Norwalk Transit District Paratransit Services – Riders Guide Introduction Paratransit transportation services consist of a variety of door to door service for the elderly and/or person with disabilities. All paratransit services are a shared ride service. It is not emergency medical transportation nor is it a personal taxi service. To ensure the greatest level of operating and cost efficiency you should expect to be traveling with other riders who are going in the same direction as yourself. Each service has its own rules of operation including service area and hours of operation. Please review each section below, for the program that you are eligible to travel under for specific program requirements. Service Areas Dispatch-A-Ride / Norwalk ADA – is available for travel within a ¾ mile radius of a Norwalk Transit bus route within Norwalk, during the same hours that the route operates. Service outside this ¾ mile area in Norwalk is not provided. This service is available to anyone with a disability and/or impairment that prevents them from using a city bus. Easy Access / Stamford ADA - is available for travel within the city of Stamford and within ¾ mile radius of an operating CT Transit bus route within Greenwich, Darien, Norwalk and limited areas of New York, during the same hours that the route operates. Service outside this ¾ mile area in New York, Greenwich and Darien is not provided. This service is available to anyone with a disability and/or impairment that prevents them from using a city bus. Westport Elderly & Disabled / Town of Westport – is available for travel within the Town of Westport to anyone 65 years of age and older, or 64 years of age and younger that has a disability and/or impairment. Town to Town Westport – is available for travel to qualified ADA residents of Westport, within the following cities: Norwalk, Wilton, Weston, New Canaan, Darien, Stamford and Greenwich. Town to Town Wilton – is available for travel to qualified ADA residents of Wilton, for medical purposes only, within the following cities: Norwalk, Westport, Weston, New Canaan, Darien, Stamford and Greenwich. Wilton to Wilton trips are prohibited. 1 | Page Becoming Eligible You may be eligible for Paratransit services if: Dispatch-A-Ride / Norwalk ADA – This service is available to anyone with a disability and/or impairment that prevents them from using a city bus. Easy Access / Stamford ADA - This service is available to anyone with a disability and/or impairment that prevents them from using a city bus. Westport Elderly & Disabled / Town of Westport – is available for travel within the Town of Westport to anyone 65 years of age and older, or 64 years of age and younger that has a disability and/or impairment. Town to Town Westport – This service is available to anyone with a disability and/or impairment that prevents them from using a city bus. Town to Town Wilton – This service is available to anyone with a disability and/or impairment that prevents them from using a city bus. The disability guidelines for all programs are: As a result of a physical or mental impairment, and without the assistance of another individual (except the operator of a wheelchair lift), you are unable to board, ride or disembark from any public bus; As a result of a specific impairment-related condition you are prevented from traveling to or from a bus stop on the public bus system; or The interaction of your disability and barriers (architectural and environmental, such as curb cuts, distance, terrain or weather) prevent you from traveling to or from the public bus stop. • *For Westport Elderly & Disabled program only – an additional eligibility criteria is anyone 65 years of age or older. For your disability to be the basis for eligibility, the disability/health conditions must prevent you from traveling to a boarding location or from a disembarking location. The word “prevent” is very important. For anyone, going to a bus stop and waiting for a bus is more difficult and less comfortable than waiting for a vehicle at one's home. This is likely to be all the more true for an individual with a disability. But for many persons with disabilities, in many circumstances, getting to a bus stop is possible. If an impairment-related condition only makes the job of accessing transit more difficult than it might otherwise be, but does not prevent the travel, then the person is not eligible for paratransit. Eligibility Process: Before using this paratransit service, all programs require you to complete an ADA Eligibility Certification Request form and mail it to our office to begin the review process. 