![\"52115758093_338ea562ac_5k-1536\u00d71049\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/52115758093_338ea562ac_5k-1536x1049-1.jpg\" "\\"Op-Ed")
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Access-a-Ride service is provided for the nearly 1 million New Yorkers with disabilities who are shut out of much of the subway system for lack of accessibility.<\/p>\n
Marc A. Hermann \/ MTA<\/p>\n
It\u2019s our job at the MTA to figure out how to fast-track accessibility projects so that more people can take advantage of our amazing subway system. Public-private partnerships (P3s) are quickly becoming one of our best tools.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
The latest example is our new public-private partnership with Columbia University, which will deliver three new elevators \u2013 and a ton of other upgrades \u2013 at the 125 St 1 station. The MTA will manage design and construction, while Columbia is kicking in $33 million towards the total cost.<\/p>\n
Columbia needed to widen the west-side escalators to accommodate the demand from its new Manhattanville campus. The MTA needed to make the station accessible and fix the aging 121-year-old structure. There\u2019s now one unified plan to deliver improvements more efficiently and at lower cost than if they were treated as two separate projects. This is how you deliver better, faster, and cheaper.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a win-win: the MTA saves money that can be put towards other game-changing projects while making it easier for students, faculty and residents to move through the neighborhood.\u00a0<\/p>\n
We know this project delivery model works. This month, we opened a new elevator<\/a> at the already-accessible 59 St-Columbus Circle station that was not only paid for but built by the developer Global Holdings. The addition of this elevator to the station helps guarantee that riders at one of our busiest transit hubs have around-the-clock access to service.\u00a0<\/p>\n