Frustrated seniors and their family members say Access-A-Ride keeps leaving them stranded for hours.
Ollie Husky has taken Access-A-Ride for years and says she continues to experience problems with the transportation service.
"There have been several times where I have been at a location crying because of the way that I've been treated," Husky says. "If I think about the countless hours, I have been waiting for cabs to come and pick me up, it brings me to tears right now."
Trying to hold back the tears, Husky recounts past experiences where she was left at grocery stores, church, and even on her doorstep -- waiting hours for a ride to her destination.
"They'll say that they came, and I wasn't here, I'm a no-show, they'll be on the phone saying, 'we're in front of the building' and I'll say, 'you're not in front of the building because I'm right here.' These are the lies that they tell and for what reason I don't know," Husky says.
And Husky isn't the only one.
Other residents tell News 12 that when they've reached out to Access-A-Ride, they were informed that the pandemic led to an increased call volume, which resulted in longer wait times. However, they say that this has been a problem for years.
"It's not because of the COVID, it's not nothing new. It's been happening for a long, long time and I want people to know that," says Bronx resident Mimi Figueroa.
Husky has filed several complaints with Access-A-Ride and encourages other seniors who are experiencing problems with the service to come forward and speak about their issues in hopes that the MTA will address them.
News 12 reached out to the MTA, which responded back to the inquiry. It says customers are returning at a higher rate, saying in part, "As our customers come back to the system, we are actively managing some challenges... While these issues continue to impact our performance, the team is monitoring them daily and working closely with our contractors to manage them."