How to book an ADA paratransit ride

Once you are eligible, you book each trip with your local paratransit provider. Federal rules set the minimum; your agency’s rider guide sets the details.

Before your first trip

• You need ADA paratransit eligibility from the agency (see eligibility explained). Visitors eligible at home can ride for 21 days a year without reapplying (visitor rule).
• Find your provider’s booking phone, app or website on your city or agency page.

When you can book

• The day before. The agency must schedule a trip at any requested time on a service day if you ask the previous day (49 CFR 37.131(b)).
• During business hours, including weekends before a service day. Reservations must be taken at least during the agency’s normal office hours, and at comparable times on days the offices are closed before a service day, such as a Sunday (37.131(b)(1); FTA FAQ).
• Up to 14 days ahead if your agency allows it. Same-day trips are not required by the ADA; where offered, they are often a premium service with a higher fare (37.131(b)(4); FTA FAQ).

What to have ready when you call

1. Your rider ID or eligibility number.
2. The exact pickup address, building entrance and any access notes.
3. The destination address and the time you want to leave, or the time you must arrive for an appointment.
4. Your return trip time (each one-way trip is booked separately).
5. Whether a personal care attendant or companion will ride with you, and whether you travel with a mobility device or a service animal (attendants and companions; service animals).

Pickup-time negotiation: the one-hour rule

The agency may offer a different pickup time, but it may not require you to accept a time more than one hour before or after the time you asked for (37.131(b)(2)). According to FTA, if you accept a trip more than an hour away from your requested time, the agency must still record it as a trip denial (FTA FAQ).

On the day of the trip

• Most agencies give a pickup window rather than an exact time. The length of the window and how long the driver waits are local rules: check your rider guide. FTA’s ADA Circular discusses pickup windows and on-time performance in section 8.5.3 (FTA Circular C 4710.1).
• Service is origin-to-destination. Agencies may run curb-to-curb or door-to-door service by default, but must give help beyond the curb case by case when a rider needs it (37.129(a); FTA FAQ). You can ask for this as a reasonable modification, ideally in advance (37.169).
• Paratransit is a shared ride. A trip should be comparable in length to the same trip by bus, counting walking, waiting and transfers (FTA FAQ).
• You can make as many trips in a day as your schedule allows; each leg is booked as its own trip (FTA FAQ).

Regular trips (subscription service)

If you travel to the same place at the same time every week, ask whether your agency offers standing (subscription) trips. They are optional for agencies and may not take more than half of the trips available at a given time of day unless there is spare capacity (37.133).

Cancelling

Cancel as early as you can. Agencies may suspend riders who show a pattern of missed trips, and FTA allows agencies to count very late cancellations (typically less than one or two hours before pickup) as no-shows. Trips missed for reasons beyond your control do not count (37.125(h); FTA: no-show suspensions). See your rights under the ADA.

What it costs

The ADA paratransit fare can be at most twice the full fixed-route fare for a similar trip at a similar time of day. A personal care attendant rides free (37.131(c)). Your city page shows the fare reported to the National Transit Database and, where checked, the current fare.

All rider guides · Find your local provider