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25 <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 Eligibility: <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 />