PARATRANSIT APPLICATION AND ELIGIBILITY

GRTA will establish an ADA paratransit eligibility determination process for local residents and long-term visitors.  Eligible individuals will receive documentation of ADA paratransit eligibility, which can then be used in other systems. There are two (2) types of eligibility. These are:
 

• Unconditional: this eligibility is granted if your disability prevents you from using the Guam Public Transit System for ALL TRIPS you might need to make.
• Conditional: this eligibility is granted if you can use the Guam Public Transit System under certain circumstances, but need GRTA’s Paratransit Service FOR CERTAIN TRIPS.

GRTA will honor the request of an “out-of-town” visitor who is ADA certified by another transit provider and is seeking to utilize the ADA complementary paratransit service.  Service will be provided consistent with ADA requirements and GRTA policies.  For example, if a certified visitor comes from a fixed route system that is not accessible and the certification states that the rider is ADA eligible based solely on the inaccessibility of their system and the person can use an accessible transit system, no paratransit service will be provided.

Eligibility will be presumed in cases where a visitor does not have documented certification available, GRTA will require the visitor to provide documentation of their place of residence while visiting our island and a certification that they are unable to use our Fixed Route Services.

A non-certified visitor may use the system up to the 21-days (consecutive and nonconsecutive) in a one-year period.  If the visitor plans to use the system or actually uses the system for more than twenty-one (21) days (consecutive and nonconsecutive) within a one-year period, the visitor must apply to GRTA and become certified to continue to use the system beyond the 21-day limit.

The certification process that is established will strictly limit ADA paratransit eligibility to the regulatory definition of eligibility.  Only those persons who meet the regulatory definition will be given documentation indicating that they are “ADA Paratransit Eligible”.  In addition, if individuals who are determined to be ADA paratransit eligible can use fixed route service under certain conditions, the documentation, which they are given, will indicate the limitations/conditions of their eligibility.

All information about the process, materials necessary to apply for eligibility, and notices and determinations concerning eligibility will be made available in accessible formats upon request.  Accessible formats include large print, audiotape, Braille, and computer disk.

An individual may be eligible for paratransit whose disability is intermittent or temporary.  Those persons would be certified based upon the most limiting aspects of their disability and, like many other ADA certified riders, rides will be subject to specified conditions.

Individuals are not qualified or disqualified for ADA complementary paratransit service based on a specific medical diagnosis or disability.  To ascertain if the individual fits the criteria, it is necessary to determine whether or not an individual’s disability prevents him/her from utilizing any of the fixed route services provided by GRTA.  This determination will be made using the following four (4) tests:
 

1. Does the disability prevent the individual from getting to and from a station/stop at point of origin or destination?  If yes, then the trip is eligible.  A distinction is made in the regulations between those who have difficulty (or simply find it unpleasant) to travel to or from a bus stop and those whose disability prevents them from doing so.
2. Can the individual board and utilize the vehicle at the station/stop?  If the vehicle is inaccessible or the stop is inaccessible, the person is eligible.
3. Can the individual independently recognize the destination and disembark?  If not, the trip is eligible.  This test will form the basis of eligibility for many individuals with visual impairments and developmental cognitive disabilities.

Applicants are to be granted presumptive eligibility if a determination of eligibility has not been made within 21 calendar days of the submission of a completed application.  Service must be provided, and the applicant is presumed to be eligible, until and unless the determination is complete and the person is found to be ineligible.

Applicants will be notified in writing of the Notice of Initial Determination of Eligibility.  If the determination is made that the individual is not eligible, the written notification will state the reasons for the finding.  If an applicant is determined to be eligible, documentation of eligibility (ID Card) will be provided. This documentation will specifically state that the person is “ADA Paratransit Eligible”.

An administrative appeal process is available to any individual who is determined to be ineligible for complementary paratransit service. The appeal process is available to individuals who are determined ineligible in all situations and those persons who are deemed conditionally eligible.  Because the provision of ADA complementary paratransit service is a civil right, the denial of eligibility is a serious matter.  A fair and effective appeals process is in the best interest of all parties.  Please see the Appeals Procedures.

GRTA may require that individuals periodically reapply or recertify every three (3) years.


GRTA PARATRANSIT APPLICATION INTRO MESSAGE

PARATRANSIT APPLICATION FORM

ATTACHMENT A - COGNITIVE DISABILITIES FORM

ATTACHMENT B - PSYCHIATRIC DISABILITIES FORM

ATTACHMENT C - VISION DISABILITIES FORM

ATTACHMENT D - SEIZURE DISORDERS FROM

ATTACHMENT E - PHYSICAL DISABILITIES FORM