Service Information and Policies

Accessible on-campus paratransit service is provided by UIC Transportation Services. However, approval must be obtained from the appropriate university office prior to requesting service.

• Students should contact the Disability Resource Center at (312) 413-2183.
• Faculty and staff should contact the Office of Access and Equity at (312) 996-8670.

Once your current Letter of Authorization (LOA) has been received, all you have left to do is submit your schedule and adhere to the following guidelines in order to take complete advantage of our program.  Remember, UIC offers premium paratransit service as outlined by the ADA/FTA but we need your help in order to continue to enhance our tradition of excellence.

Scheduling Rides

Please refer to the sample Paratransit Welcome Letter for complete details and schedule examples.

Schedule Submission: When submitting a schedule request, please note that we do not need and cannot work around your class schedule; we require an itinerary of proposed pickup times. All ride schedules shall be submitted via email (weekly) on Thursday by 3 p.m. for the following week. The format displayed below must be used to submit your schedule; please copy and paste it into your schedule submission emails. These schedule requests will be applied to available time windows in the order that they are received. If your requested pickup has already been filled by a prior submission, dispatch will email you a copy of your original schedule request with the conflicted times in red. We will also include the nearest possible substitution times in blue. It is imperative that you respond to these emails as soon as possible so that we can close out the time negotiation and solidify your itinerary. You may still submit a schedule for any day up to and including on the day prior, but the longer you wait the more likely it is that your target time will already be allocated to another rider.

Weekly Schedule
Passengers who wish to schedule regular appointments for the week must provide a written request or e-mail to Transportation services by the Thursday prior to the start of the week. Schedules may be e-mailed to rides@uic.edu or faxed to (312) 996-0165.

Please provide the following information:

• Your name
• Pickup day and time
• Pickup location and destination
• Contact information (i.e. telephone number, e-mail, fax)
• Whether wheelchair accessibility is needed
• Any other accommodation requirements

Also, please inform the dispatcher if an attendant will accompany you.

Rides are scheduled upon availability. While dispatchers will make every possible attempt to accommodate your requested time, please be aware that scheduling conflicts may occur. Flexibility in your requests will aid in scheduling a ride for you.

Additional Rides

Scheduled rides take precedence over additional (non-regularly scheduled) ride requests. Transportation Services will make every attempt to accommodate additional ride requests made by authorized paratransit service users. However, the provision of additional rides is contingent upon driver and vehicle availability.

• Requests can be made on an as-needed basis with optimal lead call time of one hour.
• For paratransit service between the hours of 7 a.m. and 11 p.m., please call Transportation Services at (312) 996-2842.
• For paratransit service between the hours of 11 p.m. and 9 a.m., please call (312) 996-6800.
• For paratransit service on Saturdays and/or Sundays: Requests must be made by 5 p.m. the Thursday prior.

Please arrange to be at the designated site at least five minutes prior to the scheduled pick up. In an effort to maintain scheduled services, drivers are not required to wait for more than ten minutes after the scheduled time.

Companions

An authorized individual may have a companion on the trip.

• The additional riders are limited to one per trip.
• The companion may not displace other ADA paratransit eligible individuals.
• The companion must have the same origin and destination point.
• The authorized individual must reserve a space for the companion for all trips.

Subscription Schedules: Per our current policy, we will accept permanent submittals of fixed schedules at the beginning of each semester for students with weekly pickup times that will remain constant for the entirety of the semester. When referenced to the weekly submittals, these schedules will be treated as if received first in the queue when conflicting times occur. Conflicts occurring between any subscription schedules will be resolved by accepting the times in the order that they have been received. These submittals must take place no later than seven days prior to the start of any semester. It is important to note that any changes in pickup times or cancellations must still be called in no less than an hour prior to the scheduled pickup in order to process without incurring a no-show status.

Unscheduled/Emergency Pickups

Submittals received on weekends, or during other times when office personnel are not present will be implemented at the earliest possible time by our call center, with consideration still given based on the order in which it was received. Students or staff requiring unscheduled/emergency pickups, or those late in submitting their schedules shall be accommodated to the best of our ability with the time resources at hand. These adjustments will not be issued a priority status based on the substance or nature of the request, and they will be placed into the first available opening within one hour before or after their target time. This shall also apply to instances where patrons have missed their window for pickup (no-show) and have called for a driver’s return. This is a premium service.

Service Hours

The hours of operation for our paratransit service extend beyond that which is mandated by law (must mirror fixed route service). As we offer 24/7 transportation services to our staff and students, the UIC paratransit service shall also operate overnight, on weekends, and on holidays for scheduled passengers and will accept “on demand” or emergency requests via our call center (weekend) or Night Ride service (overnight). It is important to note that “on demand” service requested during these circumstances will not be bound by the interval window used for scheduled service. Schedules submitted on Saturday for Sunday paratransit service will be directly accommodated, and not considered “on demand.” Office hours are Mon-Fri 4 a.m. – 11 p.m. Fixed route (Bus) hours are from 7 a.m. – 11 p.m.

Late Riders

Paratransit operates within a fairly rigid window and provides services at 15-20 minute intervals. This far exceeds the operational standards for windows outlined in Federal ADA service guidelines. Given the time-sensitive logistics of our program, we are currently able to wait for a passenger for up to five minutes after their scheduled time unless they communicate their status and ETA to the dispatch office. If time and existing schedule permits, the driver may wait past the five minute mark as a courtesy. However, during times of heavy use, the late passenger will be listed as a no-show and will have to reschedule a pickup at another time. We must all work together to serve those who depend on paratransit services.

Contact Information

Our office staff is available from 4 a.m. to 11 p.m. Monday-Friday.  You can email us directly at any time via: rides@uic.edu.

Dispatch/Call Center: (312) 996-2842
4 a.m. to 11 p.m. Monday-Friday and on weekends