RTA Board approves ADA Action Plan 2 allowing riders to apply for higher monthly Taxi and Rideshare Access Program…

At the RTA Board of Directors’ March meeting, RTA staff provided an update on implementation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Action Plan that was approved in June 2025 and implemented beginning in October 2025. Given ridership data and sustainable operations funding from the NITA Act, the RTA Board voted to implement an ADA Action Plan 2 that allows riders to request a higher Rideshare Access Program (RAP) or Taxi Access Program (TAP) cap of 40 rides per month.

ADA paratransit is a shared ride, advanced reservation, origin-to-destination transportation service for individuals who, because of their disability, are unable to use CTA or Pace fixed route transit service for some or all of their trips. Pace operates ADA paratransit service for the entire RTA region.

The original ADA Action Plan was adopted to address an ADA Paratransit budget shortfall for the 2024 fiscal year and projected 2025 shortfall. At the time the region was facing a fiscal cliff and action was needed to ensure the transit system continued to meet its federal requirement to provide ADA paratransit service under the ADA. The budget shortfall was driven by popularity of two subsidy programs that Pace offers ADA paratransit eligible riders, the Rideshare Access and Taxi Access programs, RAP and TAP. TAP has been around for years, while RAP, launched in 2024, generated significant demand for trips and attracted many new riders seeking ADA paratransit certification who had not used it previously. While RAP and TAP trips cost less per ride than traditional ADA Paratransit vehicles, the rapid growth in trip volume has not been balanced by a decrease in demand for traditional ADA service and thus created a significant gap in the ADA Paratransit budget.

What the ADA Action Plan changed on October 1, 2025

Implemented a monthly ride cap of 30 rides on TAP and RAP. Previously the cap was 8 rides per day.
Restored the fare for TAP and RAP to equal that of traditional ADA Paratransit at $3.25. Previously the fare was $2, covering a total trip subsidy of up to $30.
CTA and Metra implemented Ride Free for all ADA eligible riders, following Pace, which had already implemented this benefit. Previously ADA eligible riders received a reduced fare on fixed route transit.

Ridership impacts

Since implementing the ADA Action Plan, fixed route ridership among ADA Paratransit certified riders has increased, with CTA seeing nearly a 40% increase in weekly rides by Paratransit-eligible Ventra card holders and Metra seeing monthly Paratransit-eligible ridership double immediately after the Action Plan took effect.
Total RAP and TAP trips declined by about 40% (100,000 rides) each month after the 30-ride cap was put in place, while roughly 80% of RAP and TAP riders were not impacted by the change.

What does ADA Action Plan 2 adjust?

Maintain RAP and TAP fare restoration, matching traditional ADA Paratransit at $3.25
Maintain Ride Free fixed route for ADA certified riders
Maintain the 30-ride RAP and TAP monthly ride cap
The RTA will begin accepting applications to increase the monthly ride cap to 40 rides on RAP and TAP.
Continue to monitor ridership and usage on traditional ADA Paratransit and RAP and TAP for the NITA board to assess future changes

ADA Action Plan 2 continues the success of the first action plan while addressing key issues heard in public comments from riders, advocates, and stakeholders, specifically on the 30-ride cap for RAP and TAP. The decision to develop a process to increase that cap to 40 rides on a case-by-case basis is built on ridership, cost analysis, peer comparison, and rider comments shared with the RTA and Pace Boards, as well as the availability of new funding via the NITA Act. By offering a process by which eligible riders can request a 40-ride cap, observed ridership data suggests that 97% of existing riders will have their mobility needs met by RAP and TAP.

More information on the application process and criteria as well as dates for implementation will be available soon at rtachicago.org.

Next steps

The transition to the Northern Illinois Transit Authority (NITA) will include ADA Paratransit elements to be implemented in the future. This includes a Regional Dial-A-Ride study, continuing the push to coordinate and consolidate local programs at the county level, updating and adopting the Human Services Transportation Plan (HSTP) later this year, and the creation of a new Department for Accessibility and Paratransit Planning at NITA.