NJ Transit's Access Link users will have Uber, Lyft option in pilot program

Colleen Wilson, NorthJersey.com
·2 min read

NJ Transit is launching a pilot program in partnership with Uber and Lyft for Access Link riders, the service the agency offers for seniors and those with disabilities.

The program will allow Access Link users who opt in and don't require a wheelchair lift to order an Uber or Lyft vehicle instead of a typical Access Link van, a program that will supplement Access Link minibus service.

The program launched this week in Regions 2 and 5, which includes Essex, Morris, Union, Somerset, Burlington, Camden, Gloucester and Salem counties and parts of Cumberland County.

Kevin Corbett, president and CEO of NJ Transit, called the program a "win-win" because it should free up vans and improve service for those with wheelchairs while offering other Access Link customers an affordable ride-share alternative.

The public transit system also began to regularly disinfect employee work locations and continues to do so, adding six employee COVID-19 testing sites to boost safety.
The public transit system also began to regularly disinfect employee work locations and continues to do so, adding six employee COVID-19 testing sites to boost safety.

The question the agency was facing, Corbett said, is "how we could get the benefit of an Uber or Lyft without violating that we weren’t providing equal service to people who needed the lifts."

"That allows us to reduce the people who don’t need a proper full Access Link with the lifts to be able to get those vehicles more quickly and those who don’t need that can opt in and take an Uber or Lyft," Corbett said.

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He said using Uber and Lyft is cheaper than what it costs the agency to contract out van and minibus service and should help reduce wait times for all Access Link users.

Access Link customers can update their profiles with NJ Transit to decide if they prefer Uber or Lyft or have no preference. They will continue scheduling an Access Link vehicle as they normally do, and the scheduler will determine what pickup option — the typical Access Link van or minibus, Uber or Lyft — makes the most sense for the customer at that given time.

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: NJ Transit starting Uber, Lyft program for Access Link users