INTRODUCTION

The Mid-Ohio Valley Transit Authority is the public transportation provider for the cities of Parkersburg and Vienna. Our goal is to provide the best possible transportation service to residents. Our vehicles are clean, safe, comfortable and well-maintained, and our drivers are trained to serve you.

We are pleased to provide for the public transportation needs of all the area’s citizens, including those with disabilities. To accomplish this goal, we operate 2 services:

• Easy Rider
• Easy Lift

Easy Rider operates along routes with scheduled stops. Buses are equipped with wheelchair lifts that enable persons in wheelchairs or persons who cannot navigate steps to ride the bus. Buses have priority seating for seniors and persons with disabilities. Stops are automatically announced. Drivers are trained to assist riders use lifts, secure wheelchairs, provide information on destinations served, and announce stops, including any stop you request. Our goal is to make Easy Rider accessible to and convenient for everyone.

Easy Lift provides comparable service to Easy Rider for individuals whose disabling conditions prevent them from riding routes. Easy Lift is operated according to the guidelines set forth by the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) and as outlined in this guide. 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.

If you have any questions on this handbook or our services, please call us at (304) 422-4100.

APPLICATION PROCESS

Any individual wishing to apply for Easy Lift eligibility must go to ADARide.com. For help in completing the on-line application, please call ADARide at (877) 232-7433. Once you have completed the application, you will need a treating professional of your choice to help support your documentation.

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 him or her from riding Easy Rider. In some cases, eligibility is established for certain circumstances only.

A decision will be made within 21 days of receipt of a complete application. 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

Visitors can ride Easy Lift. To ride the service, either fax, email, or mail:

1. Documentation that you are already eligible for ADA complementary paratransit (a copy of your eligibility letter or your photo ID), or
2. 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 520 Juliana Street Parkersburg. 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.

SERVICE AREA AND HOURS

Easy Lift operates the same days and hours within 3/4 of a mile of an Easy Rider route. We will determine whether your trip is in the Easy Lift service area when you call to schedule a ride.

Monday through Saturday, depending on your location pickups start at 5:50 a.m. Trips must be completed by 11:00 p.m.

No service is provided on Sunday and the following holidays:

• New Year’s Eve (1/2 day)
• New Year’s Day
• Memorial Day
• Independence Day
• Labor Day
• Thanksgiving Day
• Christmas Eve (1/2 day)
• Christmas Day
  

TRIP RESTRICTIONS

There are no trip restrictions or ranking of trips by trip purpose.

FARES

The fare is $0.35. Monthly passes are $15.00.

CURB-TO-CURB SERVICE

Easy Lift is curb-to-curb service. We ask that passengers be ready for pick up at the curb. However, if you require assistance to and from the bus to the door, please let us know and the driver will assist you. The path from the bus to the door must be accessible. Drivers will NOT assist passengers using wheelchairs up or down steps. Please arrange with someone else to assist you.

PERSONAL CARE ATTENDANTS and COMPANIONS

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 get 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 service of a personal care attendant may also be accompanied by 1 or more companions.

SERVICE ANIMALS

Service animals are always welcome.

The entity may require that a service animal be harnessed, leashed, or tethered while in public places, unless these devices interfere with the service animal’s work or the person’s disability prevents use of these devices. In such cases, the entity may require that the person maintain control of the animal via voice, signal, or other effective means.

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. At the time of scheduling a ride, please indicate if a service animal will accompany you.

SCHEDULING RIDES

Rides on the ADA complementary paratransit service can be scheduled the day before the trip or up to 7 days in advance. To schedule a ride, please call (304) 422-4100. To speak to a scheduler, call Monday through Friday between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. A telephone answering service is available on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m.

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

1. Prepare for your call
2. Note your trip information
3. Schedule the return trip
4. Be ready to go at the scheduled time

Prepare for Your Call

Please have the following information ready when you call:

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

The scheduler will let you know your pickup and return times. Easy Lift 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

Please write your pickup and return times down. This will help you remember them. If you have a calendar, write the times on it.

Schedule Your Return Trip

Easy Lift 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. If you are ready to return before your scheduled time, or if you will be later than your scheduled time, please call (304) 422-4100 and we will do all we can to accommodate your request.

Be Ready to Go at the Scheduled Time

Please be ready to go 15 minutes before the scheduled pickup time. Easy Lift makes every effort to arrive as close to the scheduled pickup time as possible. However, we may arrive up to 15 minutes before or 15 minutes after the scheduled pickup time.

Example:  If you schedule a 9:30 a.m. pickup, the vehicle may arrive between 9:15 a.m. and 9:45 a.m.

This 30-minute time period (of 15 minutes before to 15 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 pickup 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 (304) 422-4100 as soon as possible. When you are ready, call us and we will dispatch the next available van to pick you up.

CANCELLATIONS

If you are unable to make your scheduled ride for any reason, please call the office at (304) 422-4100 no later than 4:30 p.m. the day before to cancel your ride. Drivers cannot make schedule changes for you. Cancellations made after 2 hours before the scheduled trip will be considered a no-show.

NO-SHOW POLICY

A no-show occurs when:

• You fail to show up for your scheduled trip
• You fail to cancel 2 hours before your scheduled trip
• You are not ready within 5 minutes of the driver’s arrival during the pickup window

You will be suspended for no-shows if the following criteria are met over 4 consecutive weeks:

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 your control will be counted. You will be given an opportunity to appeal the suspension before the suspension takes effect.

After a second no-show, Easy Lift will send you a warning letter. If you are suspended, Easy Lift 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. Suspensions will be stayed during appeal.

The length of the suspension depends on the number of suspensions over a year:

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

WHEELCHAIRS

The ADA defines a wheelchair as a mobility aid belonging to any class of 3- or more-wheeled devices, usable indoors, designed or 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, we will not be able to provide service until we have performed an evaluation. Please call (304) 422-4100 for an evaluation to determine whether we can accommodate your wheelchair.

All wheelchairs and other mobility devices must be secured to the floor of the vehicle using the securement equipment. In the case where a mobility device is incapable of being properly secured by the securement devices, the driver will let you know and will recommend that you transfer to a seat. In those cases, it will be up to you to decide to continue with the ride.

DRIVER ASSISTANCE

Easy Lift 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 van to the first door of the building

To ensure your safety and the safety of our drivers, drivers will NOT:

• Assist passengers using wheelchairs up or down steps or steep ramps
• Carry packages
• Search a passenger’s body for the appropriate fare or pass
• Clear pathways of ice, snow or other barriers

Please arrange with someone else to assist you.

GENERAL RIDERSHIP POLICIES

Easy Lift has established the following general ridership policies. Many of the policies also apply to Easy Rider.

• If a passenger uses oxygen, 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 ride in a secure location, for example, in the passenger’s lap, strapped to the wheelchair, in front of the passenger on the floor between seats, or on the floor behind the modesty panel.
• 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 in one trip.
• Drivers cannot accept tips.
• For safety reasons, Easy Lift may request that passengers be accompanied by a personal care attendant.
• Easy Lift 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.

For additional ridership rules, please visit our website easyriderbus.com.

APPEALS PROCESS

You may appeal your eligibility determination or suspension from the program for violating our no-show policy. 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:

General Manager
Mid-Ohio Valley Transit Authority
520 Juliana Street
Parkersburg, WV 26101

Thank you for riding Easy Rider and Easy Lift.