Dial-a-ride
Dial-a-ride is a curb to curb transit service operated at passengers' requests. Dial-a-ride is a shared ride service where buses can pick up multiple riders in the neighborhood. Riders need to call ahead to reserve a pick up, generally at least 1 business day before, in addition to standing reservations.
Dial-a-ride services that are open to the general public are common in rural and suburban communities, where ridership is not sufficient to support fixed-route, scheduled bus service. Also, some scheduled bus service can be deviated off the route upon advanced reservation for the general public or senior/disabled riders.
Paratransit required by ADA is a form of dial-a-ride service. Paratransit service is available wherever fixed-route transit service is provided (with some exceptions), however paratransit is strictly reserved for disabled individuals who are unable to use or access fixed route transit. For areas that have general public dial-a-ride or deviated fixed route service, a separate paratransit service is not required.
A similar shared-ride service called microtransit uses mobile technology for reservation and dispatching like popular ride-hail/TNC services. Rides on microtransit can be requested on-demand from mobile devices đ± rather than reserving a day before.
