All resources RIPTA Disability Bus Pass

RIPTA offers a Reduced Fare Bus Pass Program that enables low-income people with disabilities or over the age of 65 to purchase a two-year bus pass for $10. The healthcare provider can support a patient in accessing this bus pass if the provider believes the patient has a disability and accessing public transportation is essential for a patient’s activities of daily living, including accessing health care.  

The application for low-income people living with a disability requires that proof of disability be submitted in the form of an SSI/SSDI award letter, a Medicare card with a disability code, or a letter from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs with a disability rating at or above 40%. However, if your patient does not receive SSI/SSDI or is unable to access any of the above documents, you as the health care provider may write a Certification of Disability for the patient to submit with their application (included within the letter template on this page). This is a powerful tool since many patients with a disability either have not been granted SSI/SSDI or have misplaced documents related to their disability. This should not preclude their access to transportation, hence the option for a patient’s health care provider to write a Certification of Disability.

Applications for RIPTA’s Reduced Fare Bus Pass Program can now be submitted online. Full details are available on the program’s homepage here. Both the online and paper applications can be found here. 

Refer to the Social Security Administration Blue Book – Adult Listings (Part A) to determine the specific condition that your patient has in order to document in the application. The relevant codes from the handbook are:

1.00: Musculoskeletal System

2.00: Special Senses and Speech

3.00: Respiratory Disorders

4.00: Cardiovascular System

5.00: Digestive System

6.00: Genitourinary Disorders

7.00: Hematological Disorders

8.00: Skin Disorders

9.00: Endocrine Disorders

10.00: Congenital Disorders that Affect Multiple Body Systems

11.00: Neurological Disorders

12.00: Mental Disorders

13.00: Cancer (Malignant Neoplastic Diseases)

14.00: Immune System Disorders