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NEW YORK, NY October 04, 2006 —Door-to-door transportation for disabled New Yorkers has more than doubled in cost over the past five years, due to a recent uptick in use.

Disabled riders who can't take buses and subways use a system called Access A Ride - vans that provide them with door to door service. According to the city's Independent Budget Office, Access A Ride cost the MTA almost $190 million last year - twice as much as it spent in the year 2000. Costs are expected to climb even higher this year.

The budget agency says that's because ridership grew by 50 percent as the system became more user friendly. Passengers can book their rides a day in advance now instead of waiting two to four days. They're also taking more individual trips as a result. T

he budget agency says fewer disabled people would need door to door rides if they could take subways and buses. But New York City transit says that's a long and expensive process, and that only 25 percent of Access a Ride customers use wheelchairs. For WNYC I'm Beth Fertig.