If you’re planning to move to a new address, please contact us first to find out if your new address is located within the ADA service area, so that your paratransit transportation can continue seamlessly.

If you are planning on visiting MART’s service area, all you will need to do is provide MART with another RTA’s ADA paratransit eligibility approval and MART will provide 21 days of service during any 365 day period beginning with the first day of use.  If you do not have another RTA’s ADA paratransit eligibility approval we ask the you fill out the ADA application.

What is the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Complementary Para-transit Transportation?

ADA transportation is for people whose disabilities prevent them from using the regular accessible MART fixed route bus for some or all of their trips. MART determines eligibility based on functional considerations and helps determine which individuals can most benefit from ADA Para-transit service and which individuals can be best served by the regular accessible MART fixed route bus. You must apply for ADA Complementary Para-transit service and be determined eligible under the guidelines of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Mandated ADA service area must fall within a ¾ mile area surrounding each of MART’s fixed bus routes. However MART’s ADA service has been expanded to the whole cities of Fitchburg, Leominster and Gardner. Lunenburg, Lancaster, Sterling, Westminster, Templeton, Phillipston,  Athol, Orange, and Winchendon are still restricted to the ¾ mile boundary. ADA service is available whenever the regular MART fixed route bus is on the road, generally Monday through Saturday, with service hours varying from weekday versus Saturday. Click here to view MART bus schedules.

You do not have to live in the ADA service area to access the ADA paratransit services that MART offers. However, you must be picked up or dropped off at an address located within the ADA service area to access the service, and both ends of your trip must also fall within the ADA service area to be considered an ADA trip.

ADA Complementary Paratransit Service is a “complement” to the regular bus, which means that a trip on the paratransit service will typically take the same amount of time that it would take to make the trip on the regular MRTA bus, including waiting times and transferring from bus to bus.

Which government agency is responsible for overseeing compliance with the ADA Act?

The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) Office of Civil Rights is responsible for civil rights compliance and monitoring to ensure non-discriminatory provision of transit services. For more information, please visit the FTA website.