What the HandyDART application is for
One form covers two programs. HandyDART is a shared, door-to-door transit service for people with a temporary or permanent physical or cognitive disability who can’t use conventional transit without help for some or all of their travel. The HandyCard is a photo card for people 12 and older with a permanent disability of that kind. It gives concession fares when travelling with an attendant, who rides free, and lets the holder buy TaxiSavers. Outside Metro Vancouver, BC Transit runs handyDART with its own forms.
Who completes it
The applicant, or a personal representative or legal guardian, completes the application: programs applied for, contact and pick-up details, mobility aids, attendant and caregiver needs, their own description of why conventional transit doesn’t work, and the authorization. An approved authority who has directly supported the applicant completes the verification. The approved authority can’t sign for the applicant.
Applicants often fill in the long front section at home, sometimes with a family member, then bring the form to the clinic for the verification page, which has to be signed by hand. In Medulla, you can send the application sections to the patient over a secure link. They fill in their details and sign the authorization on the form, and their answers land on the PDF you complete the verification on. You then print and sign the verification as TransLink requires.
How to fill in the verification
Medical condition
Name the medical or underlying conditions that prevent the applicant from using conventional transit. The form gives examples: dialysis for chronic renal failure, dementia that stops the person recognizing their destination, COPD with portable oxygen, macular degeneration, diabetic neuropathy and claudication, and sternal precautions after cardiac surgery.
Ability to use conventional transit
Answer whether the applicant can use conventional transit unassisted for all or part of the journey. The form points out that all conventional transit vehicles are wheelchair accessible and announce stops, so a “no” needs the objective limitations behind it: how far they can walk, whether they can wait at a stop, navigate a transfer, or recognize where to get off.
Permanent or temporary, and attendant
Choose permanent, temporary for six months, or temporary for 12 months. Extensions are possible. State whether the applicant will always need an attendant on HandyDART, knowing the driver helps only from the first accessible exterior door to the vehicle and back.
Signature and certification
Sign by hand, date, and give your name, organization, address, phone and fax. Tick your certification from the list.
Common reasons it’s returned
- A diagnosis with no description of how it limits use of conventional transit.
- A digital signature on the verification section.
- Verification signed by a relative or someone who hasn’t supported the applicant.
- An unsigned applicant authorization.
- No photos with a HandyCard application.
Submitting and who pays
The applicant emails the completed form to atcc@translink.ca with “Last Name, First Name” as the subject, or mails it to Access Transit Customer Care, 400-287 Nelson’s Court, New Westminster. Fax isn’t accepted. Processing takes up to 10 business days for HandyDART and up to four weeks for HandyCard. TransLink charges no application fee, and any fee for the verification is paid by the applicant.