Long Island Rail Road [LIRR]
reviews and complaints

My name is Kayla Johnson. My client ID number 824459. I was waiting for my vehicle it was an hour late, it was supposed to pick me at 6:17pm and it arrived at 7pm. When the car arrived at my pick up destination they parked behind 2 trucks, when one of the trucks moved I saw the vehicle and walked up to it. the driver didn't help me get into the vehicle.

Hello: My name is Jamie Williams and I am a passenger with AAR. On 1/21/2018 I had a scheduled trip for 1:40 pm. I rec'd a call at 1:20 pm that my ride is 13 mins away. I head downstairs and am waiting outside my building before 1:40pm. At 2:00 I called and was told my driver put me in as a NO SHOW! How?! when I was outside before scheduled pickup time. My driver name is Parke said AAR operator and he/she needs to be reprimanded because it is not fair to people with disabilities to do this to them. In addition to leaving me he/she LIED and claimed called me but my last recorded call was from AAR! If I could face my accuser I would say "SHAME ON YOU!"
Sincerely,
Jamie Williams
(673791)

Unfortunatly, I see there are lots of complaints, the question is is something being done. my encounter was friday afternoon when the driver called and said access ride - are you ready or what. I was taken by surprise with the tone and what he said. I reacted and said some choice words to him like how dare you. my mom is elderly and she is undergoing radiation for breast cancer. she moves very slow so I was concerned that he would leave so we literally ran down the stairs. when I walk out he is standing in front of the building smoking a cigarette with another person who was also a passenger. he gave me a dirty look and said i'm not going to tolerate your mouth. well, I had it at this point. I let him have it. he said I can request another car. I said I will. my mom and I left the car. this guy looked as if he was hanging on the street corner with baggy jeans and his hat to the side. this service should screen these drivers and give them a class on how to deal with the public. nonetheless, they should have a uniform and dress code. my mom does not want to ride with access a ride again. if in fact these complaints are being read can someone respond to this email.

On October 26, 2017 as 12:40pm on 135th street in Harlem NY, my car was hit and damages by one of your Access -a-ride vans.

I was parking my car in from of 211 west 135th street, when the Access-A-Ride van pulled up to dropped off a passenger in front of 211 west 135th street NY NY 10030. With no hesitation I proceeded to cross the street, when I heard a loud noise, when I turned around I realized the driver had hit my car, so I waved my hand out to the driver to notify him of the issue, the driver proceeded to drive up 135th street heading north on Fredrick Douglas Blvd. In fear he would get a way I ran after the van, when the driver decided to run the red light and proceed uptown toward 136-137 streets.

A police claim was filed; Access -A- Ride was also contacted on the same day October 26, 2017.
Access -A-Ride scheduled to have someone come out to inspect my car on November 6, 2017.
Pictures of my vehicle were taken where you can clearly see the Access-A-Ride's vehicle back break light still embedded in my car bumper.

Today- (November 16, 2017) I receive a call from Access- A-Ride stating they will not fix my vehicle because their van shows no sign of damage. This is unreal; your drivers are sloppy and irresponsible to say the least. My property was damaged, and now 19 days later Access-A-Ride is refusing to pay for damages caused to my vehicle.

I was approved for access-a-ride but the catcher is they will only take me to a bus stop and I have to make my way to my remaining destination. I was appealing access-a-ride decision so I file an appeal since 10/23/17. I received an email informing me on 11/6/17 my appeal will be on 11/8/17 the problem is I never receive the application so I called access-a-ride to find out what is going on they informed they could not do anything until I received the application. I received the application on 11/7/17 at 5pm when access-a-ride is close. So I called access-a-ride asking where is my driver they stated to me that I have to re-schedule because there was schedule for me to be pick up. I ask access-a-ride if my request application was dated 10/23/17 what took them so long to reach me in time to schedule a pick up time. I am so sick and tired of access-a-ride and their excuses if I truly did not need them from time to time and I could afford to take a cab I would NEVER deal with access-a-ride.

