METRO Drives Policies & Procedures

There are two levels of potential eligibility for METRO Drives services:

• Age 62 or older
• If you are under the age of 62 with a temporary or permanent disability that prevents you from riding fixed-route buses, you may submit an application completed by you and your medical physician or agency official for review.

A “no-show” is any trip scheduled, but not taken due to passenger circumstance. No-shows will be tracked on a rolling six month cycle. The first date of a no-show  occurrence begins the cycle. During the following six months, penalties for no-shows will incur. Penalties for no-shows in a six month period are as follows.

Amounts and Penalties:

• 1st no-show: Courtesy call 
• 3rd no-shows : Warning letter 
• 4th no-shows: 7 day suspension
• 5th no-shows: 14 day suspension
• Additional no- shows: 14 day suspension
• Any further no-shows will result in loss of METRO Drives privileges.

For METRO Drives passengers, all subsequent trips for the day after the first no-show are canceled. For ADA passengers, all subsequent trips for that day not completed or canceled by the passenger, will also be logged as no-show, placing into effect the no-show penalties. A passenger may appeal disputed penalties resulting from this No-Show Policy. Appeals must be received by the Customer Care and Mobility Solutions Department within 10 days of the date of the penalty notification sanction.

Trips not canceled at least 45 minutes prior to scheduled pick up time will result in a no-show and the No-show Policy would then take effect.

Passengers are required to be ready for departure within the 30-minute window Customer Care specifies when the trip is scheduled. If the passenger is not ready, the Wait Time Policy will take effect. If the passenger does not utilize the scheduled ride, the No-show Policy will take effect.

Passengers are expected to be ready and waiting for their ride at the front door of their house or in the lobby of a complex, apartment building or office. Operators are required to wait 5 minutes for a passenger if they arrive within the Arrival Window Time. The No-Show Policy would take effect if the passenger does not utilize the scheduled ride.

In order to provide a value-added service, operators will assist passengers to and from the vehicle when it is requested and as long as the request meets the following: At no time shall the vehicle leave the sight of the operator and the operator will not enter the residence. Operators will assist with bags (see Bags Policy).

Assistance will not be given if the operator determines the area from the door to the vehicle to be unsafe for the passenger and themselves. This includes walkways not cleared of accumulated snow, ice, or debris.

Assistance will not be given if steps or ramps have not been cared for or if they are not constructed properly. If the passenger does not concur with the operator’s professional determination of the area, he or she may call into the Dispatch Office and a supervisor will be dispatched to the pick-up address for a second opinion of the area in question. The supervisor will notify the passenger when the determination is made and proper documentation of the determination will be forwarded to the Customer Services Department.

Operator will assist with 3 large or 6 small bags per trip, per passenger. Assistance with bags would be given upon request of the passenger. A bag is defined as 1 large paper or plastic sack (weight not to exceed 10 lbs) or 2 small plastic bags (weight not to exceed 5 lbs each). (Any item meeting the preceding requirements may be substituted for a “bag”.) Any passenger violating this policy will be given one (1) letter of warning. A second occurrence will result in denial of transportation. Operators are here to assist. However, METRO Drives operates on a schedule and cannot offer valet services.

All fares are due upon boarding a METRO or contractor vehicle. Operators accept cash or METRO fare cards only.

METRO Drives fare is currently $2.00.

The same fare of $2.00 also applies to companions of METRO Drives passengers, regardless of companion’s age.  

Employees and retirees of METRO Regional Transit Authority will be charged a fare as set forth in the METRO Fare Policy. 

Learn more about fare card purchasing options at the pricing and purchase locations.

All METRO Drives passengers shall be allowed one companion rider, regardless of age, to accompany them for an additional $2.00 passenger fare. This companion must be made known to the customer care specialist at the time the request for transportation is made.

METRO Direct and METRO Drives/ADA vehicles will allow service animals to board all METRO and contracted vehicles. Pets or companion animals will not be transported on any METRO or contracted vehicles, caged or otherwise.

The ADA defines a service animal as any guide dog, signal dog, or other animal individually trained to provide assistance to an individual with a disability. Service animals perform some of the functions and tasks that the individual with a disability cannot perform for him or herself. “Seeing eye dogs” are one type of service animal, used by some individuals who are visually impaired.

The care or supervision of a service animal is solely the responsibility of his or her owner. The passenger and the service animal may be asked to exit the vehicle if the service animal’s behavior poses a direct threat to the health or safety of others.

Operators will assist passengers in manual mobility devices up or down one curb or standard size step. Operators will take an unoccupied, “common” (30" x 48"), manual mobility device up or down no more than 3 steps.

All ramps and walkways must be cleared of ice, snow, and/or debris and properly maintained to allow a safe area for the operator to assist. If the area is deemed unsafe, assistance for the passenger will not be given and transportation will be denied for that trip unless the passenger can meet the operator at the vehicle.

