Accessibility

Buses are almost entirely accessible. The subway is not, and the gap between those two facts shapes a lot of trips.

This page matters for wheelchair users, but also for anyone with a stroller, luggage, a walker, a temporary injury, or knees that have opinions about stairs.

The subway

Only a minority of subway stations are accessible, though the number rises steadily as work continues under a legal settlement committing the MTA to making the great majority of stations accessible over the coming decades. Accessible stations are marked on the official map with the international symbol of access.

Two things are easy to miss:

• Partial accessibility is common. A station may be accessible in one direction only, or on one line of a multi-line complex but not another. The map symbol does not always convey this.
• An elevator being listed is not an elevator working. Outages are frequent, and a single failed elevator can strand you at a platform with no step-free exit.

Check live elevator and escalator status on the MTA's site before you set out, and again before your return trip.

Buses

The bus network is the more reliable accessible option. Every bus in the fleet has a ramp or lift and space for wheelchairs, and drivers will kneel the bus at the kerb. Buses are slower than the subway, but they go more places step-free and they do not strand you.

Select Bus Service routes have level boarding at all doors, which is faster again.

Access-A-Ride

The MTA operates paratransit for riders whose disabilities prevent them from using the subway or bus for some or all trips. It requires an application and an eligibility assessment in advance.

Practical advice

Plan the accessible route rather than the fastest one, and build in an alternative. Where a trip depends on a single elevator at a single station, it is worth knowing which bus covers the same corridor.

This is an independent guide — confirm station accessibility and elevator status with the MTA directly.