My name is Jerome Cooper. My client id is 846516.
Yesterday 8/16/2017 I booked my scheduled subscription trip with Delta Car Service of Staten Island NY. The cab service has a contract with the MTA to provide service to people with disabilities.
My scheduled trip was for 12 P.M.
Delta Car Service never showed forcing me to cancel my rehab appointment.

access a ride client # 1099310
6/22/17 had pick up for 3:01pm from job -601W 26th street to go home 116-37 Nashville Blvd, Cambria Heights Queens appointment time 6:15pm
driver #5180 from Professional service carrier arrived on time -
was told by driver he had two more pick ups before leaving Manhattan and that both would be dropped before me. At that point I questioned how long I would be riding in vehicle. I told driver that I did not think it was fare that I would have to ride for more that 2 hours because I knew it would take at lease 2 hours if not more. I call customer service tried to get through to complaint department was told by person on phone that I would have to call back because my phone went in and out- called back and asked to speak to a supervisor - spoke with Jamar told him my concern with having to ride for such a long time and on top of that this particular vehicle air condition was not working. supervisor Jamar put me on hold for a long while more that 10 minutes return to the phone and informed me that it was recommended to him that I call customer service - because there was nothing that could be done regarding who got dropped off first and that nothing could be done regarding the drivers manifest scheduled trips (note: I never said I want to be dropped off first - I just did not want to be in the vehicle for more than 2 hours)
My trip ended up taking 3 hours and 15 min -I was soak from sweating with no air condition and I was extremely nauseated from all the bouncing in the truck - another note this driver went the long way around for every destination - while in Manhattan he drove through 2 major hubs 34th St. Harold square and 42 St time square and I know there was other routes he could have taken to attempt to avoid some of the traffic. It was 5:15pm when we got to the tunnel to leave Manhattan
in the end I was left exhausted and I wanted to vomit. To subject me to this type of service was inhumane - more consideration should be taken when schedules are made for the one customer whos address is at the longer distance but in the same borough I don't think it's fare that the person has to ride around while the driver picks up and drops off more than one other person- it never works out that you get home on the appointment time because logistically it's just not possible and WHY DO I HAVE TO RIDE AROUND FOR OVER 3 HOURS FROM MANHATTEN BEFORE MAKING IT HOME
something needs to be done about how customers are scheduled - and if it looks like it is going to be a issue l- like in my case more that 2 hour commute - I think supervisor should have authority to make adjustments

I had a 10:30 am appointment in midtown Manhattan. I asked for a 10 am appointment time when I was on the phone setting this up to give myself some time. I had a 7:58 pickup, they showed at 8:20 . There was 1 person on the bus already. I fell asleep and when I woke I was in the heart of Brooklyn near DeKalb ave. That's where the other drop was. It was 9:45 at this point and with all the traffic and being so far out, I got to the doctors office at 10:45. I waited in the office for a half hour. When they called my name, I had to cancel because my ride home was about to show up. So had to reschedule for another day. Wasted whole day going to the city only to come back home without seeing the doctor. Who schedules this ? Why did I have to go out to Brooklyn when I was going to the city? I've been on these buses over 2 hours sometimes, theres got to be a law about being seated for so long. I have back issues and this doesn't help. Fix this!

My father is a cancer patient and is receiving daily radiation treatments and weekly chemotherapy treatments at nyu cancer center. he lives in astoria, queens and since he started his treatment 3 weeks ago has never had a car be on time even once either leaving from or returning home. the drivers are either unable to speak english, are rude or lack any compassion for the sick people they are transporting! honestly they should not be working for this type of company in any function.
I understand that this is a city/government run company and by default works in a very bureaucratic manner however we are not in a communist country and the leadership should be able to change broken methods of performance and take at least some pride in their work!
I am a physician working for the health and hospitals network and understand the problems related to city-run organizations due to lack of funds but I do not understand lack of compassion and laziness as it pertains to some of these employees.

Client # 93652: on april 25, 2017 I was supposed to be picked up, from co-op city, in the bronx, to go to my doctor on east 83rd st.in manhattan. the pick up time was 12:03pm. it was cold and raining. I am disabled. access-a-ride requires that you be downstairs 15 minutes early, which meant, I was downstairs at 11:47am. the car had not arrived at 12:30:pm. I called the broker and was told that it would arrive in 15 minutes. at 1:00pm, when the car had not arrived, I called and was told that the car would be there in 10 minutes. finally, at 1:22pm a car arrived. the driver was off duty but had heard the conversation over the radio about a client who had been waiting since 11:47am. he, amazingly, got me to my 1:45pm appointment at 1:52pm. he was a polite and wonderful driver. I blame the company for my problem. while waiting, I was in and out of three access - a - ride vehicles, that came to pick up other clients, because I thought they were there for me. another two vehicles dropped off clients. better scheduling may have better served me. returning home, my pick up time was 2:35pm. I was picked up at 4:00pm. again, the driver was polite. the companies, however, really need to get their act together.

