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9 <br />ORANGE COUNTY <br />NORTH CAROLINA <br />ORANGE PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION ADA PARATRANSIT PLAN <br />3) Persons who cannot travel to or from a bus stop because their disability prevents it. <br />This includes persons whose path of travel between their origin or destination and <br />the bus stop is inaccessible, such as persons who use wheelchairs but cannot get to <br />or from the bus stop because there is no sidewalk or the sidewalk is blocked (by lack <br />of accessible curb cuts or a barrier that reduces the width of the sidewalk to less <br />than three (3) feet). It also includes persons whose specific disability otherwise <br />prevents them from traveling to or from or waiting at a bus stop, such as persons <br />whose health would be endangered by certain weather conditions during this phase <br />of the trip. <br />Orange Public Transportation's ADA paratransit service eligibility application screens for <br />functional disability in order to control service demand and reserve assistance for eligible <br />persons who are prevented from reaching fixed -route stops due to their disability. It is <br />important to emphasize that only those persons who are prevented from using fixed -route <br />services because of their disability are required to be served by ADA paratransit, rather than <br />individuals who would have difficulty using fixed -route services but could use it. <br />A formal ADA eligibility determination process is part of federal ADA paratransit <br />requirements. As such, OPT's ADA eligibility application is used to determine ADA <br />paratransit eligibility (Exhibit 5). There are also requirements for transporting personal care <br />attendants (PCAs), other traveling companions, persons visiting from other areas on ADA <br />paratransit, and the eligibility determination process itself. The application requires <br />certification from a certified and /or licensed professional as to the presence of a permanent <br />or temporary disability preventing the applicant from reaching public transportation fixed <br />routes. The application also collects personal care attendant (PCA) information and <br />information explaining the eligibility determination process. <br />Determination of Eli. ibility: <br />A determination of whether individuals with disabilities are certified eligible for service is <br />made by completing the attached application and submitting it to the OPT administrative <br />offices (Exhibit 5). Applications are taken by phone, email, fax, or in- person by OPT staff. <br />Applicants are required to provide verification of their disability from a certified and /or <br />licensed professional (doctor, psychiatrist, social worker, case manager, etc.), and <br />documentation as to why they are unable to access fixed -route service must be provided. A <br />determination of eligibility is made in these cases based on the functional ability or <br />inability of a person to access fixed -route service and not solely on their disabled <br />status. <br />Applicants may be determined eligible for some trips and not others depending on <br />circumstances, and eligibility can be temporary based on a temporary disability. ADA <br />service may also be used as a feeder route to transport individuals to the closest public <br />transportation route, which they can then access. Applicants are notified of their eligibility <br />7 <br />