As part of its mission to ensure people's mobility throughout Québec, the ministère des Transports helps organize and operate paratransit services designed to promote the social, occupational and economic integration of persons with disabilities.
This section contains information on the following topics:
eligibility for paratransit services: who is eligible, the different types of eligibility and accompaniment (companion) services, and how applications are processed. This part also provides access to the full text of the Paratransit Eligibility Policy ;
where to obtain information on or register for services in each region of Québec;
The following, intended for people with disabilities, is a presentation of the main points of the Paratransit Eligibility Policy of the ministère des Transports du Québec, published in 1998. The full text of the Policy is mainly intended for members of eligibility committees as well as the personnel of the health and social services network.
Who May be Eligible?
Paratransit is public transportation adapted to the needs of people with disabilities. However, only people whose disabilities greatly compromise their mobility are eligible. The eligibility policy determines the criteria for eligibility and the processing of applications.
Anyone who meets the two following conditions may be declared eligible.
The person must have a disability, that is, have a significant, persistent impairment and be limited in carrying out normal activities.
The person must have limitations to mobility that make the use of specialized transportation services necessary. Only the following disabilities are valid for the purposes of eligibility:
inability to walk 400 metres on level ground
inability to go up a step 35 centimetres high with support, or step down without support;
inability to go through all of the stages involved in a trip on public transport;
inability to keep track of time or find one’s bearings;
inability to master situations of behaviour that could represent a danger for oneself or for others;
inability to communicate verbally or with signs. By itself, this disability does not constitute a criterion for eligibility.
What Are the Levels of Eligibility and Types of Accompaniment Services?
If you are declared eligible for paratransit, you will be granted the level of eligibility and the type of accompaniment services that reflect your actual needs given your disabilities and, if applicable, your ability to learn to use public transportation or to become familiar with it.
compulsory for disabled children under 6 years old
Not authorized
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(1) Authorization for this type of accompaniment service is left to the discretion of each service, which will decide whether its users can be accompanied if they require help only at their destination.
(2) A disabled parent can travel with his or her children under 14 years of age. Similarly, any disabled child under 14 years of age can travel with his or her parents (or with a responsible person) and, if applicable, with another member of the immediate family under 14 years of age.
Who Examines the Applications?
Who Reviews the Decisions?
It is the role of the eligibility committee to rule on each application it receives. The committee can also review files of eligible persons and, if applicable, change a previous decision if new facts warrant it. The designated organization, people with disabilities and the health and social services network are represented on this tripartite committee.
You must advise the committee of any new facts that affect the information you gave when you first applied. The committee can then adjust your type of eligibility and accompaniment services accordingly. The results of the committee’s analysis will be sent to you in writing within 45 days after it receives those facts.
Any decision by the eligibility committee concerning you must be sent to you in a written statement that includes the reasons for the decision. Decisions by the committee go into effect immediately, except in cases where they result in the cancellation of eligibility or restrict the use of a paratransit service. In such cases, decisions go into effect 75 days after they have been rendered.
Is There Another Review Mechanism?
An ultimate review mechanism has been set up for people who feel they have been wronged by the decision of the eligibility committee. To be considered admissible by the review board, an application must have been though all the normal stages before the eligibility committee and meet the four following conditions:
the application must be made by the person himself or his legal representative;
the decision contested must have been based on an analysis of the complete file, and be duly signed by the representatives of the eligibility committee;
the decision contested must have been justified in a sufficiently precise way by the eligibility committee, and that justification must have been brought to the attention of the person concerned;
the additional formalities that must be observed when the eligibility committee rendors a decision must have been complied with.
The review board will render a decision within 30 days following receipt of the application for review. The decision may uphold, quash or change the decision of the eligibility committee. The board’s decision is final and without appeal, and it will be sent to the applicant in a written statement including the reasons for the decision.
All applications made to the review board are to be sent in writing, within 403 days following the decision by the eligibility committee, to the following address:
Bureau de révision
Direction du transport terrestre des personnes
Ministère des Transports du Québec
700, boulevard René-Lévesque Est, 25e étage
Québec (Québec) G1R 5H1
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(3) This time limit may be extended for reasons considered as exceptionnal by the review board.
What Should I Do to be Declared Eligible for Paratransit?
Contact the paratransit service in your municipality for an application form. The form lists the attestations you will have to provide. You will receive an answer within 45 days after your duly completed application form has been received.
If there is no paratransit service in your municipality, contact the paratransit service nearest you. It will refer you to the eligibility committee designated to handle applications from your municipality.
All applications are treated confidentially, and all information provided is protected under the Act respecting Access to documents held by public bodies and the Protection of personal information.
If you are declared eligible a card will be issued to you permitting you to use the paratransit service in your municipality. In addition, as a visitor and depending on available resources, you will have access to paratransit services elsewhere in Québec.
