Question:
A friend of mine uses paratransit services in the city where we live. With all of the transportation out there, who must provide these services and to whom should they be provided?
Answer:
Subpart F of the
ADA Transportation Regulations states that public entities operating a fixed route system (that is, consistent routes traveled on a regular schedule) shall provide paratransit or other special services to individuals with disabilities that is comparable to the level of service provided to individuals without disabilities who use the fixed route system.
Complementary paratransit service must be provided to origins and destinations within corridors that have a width of 3/4 of a mile on each side of each fixed route. At the end of each route, the entity must also serve an area that looks like a semicircular "cap" and has a 3/4 mile radius from the end point of the route. Also, service must be provided in corridors that are completely surrounded by fixed routes even if the routes aren't with–in the 3/4 of a mile radius of the fixed route.
Paratransit eligibility is not simply a matter of whether or not a person has a disability, but instead relates to whether or not an individual can use the transportation entity's fixed route system. Eligibility is a functional determination of a person's ability to use the regular transit system as it currently exists, and not simply a medical or psychiatric diagnosis. An individual must fit into one of the three
ADA paratransit eligibility categories.
Category 1 includes individuals who are unable, due to a physical or mental impairment, to board, ride or disembark independently from any readily accessible vehicle on the regular fixed route system. This means that, if an individual needs an attendant to board, ride, or disembark from an accessible fixed route vehicle (including navigating the system), the individual is eligible for paratransit.
Category 2 includes those persons with a physical or mental impairment who could use accessible fixed route transportation, but the accessible fixed route transportation is not available at that time on that route (e.g., the accessible vehicle is down for maintenance, the lift cannot be deployed,
etc.)
Category 3 includes any individual with a disability who has a specific impairment–related condition which prevents that person from traveling to a boarding location or from a disembarking location on the system is also eligible. In this case, the impairment must prevent travel to or from a stop. Significant inconvenience or difficulty does not form a basis for eligibility under this category. Additionally, barriers not under control of the public entity providing the fixed route service (such as weather) do not by themselves form a basis for eligibility under this category. The regulation makes the interaction between an impairment–related condition and the environmental barrier (whether distance, weather, terrain, or architectural barriers) the key to eligibility determinations.
The Department of Transportation's requirements in 49
CFR Part 37 address the acquisition of accessible vehicles by public and private entities, requirements for complementary paratransit service by public entities operating a fixed route system and provision of nondiscriminatory accessible transportation service. Accessibility specifications for transportation vehicles are addressed in 49
CFR Part 38.
For additional information on the transportation requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act you can contact the Great Lakes
ADA & Accessible
IT Center at 800–949–4232(Voice/
TTY) or via our
on–line contact form.
