With congestion pricing now upon us, the MTA will have the funds to upgrade our transit system to accommodate passengers with disabilities, which should have happened long ago. Transportation still remains a major barrier to employment for the disabled community. If you cannot safely and purposefully travel to and from work, how would you maintain gainful employment? The agency has its work cut out if they are going to meet their goal of 95% systemwide elevator accessibility by 2055. If transit truly is the lifeblood of New York, then accessible transit in New York City is in dire need of a blood transfusion. This how congestion pricing is coming to the rescue by reducing traffic in Manhattan, improving transit and overall quality of life for everyone in our city. As disability varies from person to person, individuals with disabilities face a wide range of challenges and barriers that are disability specific; this is why accessible transit needs to be a comprehensive layered approach that creates an inclusive network of subways, buses, and paratransit services, giving more people real choices and meaningful access. Such a comprehensive system would mitigate disability barriers enabling more disabled citizens to join and remain in the workforce. Let’s begin with the elephant in the room: paratransit. For those unfamiliar with the appalling history of paratransit services, here are the grim realities: The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) mandated that every local municipality with a transit system must provide door-to-door paratransit service comparable to their fixed-route transportation system. In New York, our paratransit system is called Access-A-Ride (AAR) — or as many users call it, “Stress-A-Ride.” What is so stressful one may ask? All trips must be booked with AAR one or two days in advance before 5 p.m. A customer is then locked into whatever pickup time they are given by AAR — that is if they even show up at all! Federal regulations allow pickups to be up to 30 minutes late! When you do get picked up, you may get carted around town for an insufferable tour of the five boroughs. Does this sound like equity or parity with our mass transit system that should support the spontaneous travel needs of our city’s workforce? While recent years have brought encouraging changes under new AAR leadership, they still have decades of negative history to overcome. Given AAR’s largely inflexible and problematic service since 1990, what other options exist for disabled citizens? Perhaps the subway where only a third of the stations are fully accessible to those of us with disabilities? The challenges extend throughout the system. Many stations lack tactile warning strips on platform edges, which are essential for blind travelers’ safety. Older train cars often fail to provide reliable audible announcements, while visual announcements for D/deaf and hard-of-hearing passengers remain insufficient. Elevator and escalator reliability continues to be problematic throughout the network. For blind travelers, like me, accessibility requires several fundamental elements. Consistent, clear audible announcements on buses and subways are essential for navigation. All stations need tactile warning strips, accessible signage with large, high-contrast print, and correctly formatted Braille in predictable locations. For D/deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals, comprehensive visual information systems are equally essential. And for all disabled passengers, reliable elevators, escalators, and ramps are fundamental necessities. AAR must evolve into a truly viable option with real-time scheduling capabilities. How can we call our system equitable when paratransit riders lack the same flexibility and spontaneity as other transit users? I challenge our mayor and governor to consider how often they would tolerate being 30 minutes late to work because of an antiquated transportation system. The disabled community has been working diligently with the MTA to achieve these goals. Yet we consistently face one major roadblock: funding. Now, thanks to congestion pricing, our elected city and state officials must finally commit major resources to this vital work that will improve quality of life for all citizens and visitors. Equitable accessible transit will improve access to opportunity for everyone. If freedom is the right to choose, then equity is the path to freedom. Give our city’s disabled citizens the freedom to move about — the ability to choose how and when we travel, just like any other person in this city. Pedulla is a supervisor for Educational Vision Services at the city Department of Education as well as a member of the Advisory Committee on Transit Accessibility. These opinions are his and do not represent these organizations.