Registration Information

Up-close view of a wheelchair

Eligibility

Who Qualifies?

In order to become a registered passenger of Loyalist Township Accessible Transportation, a person must:

Be a resident of Loyalist Township, living within the transit area that is served by the Kingston Transit Route #10 bus AND have a disability (or medical conditions) as per the integrated Accessibility Standard (Ont. Reg. 191/11) and Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act 2005 (A.O.D.A) which prevents the person from using conventional fixed-route transit services offered by the City of Kingston through Kingston Transit.

Eligibility for Loyalist Township’s Accessible Transportation Service is considered on a case-by-case basis and is based solely on the applicant’s disabilities and medical conditions preventing them from using Kingston Transit services

What Eligibility is Not Based On

Age, or a specific health condition.
Loss of driver’s license, inability to drive, or not having a personal vehicle.
Kingston Transit services not being offered in the area of the applicant’s pick-up/drop-off locations (e.g., rural areas of the City of Kingston), lack of sidewalks in area, unwillingness and/or reluctance to use Kingston Transit services.
Financial need including inability to pay for taxis (please note: ODSP recipients are not automatically eligible for specialized transit services).

Some applicants may only be eligible for service during certain periods of the year.

Passengers whose disabilities or medical conditions require specific transportation (e.g., extreme fragility requiring transportation below regular speeds or inability to remain on the vehicle for up to 1 hour) need to contact a non-emergency medical carrier for transportation.

Categories of Eligibility

Loyalist Township Accessible Transportation offers three categories of eligibility consistent with the Integrated Accessibility Standards Regulation (IASR O. Reg 191/11) and the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) 2005.

Unconditional Eligibility – Applicant has a disability which prevents them from using Kingston Transit services on a permanent basis.
Temporary Eligibility – Applicant has a temporary disability (e.g., broken leg) that prevents them from using Kingston Transit services for a defined period.
Conditional Eligibility – Applicant has a disability where environmental or physical barriers limit their ability to consistently use Kingston Transit services. An applicant who qualifies for conditional eligibility may be able to use conventional transit for part of their trip, but may also qualify for specialized transit under specific circumstances (e.g., winter weather conditions, travel to a non- accessible location).

Other Important Details:

Companions & Support Persons

Passengers may have one companion OR support person travel for free. Multiple companions may be accommodated in an accessible van, up to the manufacturer’s rated capacity of the vehicle, where a seatbelt for each occupant is available. At the time of booking, inform the operator of the number of people travelling with you.

For passengers who are “independent” or “care to care” please inform at the time of booking if a companion or support person will be going with you.

Passengers who document having seizures may be required to travel with a support person.

Once a passenger is registered as “care to care” or “cannot travel alone” these designations can only be modified by a Healthcare Professional. Please contact Loyalist Township to obtain a copy of the required form to be completed by a Healthcare Professional.

Travel Status - Independent / Care to Care / Cannot Travel Alone

All passengers are assigned one of the following travel conditions:

Independent – The passenger is capable of travelling independently and may be left unattended at their destination.
Care to Care - The passenger may travel independently but a caregiver must be at the destination to receive the passenger. If the passenger can travel unattended, however cannot be left unattended at their destination please indicate on page 12 and/or 18 of the application form. This designation will apply to all trips and destinations you travel to. To avoid delays to our service, we require the caregiver to be at the destination when the vehicle arrives. If someone is not available to receive you, Loyalist Township Accessible Transportation reserves the right to require the passenger to travel with a support person at all times.
Cannot Travel Alone – Loyalist Township Accessible Transportation is not an attendant care service. If you require a “support person” during transportation to assist with communication, mobility, personal care, behaviour, or medical needs, this person must be provided by you. KATC drivers cannot provide special medical assistance to passengers (e.g., feeding tubes, administering medication such as inhalers). See pages 12 & 17 of the application package. Please note:
1. The person travelling as a support person must always be capable of meeting the needs of the passenger during transportation.
2. If you or your healthcare practitioner indicates that you need a support person, this will apply to all trips and destinations you travel to/from. Transportation will be denied if you do not have a support person responsible for your care during transit. Loyalist Township Accessible Transportation is not responsible for any missed trips due to passengers not having a support person to travel with them.

Appeals

Applicants who are declined due to not meeting the eligibility requirements may appeal this decision. The applicant must submit an “Eligibility Appeal Form” within 30 calendar days from the date of the original eligibility decision letter. Contact Loyalist Township to obtain the form.

The appeal will be heard first by a subcommittee of Loyalist Township’s Senior Management team. Should the appeal be declined by the subcommittee, the applicant may request a further appeal to an independent arbiter appointed by Loyalist Township. No subsequent application may be filed until 6 months after the date of the final appeal decision unless evidence of material change in circumstances is provided with a new application.

Cost of Service

Effective January 1, 2023, the fare for Loyalist Township Accessible Transit is $3.25 per registered passenger. A companion or support person may travel with the registered passenger, free of charge.

Service Area

The service area is generally described as the transit service area of Amherstview together with the geographical area bounded by Lake Ontario to the South, Highway 401 to the North, Highway 15 to the East and Collins Bay Road and Bayridge Drive to the West, all within the City of Kingston as illustrated on the map titled “Accessible Transportation Service Area”.

For registered Clients travelling outside the service area, the client shall pay the current subsidized fare (at the time of the trip) plus the metered fare from the boundary, as confirmed by the service area map, to the destination. The meter shall be turned off at the boundary and restarted to the destination; this is the client’s responsibility to pay. If the client refuses to pay this amount, they will be refused service until the payment is made.

Registered Clients are not permitted to change their destination once the ride is booked and underway nor are clients permitted to stop at a location on way to their destination, therefore stops on route that incur ‘waiting time’ are not permitted. Clients requesting a destination change once the ride is booked and underway will be requested to provide payment for the cost of the deviation from the original destination. This is a cost borne by the Client.