Paratransit Rider Guide

The Ztrans Public Transportation is the public transportation provider serving the City of Alamogordo, Holloman Air Force Base, Mescalero Apache Reservation, Village of Ruidoso, City of Ruidoso Downs, and surrounding communities in Otero, Lincoln, and 3
Dona Ana counties. Our goal is to provide safe, affordable, efficient transportation to the public.

Ztrans is pleased to provide for the public transportation needs of all the area’s citizens, including those with disabilities. To accomplish this goal, Ztrans operates 2 services:

• Accessible fixed-route bus service
• ADA paratransit service

Ztrans’ fixed-route buses are lift- or ramp-equipped so they are accessible for individuals who use a wheelchair or cannot climb stairs. Buses have priority seating for seniors and persons with disabilities. Our drivers receive special training in assisting people with disabilities. Drivers announce stops at key destinations and upon request to help passengers find their stops. You may travel with your respirator, concentrator, and portable oxygen. Service animals are welcome onboard buses. Our goal is to make our fixed-route service accessible to and convenient for everyone.

Ztrans’ ADA paratransit service provides comparable service to our fixed-route service for individuals whose disabling conditions prevents or limits their use of fixedroute service. ADA paratransit service is provided according to the guidelines set forth by the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) and as outlined in this handbook. Persons who use this service must be certified as ADA paratransit eligible for all or some of their trip needs. The certification is valid for 3 years at which time we will ask you to reapply.

Any individual wishing to apply for ADA paratransit eligibility may:

• Pick up an application at Ztrans’ office at 900 First Street, Alamogordo
• Obtain an application by mail. Call (575) 439-4971 Monday through Saturday to request an application.
• Download the application, fill it out and send it or bring it in to us. Download the Paratransit Application from our FORMS page.

Each applicant must provide the name and address of a treating professional who is familiar with the applicant’s disabling condition, and how that condition prevents the applicant from using fixed-route service. A treating professional includes a physician, physician’s assistant, nurse practitioner, chiropractor, psychiatrist or psychologist, 4 social worker, naturopathic physician, licensed clinical behavioral health practitioner, or physical or occupational therapist. Ztrans may mail a Professional Verification Form to the treating professional for additional information regarding the functional limitations due to the applicant’s disability.

Under the ADA, the standard for determining eligibility is not whether a disabling condition exists, but whether (or under what circumstances) the applicant’s disabling condition prevents or limits him or her from using the fixed-route bus service. In
some cases, eligibility is established for certain circumstances only.

After both the properly completed application form AND the Professional Verification Form have been received, a decision will be made within 21 days. If you are granted less than unconditional eligibility, the letter will state the reason for the determination.

If you are dissatisfied with your eligibility determination, you may appeal within 60 days of the date of the letter notifying you of your eligibility status. Please review the section on how to file an appeal later in this document.

Visitors can ride ADA complementary paratransit service. To ride the service, either fax,
email, or mail:

• Documentation that you are already eligible for ADA complementary paratransit (a copy of your eligibility letter or your photo ID), or
• Documentation that you have a disability, such as a note from a treating professional, and documentation of residence, such as a utility bill.

Visitors may also apply in person at our office at 900 First Street, Alamogordo. When applying in person, no documentation of disability is required if the disability is apparent.

A visitor may ride the service for up to 21 days over a year, starting with the first day of travel. To continue to ride after 21 days of service are provided, you must apply for eligibility

Ztrans provides ADA paratransit service within ¾-mile off our Green, Yellow, Purple, Brown, and White routes. All pickups and drop-offs must take place within the defined service area. We will determine whether your trip is in the ADA paratransit
service area when you call to schedule a ride.

Ztrans’ ADA paratransit service operates the same days and hours of service as our fixed-route service.

Monday through Friday:
Depending on your location pickups start at 6:00 a.m. Trips must be completed by 6:00 p.m.
Saturday:
Depending on your location pickups start as early as 7:00 a.m. Trips must be completed by 6:00 p.m.
Sunday:
No service is provided on Sunday and observed holidays. Please see our website for the days we are closed.

