Paratransit Skills

An article about community mobility skills (1) reminded me that OTs do not know if clients can use paratransit without knowing the demands of the systems available to them.  Here is a comparison of two systems I used.  One covers the state of New Jersey.  The other covers only my county.    

Language.  To qualify for the county service I only had to give my address and diagnosis during a brief phone conversation.  The state required a one hour in-person interview where I had to give specific examples to explain why I could not take public transportation.  Giving my diagnosis was not enough.  When making a reservation, both systems asked me what ambulatory device I used (e.g. cane, wheelchair) so they knew what type of vehicle to send.

Balance.  My balance is poor so I would fall if I was standing when the vehicle started moving.  Both services did not allow the drivers to start driving until I was seated and had my seat belt fastened.  Vehicles that carried wheelchairs had tie-downs which the drivers handled. 

Strength.  The county provides door-to-door service which means the driver provides physical assistance to go up and down stairs and carry packages.  The state provides curb-to-curb service.  This meant the driver stood by the vehicle while I got myself in and out of the house, on and off the vehicle, and transported packages.  Both services had vehicles with a wheelchair lift to get a client in and out of the vehicle.

Endurance.  I had to wait for the county service to pick up a few seniors that wanted to go to the senior center.  I had a short 2 mile ride with the seniors before I was dropped off at the grocery store.  The state service picked me up from 20 minutes before to 20 minutes after the time I requested (a 40 minute window).  The state may run long trips with multiple riders who have different destinations.  When I had to wait for other people to be picked up and dropped off, I might ride for an hour before reaching my destination.  With both services I had to be at the door so I could see the vehicle pull up which would wait only 5 minutes.  I bought a folding three-legged stool with a shoulder strap that hunters use so I could sit down if I got too tired in a store.  

Planning Ahead.  For the county a reservation had to be made 2 weeks in advance and they asked only for my name because they took me to only one destination.  For the state a reservation could be made 24 hours in advance and they asked for my paratransit identification number.  To remember the pick-up times at each end of my trip I wrote them on a calendar for the day of the trip.  The county service required only the name of the store because the person making the reservation was local and knew the area.  The state service required exact addresses and names of cross streets because the person making the reservation was miles away.  I got out a list of this detailed destination information before making a reservation.  Both services had a two bag limit.  This meant I had to plan multiple trips when I needed bulky objects like toilet paper.  I also had to plan repeated trips because paratransit took me to only one destination at a time - grocery store, drug store, doctor, dentist, out-patient therapy, etc.

Money Management.  The county service was free.  The state service required exact change.  They told me the cost of a one-way fare when I made a reservation.  Cost was based on what it would cost me to make that trip on public transportation (e.g. bus fare of $2.25).  I kept a supply of one dollar bills and coins.  homeafterstroke.blogspot.com

1. Dickerson A, Davis E.  Ckecklist of community mobility skills. OT Practice. 2020;October:13-16.