Transit Assistance for People with Disabilities Program

2011-2012 BUDGET:       Operating    $2,937,000
                                             Capital          $   275,000

Background

• Transit Assistance for People with Disabilities (TAPD) Program received a 10 per cent or $292,000 funding increase in the 2011-12 Provincial Budget increasing operating funding available to communities in the program from $2,645,000 to $2,937,005 annually.
• The provincial government's role under the Transit Assistance for People with Disabilities program is to provide financial assistance to participating cities and towns to support special needs transportation services for persons with disabilities. Provincial support is provided because special needs transportation (paratransit) provides a critical link to social services and health clients and public housing residents for various purposes, as well as being essential to meet the needs of persons with disabilities.
• The participating municipalities are responsible for determining operating arrangements as they are in the best position to determine the needs of their community. They make decisions with respect to hours of operation, eligibility criteria, fee structure and service providers.
• There are 74 communities that receive Transit Assistance for People with Disabilities funding in the province. Currently, the program is not available to municipalities for new service at this time.
• In consultation with the cities and SUMA the ministry redesigned the Transit Assistance for People with Disabilities (TAPD) Program in 2003 to a performance-based program, rather than funding the operating deficits incurred by each participating municipality. The performance-based operating grant funding formula uses the number of public service trips each municipality provides in the previous year and community population to calculate the operating grants.
• Riders constitute a mixture of persons across the province; young and old, persons with physical or mental disabilities, wheelchair passengers and ambulatory passengers.
• For the 2012-2013 Operating grant, each participating municipality will receive a per trip amount, based on the number of trips provided by the municipality for the 2011 calendar year. Communities have been grouped in four population categories for the per trip amounts - under 2,500; 2,501 to 20,000; 20,001 to 100,000 and 100,001 or more. The population figures are obtained through the most recent Statistics Canada census.

Operating Assistance

• Participating municipalities must submit a completed copy of Form 1 - TAPD Application for Operating Assistance (see below), annually by March 1st.
• Municipalities may also be asked to submit additional supporting documentation.

Capital Assistance

• Municipalities that receive operating funding under the TAPD program may apply for capital funding for the purchase of a replacement vehicle for their special needs transit service.
• In the 2011-2012 fiscal year, the Transit Assistance for People with Disabilities Program - Capital Funding was approved for the replacement of five vehicles.
• To be eligible for Capital funding the Municipality must be the registered owner of the existing vehicle that is being replaced as well as the replacement vehicle.
• Municipalities must submit Form A -Application for Capital Grant Approval (see below), as well as a Form 2 - TAPD Vehicle Status Report (see below), for each vehicle requested.
• Capital Grant applications can be submitted anytime during the year and should be submitted before any financial commitment is made to purchase a vehicle. In order to be considered for funding in the upcoming provincial fiscal year, municipalities should submit their completed application by March 1^st.
• Since the inception of the program in 1981 the TAPD - Capital Funding and the Centenary Fund have provided funding for over 240 replacement vehicles to the participating municipalities.

For further information, contact:

Ministry of Municipal Affairs
Grants Administration and Financial Management
410 - 1855 Victoria Avenue
REGINA  SK  S4P 3T2 
Program and Policy Advisor: Shauna Rosloot
Telephone:  (306) 787-3088
Fax:  (306) 787-3641
E-mail:  muninfo@gov.sk.ca