PARATRANSIT, INC.
It is the mission of Paratransit, Inc., to organize, maintain, and manage a
comprehensive, coordinated, specialized transportation system designed to serve the
transportation needs of people who are unable to use public transit for reasons attributed
to age or disability.
APPLICATION DIRECTIONS AND INFORMATION
Please contact Paratransit for an application that will help in establishing
eligibility for the paratransit services.
Eligibility for paratransit service is based on trips that cannot be made on Regional
Transit's buses and light rail trains by individuals with disabilities. Using eligibility
requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act, you will either be certified eligible
for all trips, eligible for limited trips, or denied eligibility altogether.
You may complete the application yourself or obtain assistance from anyone familiar
with you and your condition. Incomplete applications will be returned without being
processed, so please be sure to complete yours in its entirety before mailing it. If you
have no one to help, and would like our assistance, please call a registrar at (916)
454-4191 (voice) or (916) 454-0390 (TDD).
Large print applications are also available upon request.
If eligible, a photo identification is required before your first ride. Please plan to
visit our office to obtain it and to attend an orientation in which you will learn how and
when to request rides; learn about our service area, days of service, and hours of
operation; and receive information about our fare structure.
Thank you for your interest in the services provided by our company.
Policy on Certification: Rides will be scheduled only if theindividual has a valid
certification card; is a visitor (for up to 21 days with or without certification); or has
submitted a completed application which has not been processed after 21 days of receipt.
Service will be restricted by eligibility category and other ADA-required regulations.
While Paratransit will temporarily honor ADA certifications made by another transit
system, it retains the sole right to certify (or recertify) eligibility on a permanent or
temporary basis. Policy on Appeals: Applicants denied certification or who contest their
certification category, and certified users who are denied service for disruptive behavior
or misuse of system capacity shall have access to Paratransit's ridership appeals process.
Final decisions on all appeals will be made by Paratransit's Board of Directors.
Policy on Personal Escorts, Service Animals, and Guests: Paratransit does not provide
assistance beyond that necessary to board, disembark, or stow personal belongings. At the
time of certification (or if applicable later), a passenger is required to notify
Paratransit if he or she must travel with an attendant, and will be reminded to bring one
along at the time of making a reservation. The same is true of service animals.
One guest accompanying a passenger to and from the same origin and destination will be
allowed, provided Paratransit is notified at the time of making a reservation. More than
one guest will also be welcome under the same circumstances, provided space is available.
Guests include infants and young children.
Policy on Fares: To receive service, passengers and their guests must pay a fare upon
boarding, but their personal care attendants do not. Fares may be paid in cash, scrip, or
with a monthly pass. Nonpayment of a fare upon boarding will result in a denial of service
for that trip.
Policy on Identification Cards: To receive service, upon boarding, passengers must
show a valid identification card issued by Paratransit or the ADA identification card
issued by another transit system.
Policy on Service Area: Qualified registrants are not entitled to service outside of
the defined service area and/or the jurisdictional boundaries.
Policy on Reservation Making: Reservations will be accepted as far in advance as 14
days, but not later than 5:00 p.m. one day before the ride date. Reservation lines will be
open daily between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m.
Policy on Guaranteed Trips: Until RT arranges full financing for complementary ADA
Service, there is no guarantee that every ride reservation will be booked. Full financing
is expected by 1997. Until then, trip denials may be made, but only after evaluating all
trips received and determining the most effective routing. Same-day service requests are
not guaranteed.
Policy on Capacity Constraints: At the time of reservation making, passengers may be
notified if excessive demand exists for their particular appointment or return time, and
an alternative may be negotiated.
Operational problems attributable to causes beyond the control of Paratransit
(including, but not limited to, unanticipated delays caused by another passenger or
weather or traffic conditions affecting all vehicular traffic that were not anticipated at
the time a trip was scheduled) shall not be a basis for determining that a pattern or
practice of capacity constraints exists.
