When thinking about major cities with wheelchair-accessible transportation, New York City hasn’t historically sprung to mind. While cities like London were boasting in 2012 about having 100-percent accessible taxicab fleets, for instance, just two percent of New York City’s cabs were accessible in 2013, according to Capital New York reporter Dana Rubenstein.
Thanks to a December 2013 settlement, the city’s Taxi and Limousine Commission has agreed to make half of all its taxicabs accessible by the end of 2020. And as a mark of progress, Mobility Ventures has announced that New York City’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) has expanded its fleet of wheelchair-accessible vehicles by adding 147 MV-1 vehicles to its collection.
With this new order, there will be nearly 400 MV-1s in the paratransit fleet of 2,000 vehicles.
In a Dec. 11 news announcement, Mobility Ventures said, “Replacing small buses with the MV-1 in the MTA fleet has saved the MTA millions of dollars thanks (to) the MV-1’s greater fuel economy and reduced maintenance needs. This delivery represents the third order the MTA has placed for MV-1s.”
John Walsh, Mobility Ventures’ VP of sales and marketing, said about the new order, “It provides a sign of continued confidence and trust in our company and this revolutionary vehicle. The MV-1 is the premier accessible vehicle, unmatched in safety and efficiency, meeting the needs of wheelchair passengers like no other vehicle on the road today.”
Last summer, Mobility Ventures launched a “luxury” LX version of the MV-1.
