Transit Assistance for People with Disabilities Funding
Annual Budget: Operating $2,987,000; Capital $800,000
Accessible and safe transportation is one of the six publicly identified priority areas of the Saskatchewan Disability Strategy. The TAPD program directly supports this priority by helping Saskatchewan municipalities provide safe, available, public paratransit service which is foundational to citizens experiencing disability.
The Government of Saskatchewan's role under the TAPD program is to provide financial support to municipalities who offer paratransit services for persons with disabilities.
Paratransit provides a critical link for passengers across the province that use the service to get to work, school, medical appointments and a wide range of other daily activities. Passengers may have physical or mental disabilities, and they may use a wheelchairs or be ambulatory.
1. Program Background
The program is operated according to Part IV of The Municipal Grants Regulations, which provides the framework for program eligibility, outlines the grant calculation formula, and describes standards of operation and participant responsibilities.
Seventy-eight communities are eligible to receive TAPD funding in the province. Participating municipalities are responsible for determining their own paratransit service operating arrangements. They make decisions with respect to such things as:
- hours of operation;
- passenger eligibility criteria;
- fee structure; and
- service providers.
2. Operating Assistance
TAPD is a performance-based program. The funding formula allots participating municipalities with an annual operating grant calculated using the number of public service trips provided by each municipality in the previous calendar year, and a per trip amount based on which of the four population categories the community is in (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.
Participating municipalities must submit a completed copy of Form 1 - TAPD Application for Operating Assistance annually by February 28th.
Municipalities may also be asked to submit additional supporting documentation.
3. 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 paratransit service.
Participating municipalities can apply for 75% of the cost of the vehicle to a maximum amount of $55,000. The municipality is responsible for covering 25% of the cost and this can include community donations and fund raising money.
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 as well as a Form 2 - TAPD Vehicle Status Report 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 April 1st. Applications will be processed and recipients will be selected for Capital grants in that fiscal year.
To date, the TAPD - Capital funding and the Centenary Fund have provided funding for over 300 replacement vehicles to participating municipalities.