Policy on Scheduling: Reservationists will route and schedule each trip request at the
time the reservation is placed. Ride confirmation numbers and "ready times" will
be given to the passenger. When at capacity, alternative times and/or days may be
negotiated, a non-guaranteed "standby" reservation may be offered, or the trip
may be denied.
Passengers should expect the bus within 30 minutes after the negotiated "ready
time," and must board the bus upon arrival. A delay in boarding by the passenger
beyond 5 minutes may result in a service denial.
Policy on Cancellation Notice: Passengers must cancel unwanted trips at least two
hours in advance.
Policy on Service Quality: Schedules will allow adequate time for passengers to
complete boarding or disembarking from the vehicle. Paratransit may provide boarding
chairs or other mobility devices to reduce travel time from the passenger's door to the
vehicle.
Policy on Service-Delivery Options: Paratransit reserves the sole and exclusive right
to determine whether it will deliver transportation services using its own drivers and
vehicles or using drivers and vehicles of other entities. Passengers will be expected to
ride on the assigned vehicle and with the assigned operator.
Policy on Transporting Other Life-Support Equipment: Passengers may travel with
respirators, portable oxygen, and other life-support equipment, provided such transport
does not violate laws or rules related to transportation of hazardous materials.
Passengers using such equipment are strongly urged to use medical transportation and/or to
travel with a personal care attendant.
Policy on Accessible Origins and Destinations: Service to or from inaccessible origins
or destinations will be provided at curbside if no safe access exists. In this instance a
personal care attendant is strongly advised.
Policy on Access to Information About Paratransit
Services: This information will be made available in large print and on tape to enable
users to understand Paratransit's services and policies. It will also be reviewed during
the certification process as part of Paratransit's one-on-one passenger orientation
process, and in group orientations for community care facility staff.
Policy on Prohibiting Disruptive Behavior: Service will immediately be denied on a
long-term basis to passengers who engage in violent, seriously disruptive, or illegal
conduct. This includes, but is not limited to: threats or fear of physical or verbal
abuse; unlawful harassment, including unwelcome verbal, nonverbal, or physical behavior
having sexual or racial connotations; unauthorized use of equipment on the vehicle;
voluntarily and repeatedly violating bus riding rules, including smoking on the bus,
standing while it is in motion, eating or drinking without medical indication, or defacing
equipment; refusing to comply with other requirements specified in the policies above; or
providing false information in order to qualify for certification.
Policy on Prohibiting Misuse of System Capacity: Passengers must not engage in
activities which misuse the system, unnecessarily using capacity that could otherwise go
to people who need rides, and increasing costs. Examples of misuse include, but are not
limited to, failing to show up for scheduled rides ("no shows"), failing to
board the bus immediately upon arrival, wasting reservation taking-capacity by
establishing a pattern of unwanted trip making (excessive cancellations), or providing
late cancellation notice.
A 30-day suspension will be imposed after three documented occurrences within a 30-day
period caused by conditions within the passenger's control that are not related to his or
her disability. Prior to any suspension, a written warning of the proposed suspension
period and the reason(s) for it will be provided to the passenger. Passengers who appeal
the proposed suspension may continue to ride pending a decision on the appeal.
Policy on Lift and Securement Use: Paratransit will transport passengers whose
wheelchairs meet the ADA-regulated definition of a common wheelchair: A common wheelchair
is a wheelchair or other mobility device that does not exceed 30 inches in width and 48
inches in length when measured 2 inches above the ground; and 30 inches in height when
measured 2 inches above the ground; and that does not weigh more than 600 pounds when
occupied.
Wheelchairs and their users shall be secured at all times during boarding, deboarding,
and transport operations. Passengers who use scooter-type wheelchairs who are capable of
transferring to a vehicle seat are strongly urged to do so during transport.
Passengers who need the lift to board but are not wheelchair users, may use the lift
standing. If a boarding chair is available, passengers are strongly encouraged to use it.