Client #:828125; patient is 82 years old, frail and in a wheelchair with oxygen.
Incident: 4/24/17
Scheduled pick-up time :9:49 am; return:11:50 am. appointment was for 10:45 am.
After several phone calls to access a ride and being directed to the dispatcher, the van showed up at 11:26 am, close to the time of the return trip. the doctor appointment had to be rescheduled. both rides were supposedly cancelled by someone named siede. I am reporting this so I have evidence that these trips were not no-shows.

Manhattan to my cardiologist office on e. 63rd. st. a driver came fro maggie"s (trip no.[protected]). the driver came about 10;05 to begin our trip to nowhere and back. the driver took the bqe and proceeded to go to queens, even though both drop offs were scheduled for manhattan. he then proceed to drive around and around queens, passing the same street three times. he obviously did not know where he was going. then he goes over the queens midtown tunnel and he gets on the ramp to take the tunnel and he ends up in stop and go traffic. by this time, my appointment at 11am has come and gone. when I ask him how much longer he will take, he will not talk to me. I call my doctor and he asks again how long will it take. again, the driver will not answer. 2 and 1/2 hrs. later we arrive at my destination, after repeated wrong turns. this driver is seriously incompetent and should not be driving for access a ride. I think he may be mentally deficient or needs to be retrained. my doctor and I were livid with anguish and I ended up with a blood pressure of 160/110 when it"s usually 110/60. this driver is dangerous as I could have had a heart attack. I shall report this to the mayor.

On march 8, 2016 I had a pick up time of 406 pm from my dr's office at 1250 waters place in the bronx going to 34 highland ave yonkers. ny my home due to unforeseen events the police blocked all traffic from entering this location. after I was told of this I called to try to see where my ride was no one could tell me anything, when I finally found out what was going on and that my ride left because they were unable to get through I requested for a replacement pick up. I was told that my new pick up would be 7:17 this was late enough but then the chaos began. there was other passengers that were waiting and at least two of them were going in the same direction that I was but the van would only take one of them, so I waited. more than anything every time I called to see where my ride was the operator lied and said he would be there in 10 or 15 minutes. this went on for at least 2hours. I think this is unacceptable especially for a senior citizen wheelchair bound, amputee to be treated like this. your dispatchers are not capable of the different directions in the five boroughs and if they are not competent then they need to be replaced. I hope something will be done about this and I hope I never have to complain about this again. someone finally came to pick me up at 9pm and the driver told me they just asked him to pick me up 10 minutes before he got there. pick up time 4 06 pm and finally picked up at 9pm... unbelievable

Client#893795, (ernest washington) my name is nathaniel nesbitt, his guest and health care proxy. mr. washington his aid wanda and myself where all outside at 7am awaiting our transportation, at 7:20 wanda the aid called and asked where is our car. we where informed that this was marked as a no show. now this driver called at 7:07, but he was not outside, we where outside siting in my car. because mr. washington cant stand very long. my car is parked directly in front of mr washingtons house. this house is very hard to find for its on a dead end street, and the gps will take you rite past the right turn you are suppose to make.. anyway he or she never came.. what they did was called from somewhere else. we where outside, and his pick up time was 7:08 anyway. I know its only a minute but now since this is such a time sensitive matter. why didnt he call at 7:08... its because he was never there. and when he did call no one spoke da him... its like these drivers can devise something as simple as a call to not to as they should, and make someone else pay for it. anyway we cancelled all rides for that day.. mr washington has high blood presure and to be played, and lyed on has him too upset to go anywhere, we where also informed since he was the first pick up, that they could not send another car. so because of this lie bathing, shaving geting him dressed was all a waste, im also his nephew. and I am always on time with him, his doctor appts. are important to him... ask this guy where this place is.. I bet he cant tell you. thank you! yours truly: nathaniel

On Christmas day, after finally finishing chemotherapy, I braved the LIRR to visit a cousin in Ronkonkoma. I bought a round-trip ticket from Penn Station. After stamping my ticket, the conductor stuck it in the seat in front of me. I got off the train without taking the ticket, (actually, didn't realize that I'd need it, assumed I had another ticket in my pocket). Upon boarding the train for home, I reached into my pocket for my ticket, only to find the receipt that I'd been given, (for the round-trip ticket). I explained to the present conductor that I unknowingly left the ticket on the last train, and I showed him my receipt for $29.95. He said there was nothing he could do for me and charged me $19 for a one-way trip ticket back to Penn Sta. (Merry Christmas!)

