NJ Transit says it’s still in the “planning and development phase” of work to meet a series of federally set deadlines that begin in June to improve its Access Link services for people with disabilities — even as the number of late trips in 2022 reached its highest point since at least 2017.

In 2022, more than 15% of rides arrived late, double the rate from 2017, according to ridership data obtained by Gothamist through a public records request. Last year was also one of the busiest in several years for drivers, with each Access Link driver averaging a total of about 2,400 trips — about 100 more than the year before.

The numbers underscore the gap NJ Transit has to cover in order to comply with a settlement it reached with the U.S. Attorney’s Office in December, after a federal investigation found drivers dropped passengers off late nearly 40% of the time during a one-month review period. It also found about 13% of pickups were late, and about 25% of trips were “excessively long.”

Paratransit advocates have long argued that to fix long-standing complaints with Access Link, the state will need to invest significantly in hiring more drivers and partnering with rideshare companies like Uber and Lyft to relieve pressure on the service.

WNYC's Karen Yi spoke with Morning Edition host Michael Hill on how far NJ Transit has to meet the settlement terms.