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Editor’s note: When we saw that one of our Twitter followers was starting to figure out how best to navigate the PATH system on crutches, we thought it would be a good opportunity to share one person’s experience with the woeful lack of accessibility at many PATH stations. Marc Frydman will be sharing his commuting stories for the next two weeks or so; we hope it will help our readers think about the daily difficulties faced by differently-abled commuters — and about why our transit system doesn’t accommodate them.

I admit that I’ve always taken life for granted, and never thought twice about being physically capable of steering through it. On what appeared to be the most peaceful late summer evening I went for a jog in my neighborhood, only to be hit by a car. I watched in horror and disbelief as an out-of-control speeding car came down Grand Street and plowed into two cars waiting at the traffic light. I first feared for their lives, seeing no attempt to apply the brakes by the speeding car. I never would have guessed that it would make impact with the other cars, ricochet off them and hit me while the car was still in mid-air (according to witnesses).

It’s a blessing to be alive; it’s difficult to describe how grateful I am and how fortunate I feel. So it seems unfair to complain about my knee, though my recent ACL reconstruction has been some project. It’s now day 12, and while the pounding pain of swelling has subsided, I’ll be on crutches for another two weeks and will wear a restrictive brace for several months.

This week it was time for me to return to work; usually I commute to Manhattan via PATH — Grove Street to Christopher Street. I took for granted that there would be an elevator or escalator available to me, but it turns out I was mistaken.

What frustrates me the most is that the third Grove Street entrance (at the corner of Marin and Columbus) was built this decade, to “allow the 10,000 passengers who use the station each weekday to enter and exit more easily,” as a Port Authority press release put it in May 2005. What I can’t fathom is why PATH declined to offer accessibility for the disabled at this new entrance. Why would the agency not help the disabled, the elderly or anyone who might just have his or her hands full with a stroller or a grocery cart or a bicycle “enter and exit more easily?”

And the other side of the Hudson isn’t much better, in terms of accessibility. On the JSQ-33rd Street line, the only accessible station is 33rd Street.

As I contemplated my transit options, I didn’t yet feel confident enough in my balance and my crutch-walking ability to navigate the stairs at Grove Street — especially during rush hour.

So instead, I took a car service into the city yesterday morning to the tune of $45 and spent $90 to rent a car for the remaining two days of this week. (Luckily it’s my left leg in a brace, allowing me to drive.) Add on the Holland Tunnel tolls at $8 per day and the potential of having to pay for parking (luckily, I do not have to), and the cost continues to rise. At these rates, it could potentially cost someone almost $1000/month if they were able to drive, or $1,800 if they need to be driven.

To be fair, I did have another option on the PATH:

I could take a $7 cab ride from my apartment to the Pavonia/Newport or Exchange Place stop, where there is an elevator. From there, I could take the PATH up to either 33rd Street or to World Trade Center, and take an $8-10 taxi back to Christopher Street. This would cost roughly $30 a day ($650/month) in addition to my fare on the PATH.

But all I wanted to do was to take the PATH from my Grove Street stop to the Christopher Street stop where I’ve worked for 11 years. I don’t see why that’s such a tall order. My hope is that by documenting my experiences it may benefit those who are permanently disabled in the months and years to come, as I find this to be so incredibly unfair to them.