Ztrans’ ADA paratransit service is designed to be comparable to fixed-route service. Just as with our fixed-route service, there are no trip restrictions or ranking of trips by trip purpose.

Ztrans’ ADA paratransit service is door-to-door service, if possible. As part of the application process we may evaluate your location for safety. Drivers will NOT assist passengers using wheelchairs up or down steps. Please arrange with someone else to assist you.

Ztrans’ ADA paratransit service is door-to-door service, if possible. As part of the application process we may evaluate your location for safety. Drivers will NOT assist passengers using wheelchairs up or down steps. Please arrange with someone else
to assist you.

If you require the assistance of a personal care attendant, the attendant travels with you for free. At the time of scheduling a ride, please indicate if you will have a personal care attendant with you. Of course, the attendant must get on and off at the same locations as you do.

At least 1 companion, more if space is available, may accompany you. Each companion will pay a fare. At the time of scheduling a ride, please indicate the number of companions who will accompany you. Of course, companions must get on and get off at the same location as you do.

A person requiring the services of a personal care attendant may also be accompanied by 1 or more companions.

Service animals are always welcome. The passenger must have the service animal fully under control at all times so as not to disrupt other passengers or the schedule. Drivers cannot and will not assume any responsibility for service animals. If your
service animal soils the bus, you will be charged a cleaning fee. At the time of scheduling a ride, please indicate if a service animal will accompany you.

Rides on the ADA complementary paratransit service can be scheduled the day before the trip or up to 14 days in advance. To schedule a ride, please call (575) 439-4971. To speak to a dispatcher, call Monday through Saturday between 6:00 a.m. and
6:00 p.m. A telephone answering service is available after hours and on Sundays and holidays between 6:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m.

To help serve you better, we ask that you observe the following 4 tips:

• Prepare for your call
• Have your trip information ready and organized
• Schedule the return trip up front
• Be ready to go at the schedule time

PREPARE FOR YOUR CALL
Please have the following information ready when you call:

• Name
• Date of travel
• Origin address
• Destination address
• Desired pickup or arrival time
• Whether you use a walker or wheelchair
• Whether a personal care attendant, one or more companions, or a service
• animal will accompany you

The dispatcher will let you know your pickup and return times. Ztrans will make every effort to schedule your trip at the desired times. The ADA allows the ride to be scheduled up to 1 hour before or 1 hour after the requested times.

Note Your Trip Information
Have a pencil and paper ready to write your pick-up and return times down. This will help you remember them. If you have a calendar, write the times on it.

Schedule Your Return Trip
For nonmedical trips, Ztrans requires return trips to be scheduled. Passengers should anticipate the latest possible time needed for their return and schedule a return trip for that time.

For medical appointments, Ztrans allows an open return. When your medical appointment is finished, call Ztrans at (575) 439-4971 and we will work you into the schedule at the earliest possible opening.

Be Ready to Go at the Scheduled Time
Please be ready to go 10 minutes before the scheduled pick-up time. Ztrans makes every effort to arrive as close to the scheduled pick-up time as possible. However, Ztrans arrive up to 10 minutes before or 10 minutes after the scheduled pick up time.

Example:
If you schedule a 9:30 a.m. pick-up, the vehicle may arrive between 9:20 a.m. and 9:40 a.m.

This 20-minute time period (of 10 minutes before to 10 minutes after the scheduled time) is called the pickup window.

Drivers, after arriving within the pickup window, will wait up to 5 minutes. Any passenger, who is not at the scheduled pick-up point and ready to go by that time, will be considered a no-show, and the driver will leave to pick up other riders. The driver will NOT return for a second attempt. The only exception will be passengers who have been detained during a medical appointment. If you know that you will be detained during a medical appointment, please call Ztrans at (575) 439-4971 as soon as soon as possible. When you are ready, call Ztrans and we will dispatch the next available van to pick you up.