2 | Page It is important that you complete the entire form so we can provide you with the best possible service. Your eligibility certification will be based on the programs eligibility guidelines noted above. Mail the completed form to: Norwalk Transit District 275 Wilson Avenue Download ADA Eligibility Form>> Norwalk, Connecticut 06854 Upon receipt of your completed form we will contact you to schedule a face-to-face interview. Free round-trip transportation will be provided for all individuals within the ADA Paratransit service area when traveling to the office to start the in-house application process if requested. We may also seek professional verification of your disability during the process. If you are approved, you will receive your identification card in the mail. The entire process may not exceed 21 days. The 21-day time frame begins at submission of the completed application. Applications are considered complete at the conclusion of the interview process and assessments, not when applications are received. After you become eligible, the Norwalk Transit District will recertify you every three years based upon eligibility. When a transportation eligibility determination is made, several outcomes are possible: • Individuals may be found to be unconditionally eligible for all their trips • Individuals may receive temporary eligibility based on a temporary circumstance, such as a broken leg or chemotherapy treatments • Individuals may be conditionally eligible for service when other conditions (such as weather or terrain) affect their ability to access the regular bus • Individuals may be denied service entirely Appeals Procedure If it is determined that you are not eligible for service; you will receive a letter along with information on how to appeal the decision. You may submit your appeal within 60 days in writing to the Norwalk Transit District to the attention of the CEO. If the CEO denies your appeal, you may re-submit your appeal to the attention of the Commissioners of the Norwalk Transit District. Free transportation will be provided to appeals hearing if requested. REQUESTS FOR APPEAL SHOULD BE MADE IN WRITING TO: NTD Chief Executive Officer Norwalk Transit District 275 Wilson Ave Norwalk, CT 06854 3 | Page Fares Fare tickets must be purchased in advance as drivers do not accept cash. Fare tickets must be given to the driver before boarding the vehicle. Transportation will not be provided without the proper fare ticket. Norwalk ADA / Westport Town to Town / Westport Elderly and Disabled / Wilton Town to Town - Fare tickets are valued at $3.50 individually or 10 tickets for $35.00. For your convenience, fare tickets may also be purchased at the following locations: Human Services Dept – Westport Town Hall Westport Center for Senior Activities 110 Myrtle Ave, Westport 21 Imperial Ave, Westport Norwalk Transit District 275 Wilson Avenue, Norwalk Easy Access – Fare tickets are valued at 3.50 individually or discounted at 10 tickets for $28.00. Stamford Government Center Norwalk Transit District 888 Washington Blvd, Stamford 275 Wilson Ave, Norwalk Both types of fare tickets may be purchased in person, by mail, or online at our website at: Norwalk Transit District 275 Wilson Avenue Norwalk, Connecticut 06854 https://www.norwalktransit.com/store (Make checks payable to Norwalk Transit District in the exact amount or over the phone and on our website using a credit card – we accept Discover, Visa or MasterCard. Call (203) 299-5160 for more information. All the following documents are applicable to all services: Reserve Your Ride Call: (203) 299-5180 (Voice) 4 | Page Reservation Hours: Monday-Friday: Between 8 am and 5 pm Saturday: Between 8 am and 5 pm Sunday/Evening: Between 8 am and 5 pm, Leave a voice message and your call will be confirmed the next morning by a dispatcher All rides must be reserved a day in advance; we do not book same day trips. A same day trip is considered a trip reserved after 5 pm Monday-Friday, and after 5 pm on Saturday and Sunday. Scheduling Your Ride Norwalk Transit will make every effort to ensure on time service through proper scheduling of trips. Norwalk Transit will book the trip based on your requested drop off time or pick up time. Listed below are the definitions of the two types of bookings. You must pick one of these two options which will serve as the service parameters for your trip booking. Only one option can be chosen per one-way trip. Drop Off Time – the time you need to be at your destination. Pick Up Time – the time you need to be picked up. Every effort will be made to honor your request. If the time requested is not available, the reservationist may negotiate with you up to one hour before your requested drop off time or one hour after your requested pickup time. If you are offered a trip within the one-hour window but you do not wish to take the offered time, this will be recorded as a trip refusal. If we are unable to offer you a time within the one-hour window it will be recorded as a denial unless you accept an alternative time.