New Yorkers with disabilities encounter significantly longer wait times when booking wheelchair-accessible rides through Uber and Lyft, with only 7% of app-based vehicles equipped to serve customers with mobility needs, according to a new report.
The “Left Behind Across New York” report from New York Lawyers for the Public Interest found that just 7% of nearly 106,000 for-hire vehicles licensed by the city’s Taxi & Limousine Commission are wheelchair accessible, highlighting disparities faced by customers who rely on specially equipped transportation.
“It honestly feels disrespectful,” said Stefan Henry, a quadriplegic customer who uses a large powered wheelchair. “It just feels like they don’t think that people with disabilities need to go to work.”
The study reveals striking differences in wait times between accessible and standard rides. Lyft customers waited an average of nine minutes for wheelchair-accessible vehicles — more than double the 4.1-minute wait time for non-accessible rides, according to TLC data. Uber customers experienced a 4.3-minute average wait for wheelchair-accessible service, compared to 2.3 minutes for standard vehicles.
These delays create real-world consequences for users like Henry, who lives in Manhattan. “I’ve had to literally not take a ride when I needed it and had to get on the train because it was just impossible to get one,” he said. “Because there’s simply not as much as there would be for able-bodied people.”
The accessibility gap contrasts sharply with the city’s yellow taxi fleet, which met a legal mandate last summer requiring 50% of in-service cabs to be wheelchair-accessible. TLC data shows that 56% of the 10,694 licensed yellow taxis in service in November were wheelchair accessible, following years of litigation and a 2014 class-action settlement.
“There have been some gains after years of litigation and settlements in wheelchair accessibility in the New York City taxi fleet,” said Justin Wood, NYLPI’s director of policy and author of the report. “But we have not seen the same commitment from these giant and much more profitable corporations.”
The TLC defended the progress made by app-based companies, noting dramatic growth in accessible vehicles since 2019, when only 570 such vehicles operated in the city. Close to 7,600 accessible vehicles now serve the app-based market, according to TLC spokesperson James Parziale.
“Since 2019, we’ve seen a 1,200% increase in accessible Uber and Lyft vehicles and implemented rules that have significantly brought down wait times for accessible trip requests,” Parziale said.
Uber spokesperson Josh Gold disputed the report’s conclusions about wait times, arguing that “a roughly two-minute difference in reported wait times is significant.” Gold noted that more than 10% of all trips on Uber’s platform last year used wheelchair-accessible vehicles, more than double the rate since 2019.
Gold explained that wheelchair-accessible trips “often require additional time for safe boarding and proper securement before a trip is formally started in the app — a step that does not apply to non-accessible trips and can influence how wait times are measured.”
According to TLC data, Uber dominated the for-hire vehicle market in November with nearly 72% of trips, while Lyft accounted for 28% of rides.
“People are constantly waiting and waiting and waiting,” said Eman Rimawi-Doster, a senior organizer for disability justice at NYLPI and a double amputee.
The 22-page report emphasizes how the shortage of accessible vehicles from app-based companies continues to burden New Yorkers with disabilities, despite regulatory efforts and company claims of improvement in service availability.
