ELIGIBILITY

To be able to use the paratransit service, you must fill out an application form. This form is also available at the office of the Transport adapté pour nous Inc.

 

Your file is then submitted to the eligibility committee for approval. This committee is comprised of two representatives for disabled people, one representative for the Régie régionale de la santé et des services sociaux and one officer representing the participating municipalities.

 

The eligibility committee must base all its decisions on the admittance criteria which are governed by the Ministère des Transports du Québec.

 

Any decision must be returned within a maximum period of 45 days.

 

If you are eligible for paratransit, we will give you the type of admission and support that will reflect your actual needs. More details in the ADMISSION section below:

ADMISSION

There are four (4) types of levels of eligibility :

General eligibility

Valid for any trip without restrictions, in accordance with the regulations of the paratransit. This admission is always valid unless a request is made for a revision of the file by the committee.

Provisional eligibility

This status is a transitional measure that enables the applicant to use paratransit services temporarily.

(Example: For a maximum of 12 months. A new form must be field up at the end of the period.)

Seasonal eligibility

This level of eligibility gives the user the right to use paratransit services only during winter that is from the 1st of October to the 30th of April of each year because the constraints he experiences at other times of the year do not justify the use of specialized transportation.

Partial eligibility

Valid and limited to certain trips only. When a user has become familiar with certain trips on the public transit network, his use of paratransit will be limited to trips he has not learned to take. Eventually learning to function on his/her own with the public transit network.

ACCOMPANYING SERVICE

There are six (6) types of accompanying service :

Compulsory presence

There are users who require a degree of physical or psychological assistance during the trip that the driver cannot provide while he is busy at the wheel. An accompanying person is considered compulsory during paratransit trips, since the use of the service would otherwise be impossible or dangerous. The accompanying person must be 14 years of age or older and must be able to provide the necessary aid to the user. When the presence of an accompanying person is compulsory, that person is assured of a place in the vehicle, free of charge, at the time the reservation is made. This person must get on and off at the same address as the user.

Optional presence

People who do not absolutely require psychological or physical assistance during a trip may nevertheless be accompanied while using paratransit services.

 

This option means that the accompanying person must pay his way and the paratransit service cannot guarantee a place for him in the vehicle when the reservation is made. However, the carrier must confirm the accompanying person’s place for the trip to and from the user’s destination as soon as possible.

None authorized presence

Some paratransit users are able to use public transit when accompanied by another person. The presence of an accompanying person compensates for the user’s disabilities. In such cases, people with disabilities are not authorized to be accompanied when they use paratransit services.

Assistance at destination

Some users do not require an accompanying person during the trip, but, in view of their disabilities, may need help at their destination on certain trips. However, it is only reasonable to authorize the presence of an accompanying person on an adapted vehicle. The accompanying person must get on and off at the same address and must pay for his trip.

Assistance for parental responsibility

In order to respect the principle of parental responsibility, any disabled parent and any disabled child under 14 years of age may travel with an accompanying person while using para transit. The parent or child (six years of age and over) travelling with the user must pay his way and his place in the adapted vehicle must be confirmed when the reservation is made. Parents are required to supply a car seat for all children under 5 years of age.

Assistance for familiarization

Some people with severe and persistent mental disorders require the assistance of an accompanying person during trips on a temporary basis, until they have acquired the skills needed to control their behaviour or their anxiety. This temporary assistance must be provided by an adult who serves as an educator. That person is assured of a place in the vehicle, free of charge, at the time the reservation is made.

The presence of a guide-dog is permitted regardless of the type of accompaniment.

REVIEW BOARD

An ultimate review mechanism has been set up for people who feel they have been wronged by the decision of the eligibility committee. To be considered admissible by the review board, an application must have been through all the normal stages before the eligibility committee and meet the four following conditions :

 

1. The application must be made by the person himself or his legal representative;

2. The decision contested must have been based on an analysis of the complete file, and be duly signed by the representatives of the eligibilité committee;

3. The decision contested must have been justified in a sufficiently precise way by the eligibility committee, and that justification must have been brought to the attention of the person concerned;

4. The additionnal formalities that must be observed when the eligibility committe rendors a decision must have been complied with.

 

The review board will render a decision within 30 days following receipt of the application for the review. The decision may uphold, quash or change the decision of the eligibilite committee. The board’s decision is final and without appeal, and i twill be sent to the applicant in a written statement including the reasons for the decision.

 

All applications made to the review board are to be sent in writing, within 40 days following the decision by the eligibility committe, at the following address :

 

Review Board
Direction du transport terrestre des personnes
Ministère des Transports du Québec
700, boulevard René-Lévesque Est, 25ème étage
Québec (Québec) G1R 5H1

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA

(governed by the Ministère du Transport du Québec)

To be eligible, a person must meet the following criteria:

 

•  The person must have a significant and persistent impairment and be restricted in carrying out normal activities;
• The person must be so restricted in his movements that the use of specialized transportation services is justified.

 

The person must be so restricted in his movements that the use of specialized transportation services is justified. 

 

• Be unable to walk 400 metres on level ground;
• Be unable to go up a step 35 centimetres high with support, or step down without support;
• Be unable to go through all of the stages involved in a trip on public transport;
• Be unable to keep track of time or find his bearings;
• Be unable to communicate verbally or with signs;
• Be unable to master situations or behaviour that could represent a danger for himself or for others.