49 CFR Parts 37 & 38 - Department of Transportation (DOT) ADA Regulations

Hours and Days of Service

This criterion says simply that if a person can travel to a given destination using a given fixed route at a given time of day, an ADA paratransit eligible person must be able to travel to that same destination on paratransit at that time of day. This criterion recognizes that the shape of the service area can change. Late at night, for example, it is common for certain routes not to be run. Those routes, and their paratransit corridors, do not need to be served with paratransit when the fixed route system is not running on them. One couldn't get to destinations in that corridor by fixed route at those times, so paratransit service is not necessary either.

It should be pointed out that service during low-demand times need not be by the same paratransit mode as during higher usage periods. For example, if a provider uses its own paratransit vans during high demand periods, it could use a private contractor or user-side subsidy provider during low demand periods. This would presumably be a more efficient way of providing late night service. A call-forwarding device for communication with the auxiliary carrier during these low demand times would be perfectly acceptable, and could reduce administrative costs.