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) prohibits discriminating against individuals with disabilities in providing transportation services. It is METRO's policy that all passengers utilizing a mobility device, manual wheelchair, electric wheelchair, etc., must be weighed and measured prior to services offered in the interest of safety. Though METRO's entire fleet is accessible, not all mobility devices fit safely on our ramps and lift or are transport compliant.

Operators must require the passenger permits his/her common wheelchair to be secured, if the common wheelchair can be properly secured. If the bus securement system cannot be used properly on a particular common wheelchair, operators must use their “best efforts” to restrain or confine the common wheelchair to the securement area and advise the common wheelchair passenger of a potential hazard. Operators may not deny transportation to common wheelchair users because his/her common wheelchair cannot be secured satisfactorily by the bus securement system.

Operators are to assist passengers in using passenger seat and/or shoulder belts upon request. The use of seat/shoulder belts is at the option of the passenger, but is strongly recommended by the Transit Authority. If an operator asks the common wheelchair passenger to use the seat/shoulder belt and the passenger refuses, the operator should immediately notify the dispatcher/supervisor that the operator did make an attempt to have the common wheelchair passenger use the seat/shoulder belt, and the passenger refused.

While the operator may recommend passengers using a wheelchair or scooter transfer from the mobility device to a bus seat if the person is willing to do so, the passenger is not required to transfer.

Passengers using a mobility device that is not a common wheelchair shall not be transported by METRO Regional Transit Authority vehicles.

Operators are not permitted to drive or operate a motorized mobility device. Operation of the device is the sole responsibility of the passenger or their designee.

Assessment of the customer mobility aid tools may be required. The assessment gives the passenger and METRO bus operators the opportunity to understand the needs of the passenger and their equipment prior to riding METRO services. 

Inclement weather (including but not limited to snow, ice, sleet, torrential rain, and/or high winds) may result in the METRO Drives system operating behind schedule. If METRO RTA deems the service is running behind schedule due to inclement weather, METRO Drives reserves the right to prioritize trips on these days in the following order; medical, work, education, other.

Weapons, concealed or otherwise, and contraband are prohibited on METRO Direct or METRO Drives/ADA vehicles. Those caught with weapons or contraband will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.*
*Unless otherwise authorized by law.

Abusive behavior of any type, directed towards METRO employees or passengers, will not be tolerated. Instances of abuse will be thoroughly investigated on a case-by-case basis. The severity of the instance will determine the penalty and may range from a letter of warning to criminal prosecution. METRO Drives reserves the right to suspend and/or revoke transportation privileges in cases of abusive behavior when the safety and well being of the employees and/or passengers is compromised.

METRO Drives will accommodate group trips of no more than a combination of passengers equaling one (1) METRO Drives vehicle. These group trips will be accepted on a first come-first served availability basis. All passengers in the group must meet METRO Drives qualifications. All passengers and assistants must pay the METRO Drives fare agreed upon at the time the trip is set up. The fare is due upon entrance of the vehicle. Destinations for group trips should be in close proximity of the groups’ original pick up. Due to limited availability, METRO Drives is unable to transport group trips for students attending primary, secondary, high school or other education facilities. Group trips that cannot be accommodated by METRO Drives have the option of contacting other service providers who specialize in charter trips.

Lost or stolen picture ID cards will be replaced by METRO Drives at the current cost to the passenger of $7.50. Picture IDs may be replaced by calling the Customer Care and Mobility Solutions Department and setting up an appointment for retaking the picture for the ID, if needed. In some instances, this may not be necessary. The current replacement fee and service fee, if required, must be paid at the time of the picture retake, or before a new ID will be issued. In order to maintain efficient service to the customer and assure coverage for this service, no cards will be immediately replaced at the home office address of METRO RTA. Cards will be replaced one (1) time at the $7.50 replacement fee. Cards will be replaced a second time for the $7.50 replacement fee and a service fee of $2.50 for a total of $10.00. Cards lost or stolen a third time will result in the $10.00 fee and the suspension of services until the card can be replaced. Subsequent occurrences will result in the passenger’s services being suspended for a minimum of 90 days, after which the passenger must reapply for METRO Drives services.

It is the sole responsibility of the applicant, or responsible party representing the applicant, to apply or reapply for METRO Drives/ADA privileges in a sufficient amount of time to complete the application process. All forms and assessments must be completed fully. Expiration dates are clearly noted on identification cards. Please allow minimum processing times of 21 days for METRO Drives applications. Notification will be forwarded to the applicant via the USPS.

Subscription trips will be allowed if the current number of subscription trips does not exceed 50% of the total trips provided for the day. Passengers may call for the availability of subscription trips in their area.

METRO Drives trips may be scheduled one (1) business day in advance. Please call on Friday for Monday, or one (1) day before a holiday for the service the day after a holiday. If availability allows, same day trips and changes to previously scheduled trips are accepted, but only in emergency situations (i.e. medical and work trips). The dispatcher will make this determination. The charge for these exceptions will be at a premium rate of 3 times the current METRO Drives fare.