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18 <br /> Orange County Transportation Services ADA Paratransit Plan <br /> requirements,there are also provisions relating to the transportation of personal care attendants, other <br /> traveling companions, and persons visiting from other areas. <br /> .., .. <br /> As previously noted, there are three (3) major categories of individuals who are required to be served <br /> based on their functional disability upon interacting with conditions of the service and the surrounding <br /> environment. Persons who are unable to board, ride, or disembark from accessible fixed-route vehicles <br /> as a result of their disability.This includes persons with mental or visual disabilities who cannot navigate <br /> the transit system. <br /> Persons who could use accessible fixed-route services, but such services are being operated using <br /> vehicles that are not fully accessible. This includes persons who require a lift or ramp to board a bus. <br /> Because OPT uses 100% accessible vehicles for its general public and specialized services, this category <br /> of persons is inapplicable. <br /> Persons who cannot travel to or from a bus stop because their disability prevents it.This includes persons <br /> whose path of travel between their origin or destination and the bus stop is inaccessible, such as persons <br /> who use wheelchairs but cannot get to or from the bus stop because there is no sidewalk or the sidewalk <br /> is blocked (by lack of accessible curb cuts or a barrier that reduces the width of the sidewalk to less than <br /> three (3) feet). It also includes persons whose specific disability otherwise prevents them from traveling <br /> to or from or waiting at a bus stop, such as persons whose health would be endangered by certain <br /> weather conditions during this phase of the trip. <br /> Orange Public Transportation's ADA paratransit service eligibility application screens for functional <br /> disability in order to control service demand and reserve assistance for eligible persons who are <br /> prevented from reaching fixed-route stops due to their disability. It is important to emphasize that only <br /> those persons who are prevented from using fixed-route services because of their disability are required <br /> to be served by ADA paratransit, rather than individuals who would have difficulty using fixed-route <br /> services but could use it. <br /> A formal ADA eligibility determination process is part of federal ADA paratransit requirements. As such, <br /> OPT's ADA eligibility application is used to determine ADA paratransit eligibility. There are also <br /> requirements for transporting personal care attendants (PCAs), other traveling companions, persons <br /> visiting from other areas on ADA paratransit, and the eligibility determination process itself. The <br /> application requires certification from a certified and/or licensed professional as to the presence of a <br /> permanent or temporary disability preventing the applicant from reaching public transportation fixed <br /> routes. The application also collects personal care attendant (PCA) information and information <br /> explaining the eligibility determination process. <br /> A determination of whether individuals with disabilities are certified eligible for service is made by <br /> completing the attached application and submitting it to the OCTS administrative offices. Applications <br /> are taken by phone, email,fax, or in-person by OCTS staff.Applicants are required to provide verification <br /> of their disability from a certified and/or licensed professional (doctor, psychiatrist, social worker, case <br /> Orange County Planning Department Page 12 <br />