Dial-A-Ride: 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.

For Dial-A-Ride reservations and eligibility, please call (970) 224-6066.

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Using Dial-A-Ride

Download the complete Dial-A-Ride Users Guide (PDF)

Quick Links:

• 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)

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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

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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.

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Hours and Days of Service

Dial-A-Ride operates from 6:00 AM - 11:00 PM Monday through Saturday, except for published holidays.

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Fares

Fares are $2.50 per one-way trip.

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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
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• 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

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Trip Reservations must be made at least one day in advance

Reservations are taken up to 14 days in advance. Call (970) 224-6066 to schedule your trip.

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What if I need to cancel my ride?

Passengers must cancel a trip reservation a minimum of one (1) hour prior to the scheduled pick-up time. A reservation can only be cancelled by calling the Dial-A-Ride office at (970) 224-6066. If a ride is cancelled 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.

There is a Dial-A-Ride suspension policy for excessive violations of the one hour notice cancellation requirment. For details on this suspension policy, please refer to the Dial-A-Ride Users Guide.

All of the following are considered cancellation violations:

• "Late Cancel": Passanger fails to give cancellation notice at least one hour prior to scheduled pick-up time.
• "No-Show": Passenger is not at the designated pick-up location and misses a scheduled trip.
• "Cancel at the Door": Passenger refuses his/her trip when the driver arrives for pick-up.

If a passenger incurs three violations (in any combination), service may be suspended.

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).

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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 up to 21 calendar days to process upon receipt of the application. Please note that an application is not considered complete until a health care provider verification form has been received. 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.

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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.

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