Model for Determining Paratransit Eligibility under the Americans with Disabilities Act

Abstract

A model is described for the rational characterization and determination of paratransit eligibility for individuals under the Americans with Disabilities Act. The model refines the process of determining paratransit eligibility by comparing, at the microstructure level, the mobility characteristics of a given individual with the environmental characteristics for a given trip. The large array of data that results presents an infinite number of possibilities in the comparison. A relational database was therefore created, along with a specially designed computational algorithm, to generate these comparisons quickly. Thus, the model provides the capability to make eligibility determinations quickly and objectively. In addition, the model allows for the virtual removal of selected barriers and then prediction of the cost-effectiveness that results from the reduced need for selected paratransit trips.

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