Senior Special Citizen Program
This
program allows passengers to ride PSTA’s regular
bus routes for a reduced fare by presenting a PSTA issued Senior
Special Citizen Photo ID Card upon boarding. To purchase the
ID, show proof that you are 65 or older at any PSTA Customer
Service Center or select ticket outlets (see outlet
list for
participating locations).
Disabled
Special Citizen Program
This
program allows eligible individuals to ride PSTA’s
regular bus routes for a reduced fare by presenting a PSTA issued
Disabled Special Citizen Photo ID Card upon boarding. Passengers
wishing to take advantage of this program must fill out an application
and have a doctor certify the disability.
Who Qualifies?
How to Apply
Notification
Wheelchair Accessibility
Who
Qualifies? (back to top)
The Federal Transit Act (Title 49 USC, Chapter 53, Section 5302)
defines those who qualify as individuals who because of permanent
illness, injury, congenital malfunction, or other incapacity
(including an individual who is a wheelchair user or has semi
ambulatory capability), are unable to utilize mass transportation
service or a mass transportation facility without special facilities,
planning, or design. Such limitations must present difficulty
when waiting, boarding, riding, or exiting a public transit
vehicle.
Individuals whose sole incapacity or disability is pregnancy,
obesity, impairment due to drugs or alcohol, controlled epilepsy,
or vision or hearing loss that can be corrected with mechanical
devices do not qualify. Financial need is not considered for
program eligibility.
If you are a Medicare cardholder (not Medicaid) you do not need
to apply for the Disabled Special Citizen Program. Just present
your original Medicare card to the Bus Operator upon boarding
to ride for the reduced fare, or at a PSTA Customer Service Center
to purchase a Special Citizen Photo ID Card.
How to Apply (back to top)
All sections of the application form must be complete; incomplete
applications will be returned unprocessed. After the “Applicant
Information and Release” section is completed, the application
should be taken to your doctor for certification. Completed
applications must be mailed to PSTA for processing; address
to PSTA Special Citizen Program, 3201 Scherer Drive,
St. Petersburg, FL 33716
Notification (back to top)
PSTA will notify you by mail whether you have been approved or
denied for the program. If approved, instructions will be included
for obtaining your photo ID card.
Wheelchair Accessibility (back to top)
Although wheelchair manufacturers are designing bigger wheelchairs and scooters, please be aware that our buses are not equipped to handle oversized wheelchairs and scooters. To prevent damage to the wheelchair lift and to safely board our wheelchair passengers, we are only equipped to transport “common wheelchairs”. Section 37.3 of the DOT’s regulations implementing the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) (49 CFR Parts 27, 37, and 38) defines a "common wheelchair" as a mobility aid belonging to any class of three or four-wheeled devices, usable indoors, designed for and used by individuals with mobility impairments, whether operated manually or powered. A "common wheelchair" does not exceed 30 inches in width and 48 inches in length measured two inches above the ground, and does not weigh more than 600 pounds when occupied.
If an electric
scooter or other mobility device meets the physical specifications
of a common wheelchair as defined by the DOT’s ADA regulations,
it will be treated as a “common wheelchair”. For
more information, visit this site: http://www.fta.dot.gov/14863_ENG_HTML.htm |