Ztrans will provide same-day service if space is available. The fare is $4.00 per trip. When you call, the dispatcher will search for trip openings.

If you are unable to make your scheduled ride for any reason, please call the office at (575) 439-4971 no later than 6:00 p.m. the day before to cancel your ride. Drivers cannot make schedule changes for you. Cancellations made after 1 hour before the scheduled trip will be considered a no-show.

A no-show occurs when:

• You fail to show up for your scheduled trip
• You fail to cancel 1 hour before your scheduled trip
• You are not ready within 5 minutes of the driver’s arrival during the pickup window

Riders will be suspended for no-shows if the following criteria are met during a 30-day period:

1. No-shows represent 10 percent or more of their scheduled trips, AND
2. The rider has 3 or more no-shows

Only no-shows under the passenger’s control will be counted against the rider. The passenger will be given an opportunity to appeal the suspension before the suspension takes effect.

After a second no-show, Ztrans will send you a warning letter. If you are suspended, Ztrans will notify you by registered mail of the date on which the suspension will begin. The date for the beginning of the suspension of service will be no less than 10 days from the date the letter is sent. The letter will indicate the times and dates of the no-shows that have occurred and your rights of appeal.

The length of the suspension depends on the number of suspensions:

• First suspension: 5 days
• Second suspension : 10 days
• Third suspension: 15 days
• Fourth or higher suspensions: 30 days

The ADA defines a wheelchair as a mobility aid belonging to any class of 3 or more-wheeled devices, usable indoors, designed r modified for and used by individuals with mobility impairments, whether operated manually or powered. We will make every effort to transport you and your wheelchair. However, if you and your wheelchair weigh more than what our wheelchair lifts are rated to carry or the wheelchair is too big for the lift platform, we will be unable to transport you. If it appears that the vehicle lift is strained, Ztrans will not be able to provide service until we have on file the actual weight of the passenger and the chair. Please call Ztrans for an evaluation to determine whether we can accommodate your mobility device.

Drivers are specially trained to serve you. Drivers will:

• Deploy lifts and ramps for persons using mobility devices and those without mobility devices who cannot navigate the bus steps upon request
• Secure your wheelchair
• Assist you to and from the bus to the first door of the building

To ensure your safety and the safety of our drivers, drivers will NOT do the following things, so you will need to arrange for someone else to assist you.

• Assist passengers using wheelchairs up and down ramps
• Carry packages
• Dress passengers
• Search passenger’s bodies for the appropriate fare or ticket
• Clear pathways of ice, snow, or other barriers

Ztrans has established the following general ridership policies for ADA paratransit
service. Many of the policies also apply to fixed-route service.

• Ztrans will transport oxygen generators and portable oxygen tanks. The tank must be portable, i.e., the passenger must be able to carry the tank into the vehicle themselves, even if the passenger is in a wheelchair. Once on board, the portable oxygen tank must be secured.
• All passengers must wear seatbelts
• All passengers using a wheelchair or scooter must use the restraint system that is used to secure the wheelchair or scooter to the floor of the vehicle.
• The number of packages a passenger can have along is limited to the number of packages that the passenger can carry.
• For safety reasons, Ztrans may request that passengers be accompanied by a personal care attendant.
• Ztrans may suspend or refuse service to any individual whose behavior and/or actions are violent, seriously disruptive, or illegal; cause a service interruption; or raise safety concerns.

You may appeal your eligibility determination or suspension from the program for violating Ztrans’ policies. An appeal of an eligibility determination must be submitted within 60 days of the date of the denial letter.

Your request for an appeal must be in writing. In the request either describe why you disagree with the determination or suspension, or ask to present your case in person. You or a representative of your choosing may present on your behalf. A written decision will be made within 30 days the information for the appeal was received or the hearing was held.

Send appeal requests to:
Ztrans
900 First Street
Alamogordo, NM 88310

Thank you for riding Ztrans