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Guide to Able-Ride


What is Able-Ride?

Able-Ride is a shared ride, curb-to-curb paratransit bus service for people with disabilities. Able-Ride provides transportation for people who are unable to use fixed route bus service for some or all of their trips. Age, distance from a bus stop or inability to drive are conditions that are not taken into consideration in making an eligibility determination.

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How to Apply

You and a licensed health care professional of your choice must complete the Able-Ride application. The application form determines the circumstances under which the applicant can use the fixed route system and when he/she will require Able-Ride. Each application is evaluated individually, taking into consideration all of the information provided. As part of the eligibility determination process, Able-Ride may send you to our medical certifier for a functional evaluation. If eligible, you will receive an identification card and procedures to follow when using Able-Ride. If you are denied eligibility, a statement explaining the reason for denial and information regarding the Able-Ride appeal process will be provided. To obtain an Able-Ride application, call 516-228-4000.


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Fare

The one-way fare is $3.50 ($7.00 round trip) for registered customers and guests. You can pay cash (exact fare only) or use tickets that you purchase in advance. To obtain an Able-Ride ticket book order form call Able-Ride at 516-228-4000 or 516-228-4002 (TTY). If you are certified as requiring a Personal Care Attendant (PCA) to accompany you, the PCA will ride at no extra charge.

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Hours of Operation

Able-Ride operates countywide Monday – Friday, 7:00 am – 11:00 pm,
Saturday, 8:00 am – 9:00 pm and Sunday, 9:00 am – 6:30 pm.

At other times, Able-Ride only provides trips that start and end within ¾ of a mile of fixed route service that is operating at the time the customer wishes to travel. Request for service that starts or ends outside of the ¾ mile area will be taken but reservations will not be confirmed until 5:00 pm the day before the requested trip.

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How to Arrange for a Trip

You can arrange for an Able-Ride trip up to seven days in advance by calling
Able-Ride at 516-228-4000 or 516-228-4002 (TTY), weekdays, Saturday and Sunday, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Please have the following information ready for both the pick-up and return trips:

The reservationist will tell you while you are on the telephone whether or not your trip request can be accommodated. You may be offered an alternate pick-up or return time.

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On the Day of Your Trip

Please have your exact fare and ID card ready when the bus arrives. Able-Ride's service policy provides for a 30-minute window during which Able-Ride customers must be available to board the bus. The reservationist will inform you of the start time of 30-minute window for pick-up. The bus will arrive at that time or within the next 30 minutes.

Please be prepared to board the bus when it arrives. The bus will wait 10 minutes if it arrives the first minute of the window or five minutes if it arrives at any other time during the window. If the bus has not arrived after the 30-minute window, please call Able-Ride at 516-228-4000 or 516-228-4002 (TTY)

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Bus Operator Assistance

The bus operator is authorized to assist you on and off the bus but will not enter any buildings. If you need additional assistance, a licensed health care professional must authorize that you travel with a personal care assistant.

The bus operator may not help you load packages onto an Able-Ride vehicle. Packages must be limited to the size and number you, your Personal Care Attendant, and/or your guest can carry and store safely under the seats or on laps. Packages may not be placed in the aisles, and you may not make multiple trips to load or unload packages.

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When You Can’t Make It or Wish to Confirm a Trip

Call Able-Ride at 516-228-4000 seven days a week, 24 hours a day on your touch-tone phone to confirm or cancel a trip. You will be prompted to enter your customer ID number and date of birth using the appropriate keys on your phone. Follow the instructions to obtain the information you need.

Callers with rotary telephones do not have access to the automated telephone feature. They will be connected to a reservationist when the Reservation Office is open.

If you must cancel a trip, call Able-Ride at 516-228-4000 no later than 5 p.m. on the day before your scheduled pick-up time. Please indicate whether you are canceling the pick-up and/or return trip. A late cancellation or failure to appear for a trip is considered a violation. Eight or more occurrences within a 6-month period could result in a period of suspension of your Able-Ride service.

Please do not ask bus operators to accept information regarding cancellations or trip changes. You must contact the Reservation Office to change or cancel trips.

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Subscription Service

If you travel to and/or from the same location at the same time at least twice a week, you may request Subscription Service. This service allows you to make regular trips without telephoning to reserve or confirm trips unless there is a change or cancellation. Subscription Service is subject to availability. Call Able-Ride at
516-228-4000 or 516-228-4002 (TTY) to request subscription service.

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No Shows/Late Cancellation

Anytime you cancel a trip after 5:00 pm on the day before your scheduled ride or do not appear for your trip, you receive an occurrence. MTA Long Island Bus counts occurrences on a rolling six-month basis. The total number of no shows and late cancellations within the preceding six months determines if a suspension is necessary.

An accumulation of eight occurrences within a six- month period for any combination of no shows or late cancellations will result in a two-week suspension of Able-Ride services. You will receive a suspension notice if you accumulate eight or more occurrences within a six-month period. The notice will identify each trip that you cancelled or for which you did not appear for the pick-up. You will also be informed of the date the suspension will begin and end unless you file an appeal. The appeal must be in writing and detail the reason you are appealing each occurrence. You must submit this information within 21 days of the date of your suspension notice. If a hearing is required, LI Bus will inform you in writing of the date of the hearing.

If you receive a suspension for a second time within a one-year period, the suspension will be for one month. If the suspension is the third or more within a one-year period, the suspension will be for a six-week period.

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Inclement Weather

While Able-Ride may continue to operate during adverse weather conditions, there may be times when local road conditions prevent Able-Ride from reaching you.

In the event that transportation cannot be provided because of a weather emergency, service cancellation messages will be broadcast on radio stations WHLI 1100 AM, and WKJY 98.3 FM; and on television station News 12 - Long Island. You may also call Able-Ride at 516-228-4000 to cancel or confirm a ride.

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Personal Care Attendants

Personal Care Attendants are people who are employed to assist individuals with disabilities. If you require the assistance of a PCA, you and your healthcare provider must apply for PCA certification. Once you are certified, your PCA can travel with you free.

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Service Area

Able-Ride will take you to any location within Nassau County. Trips may be for any reason, including medical, educational, personal, recreational or business-related purposes.

Able-Ride customers can also travel from Nassau County to points east in Suffolk County or to points west in New York City by transferring to Suffolk's SCAT or New York City Transit's Access-A-Ride paratransit system. Customers who transfer are required to pay both fares.

Able-Ride provides direct service to points approximately two miles east of the Nassau/Suffolk border. For destinations further east, you can transfer to a SCAT bus at Walt Whitman Mall, Huntington; Sunrise Mall, Massapequa; or the Long Island Rail Road Farmingdale Station.

For travel between Nassau and Suffolk Counties, call Able-Ride at 516-228-4000 to reserve trips. For trips wholly within Suffolk County, call Suffolk County's SCAT system at 631-738-1150.

For travel between Nassau and Queens Counties, call Able-Ride at 516-228-4000 and New York City Transit's Access-A-Ride at 877-337-2017 to reserve these trips. Customers may transfer to Access-A-Ride at Long Island Jewish Hospital (main entrance-east side only) in New Hyde Park and at Green Acres Mall (main entrance-south side at J.C. Penney) in Valley Stream, or at 223rd Street and Hempstead Avenue in Queens Village.

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Comments and Complaints

Please contact Able-Ride at 516-228-4000 or TTY at 516-228-4002,
or write to us at:

Able-Ride
MTA Long Island Bus
947 Stewart Avenue
Garden City, NY 11530

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