend on this system, but it's all we really have.

Melody