City of Fort Collins's Paratransit Service
Dial-A-Ride is a door-to-door paratransit service for individuals who, because of a disability, are prevented from using Transfort, the City's fixed-route bus service. Effective January 2, 2007, the City of Fort Collins modified Dial-A-Ride service to align with the minimum service requirements of the American's with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA). The ADA requires entities that provide fixed route bus service to provide complementary paratransit service to persons who have a disability that prevents them from being able to use the fixed route bus service.
- Eligibility
- Service Area
- Hours and Days of Service
- Fares
- Funding
- Trip Reservations must be made at least one day in advance
- What if I need to cancel my ride?
- What if this is my first time to call?
- How soon should I be ready?
Supplemental List of Disabled Resources
Agencies listed in the link below provide services ranging from transportation options to coordination of a variety of social services. They are independent organizations and are not associated with Transfort/Dial-A-Ride. The websites and phone numbers of each organization are listed for your convenience.Additional Transportation & Support Agencies - CONTACT LIST (PDF)
Eligibility
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) defines someone as disabled for the purposes of transportation as: A person with a disability, whose disability prevents them from using a fixed route bus service. Individuals that fit this definition are eligible for paratransit service.
In order to better serve Dial-A-Ride clients, eligibility will be categorized into three different groups:
- Unconditional - A person’s disability prevents them from using the fixed route system at any time
- Conditional - A person’s disability prevents them from using the fixed route system part of the time. An example would be a person sensitive to temperature extremes. Consideration will be given to the following day’s weather in determining a trip’s eligibility
- Temporary - A person’s disability prevents them from using the fixed route system for a set period of time
Service Area
All trips must remain within the revised service area, which is defined as ¾ mile from any fixed bus route. See map. Paratransit service will not be scheduled beyond the area shown in blue on the map. Simply living beyond ¾ of a buffer does not qualify for Dial-A-Ride. Final determination of a trip’s origin and destination falls within the discretion of Dial-A-Ride.
Hours and Days of Service
Dial-A-Ride operates from 6:00 AM - 11:00 PM Monday through Saturday, except for published holidays.
Fares
Fares are $2.50 per one-way trip.
Funding
While Dial-A-Ride requires $2.50 for each one way trip, we do accept funding from various funding sources. It is important to note that Dial-A-Ride does not administer or facilitate these funding sources. Funding eligibility is determined by the administrators of the funding sources. Once accepted, Dial-A-Ride is then contacted by these agencies to determine allotments and guidelines for the funded trips.
The agencies we currently work with are:
-
Foothills Gateway, Inc. (FGI)
FGI is an organization that works with people with developmental disabilities and provides trip funding for those clients who qualify for transportation allowances.
Foothills Gateway, Inc.
301 W. Skyway Drive, Fort Collins, CO 80525
Phone: (970) 226-2345 -
-
Options for Long Term Care (OLTC)
OLTC is a program administered by Larimer County Health and Human Services. The program provides non-medical Medicaid trips to those clients who qualify for transportation allowances. The funded allotments and trip purposes are determined by their case workers.
Phone: (970) 498-7780 -
-
Logisticare of Colorado
Logisticare is an agency that administers non-emergency medical transportation for much of the State of Colorado's Medicaid program. Passengers who qualify for Medicaid must contact Logisticare directly to qualify and schedule all their trips. Logisticare then assigns the trips to the provider of its choice.
Phone: (800) 284-5150 -
Trip Reservations must be made at least one day in advance
Reservations are taken up to 14 days in advance.
What if I need to cancel my ride?
Passengers must call to cancel a reservation trip a minimum of one (1) hour prior to the scheduled pick-up time. Failure to give proper cancellation notice is defined as a "late cancel". A passenger who is not at the designated pick-up location and misses a scheduled trip is defined as a "no-show". If a passenger refuses his/her trip when the driver shows up, this is defined as a "cancel at the door" which also counts as a "no-show".
There is a Dial-A-Ride suspension policy for excessive "no-show"-type violations. All the following are "no-show"-type violations; "no-shows", "cancels at the door" or "late cancellations". Any combination of 3 "no-shows", "cancels at the door" or "late cancellations" in a 30 day period will result in a 1 week suspension. If in another 30 day period a passenger has another combination of 3 "no-shows", "cancels at the door" or "late cancellations", this will result in a 30 day suspension.
NOTE: This policy does not apply to passengers who have missed a return trip due to a medical delay (when passenger is not ready due to a doctor's appointment running late). You may cancel your ride by calling the Dial-A-Ride office at (970) 224-6066. If a passenger cancels a ride one hour or more before the scheduled pick-up time, the passenger will not have to pay a fare and will not receive a penalty.
What if this is my first time to call?
The first time you call us, we will get your name and address in order to send you information and eligibility forms. After forms are completed, send them back to Dial-A-Ride at 6570 Portner Rd. Fort Collins, Co 80525. This process will take 7-10 business days to complete. Once determination of your eligibility is complete you will be notified by the Dial-A-Ride office. Upon receipt of notification you can make your first reservation.
How soon should I be ready?
To help ensure Dial-A-Ride will get you to your destination on time be ready at least 15 minutes before your pickup time, be prepared to wait up to 15 minutes after your pickup time, and watch for your driver. Drivers will wait no longer than five minutes for each rider. If your driver has not arrived within 15 minutes of your pickup time, please call 224-6066. Dial-A-Ride is committed to providing you the best paratransit service possible.
Dial-A-Ride
Physical Address: 6570 Portner Rd., Fort Collins, CO 80525
Mailing Address: PO Box 580, Fort Collins, CO 80522-0580
Phone: (970)224-6066