A cyberattack last week cut off some of the Maryland Transit Administration’s digital infrastructure, making it harder for people with disabilities or limited mobility to schedule van service.

Riders have reported problems with Mobility All Access, the app used to schedule, track and pay for rides on the MobilityLink paratransit service. The agency began directing riders Friday to rely on the call center, which was previously the main way to book rides, after nearly a week of disruptions.

The agency first reported a “computer systems issue” impacting Mobility and real-time tracking of bus, light rail and Metro vehicles on social media Aug. 24. The next day, the issue also took elevators at Metro subway stations offline.

The MTA is investigating the cyberattack and attempting to restore its systems with the assistance of the Maryland Department of Information Technology and third-party cybersecurity experts.

MTA officials have not responded to Baltimore Banner questions about a timeline for resolving issues, the source of the attack or additional information.

All core MTA services continue to operate normally despite the digital disruption, according to an online agency alert.

“Please expect longer wait times as we work toward a permanent solution. We’re working hard to restore full service & appreciate your patience,” the agency posted on social media Friday afternoon.

Users have noticed. Towson resident Pat Mochel, whose adult son has used Mobility for about 20 years, has been helping schedule his daily rides to work or his day program while the app is down. Friday, she called 15 minutes after the call center opened and was 106th in line — the call took 45 minutes.

Yesterday, she was 145th in line.

“There are a lot of people who really depend on it,” Mochel said of MobilityLink.

Ariela Castellano Ortega, a Fells Point resident who typically relies on it, too, has pivoted to other options like rideshares for the time being.

“A lot of people have jobs, school, kids, just to be sitting on the phone waiting,” Castellano Ortega said.

Without the app or the time to wait in a call center queue, the service has become basically “unusable,” they said.

Missing a ride is more than just an inconvenience, but a potential barrier to medical appointments, work and living a normal life, wrote Gabriel Rubinstein, an attorney with Disability Rights Maryland, in an emailed statement.

“Paratransit is not a convenience. It is a core service that ensures access, health, and independence for Marylanders with disabilities,” Rubinstein wrote. “We recognize the challenges posed by this cyberattack and value the steps the MTA has already taken. We hope that the MTA can restore full operations as quickly as possible, and that the MTA will provide clear and consistent communication so riders understand the status of the service and what to expect going forward.”

The MobilityLink paratransit service has faced its share of bumps in the road in recent years.

In 2023, a U.S. Department of Justice investigation of the service found violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act related to excessively late, missed and long trips. The MTA responded at the time that the issues largely had been resolved with more funding, higher driver wages and hiring an additional company to provide trips.

Roughly a month later, contract negotiations between the union that represented workers and MV, one of a handful of companies contracted by MTA to provide Mobility rides, reached a boiling point after an outbreak of bedbugs on their vehicles.

The cyberattack also may be impacting another mobile app called Transit used by people who ride the system to track buses and trains. An alert on the app informs users that vehicles are running on time but are experiencing real-time tracking issues.