On sunday, october 25, 2015, I had a reservation for a pick-up at 9:00 am. at 9:07 am, the driver called to ask for directions to my house. I told him what intersection I was near, and he paused then said that it would take him about 20 minutes to get there. twenty minutes later, I called access-a-ride and told them that the driver was lost and was already half an hour late in picking me up. the operator put me on hold while she spoke with the driver. when she came back, she stated that the driver was not lost just delayed and that he would be there in 20 minutes. I told her that 20 minutes ago the driver told me he would be there in 20 minutes. she had no response. at 10:00 am, the driver called back and said that he would be there in 5 minutes. I told him not to call me unless he was waiting outside my house. I didn't want to hear empty promises about when he would be there. when he finally pulled up at 10:10 am and I got in the car, the driver showed me a whole stack of call vouchers and said that all of them wanted to be picked up at the same time. I told him that that was an issue to take up with aar and that was not my problem. the fact that I was given 3 very different excuses as to why the driver was late makes me believe that the first one was correct — that the driver was lost. people coming to my house for the first time often have difficulty finding the address, which is why I always give the intersection (and aar always asks for the intersection). there was no reason that this driver should have had any confusion as to where he was going to pick me up. mta voucher #6200870; name of car company: company 52; car no.:100

On 10/19/15 I had a pick - up time of 9:42am for a 10:20am appointment going from maspeth, queens to bay ridge brooklyn. the ignorant driver kept telling aar "5 - minutes" three times and was 30 - minutes late! then this ignoramous shows up with an overweight woman that I had to share the back - seat with and she got dropped off first? I have 16 - years of medical technologist experience in hospitals and whatever was wrong with this woman was very minor! meanwhile I was crying from excruciating pain 5 - minutes after I squeezed into the back seat. I told access a ride at least five (5) times that I need a taxi by myself or a van if nothing else is available as a medical necessity and have doctor's letters to prove it which they have. the taxi driver (from broker's inc.) was playing religious sermons loudly during the whole trip on the radio. I couldn't care less what other people's religious beliefs are - but don't dare force it on me in a taxi! then half - way through the hour long trip he makes it even louder, so I yelled "lower that radio" and he just lowered it a notch or two. stupid is as stupid does! I was a full hour late for my doctor appointment and 40 - minutes away from my aar drive home so I had to beg my doctor to see me to get my one prescription because the fda and dea now force very disabled people to go to pain management doctors monthly instead of every three months (which I did for four years!). with my main disease (general myasthenia gravis w / a thymoma tumor that is hyperactive {hyperthymusism} so it blocks all medications from working right or at all, plus degenerative disk disease w / 5 ruptured disks in my neck & low back, plus fibromyalgia just to start with) i'm never supposed to increase my physical activity because it kills my muscle cells that never regenerate since 2006. so thanks to the powers that be, they are killing me faster than should be the case and there's not a damn thing I can do about it! i've written the attorney general, local politicians, the mayor, governor and i'm lucky to get a response which is always a form letter telling me i'm writing the wrong place. then when I write who they tell me to, I never get any response! no government nyc agency cares about the very disabled or elderly patients anymore unless they have family members to fight for them and we are the very first people to have budget ciuts to our benefits because they know most of us can't fight for our rights! i'm legally homebound and 99% bed - ridden. i'm a 48 - year old male only child of an only child who's in a nursing home with very severe alzheimer's and parkinson's disease. so not only do I not have any help, the nursing home forces me to help my mother even though I have absolutely no legal responsibility to do so: no health care proxy: nothing! yet they lied, cheated and stole my mother's entire ss check after telling me if I pay $581 a month (medicaid co - pay) that's all i'll ever have to pay. nothing but lies! I spent my entire life helping all kinds of other people and doing charity work for hospitalized children every year since 1989. now that I need just some help - there's no one here! I can't get any regular social worker (which would be the greatest help to me) because the city / state cut all their funding by 2013. access a ride is useless and they keep finding new ways to screw - up worse than ever!

A pedestrian was hit in New Hyde Park resulting in suspended service on some lines. Where are the buses to get riders off the train in Mineola and over to other lines that are running? Not everyone who travels on the weekend is looking for a day in the city. People need to make connections to get to work and onto port authority buses to go back to school. Where is their contingency plan? Unacceptable!

Bus 4479 has been sitting in front of my house idling for 20 minutes plus... this is in the bronx where the incident of asthma is through the roof! and there was another one before that : (