How to Qualify for and Book Access Paratransit Rides in L.A. County

Eligibility comes from an in-person transit test, not a diagnosis, and rides are booked the day before, never the same day.

You're wondering whether a doctor's diagnosis gets you onto Access, the shared-ride paratransit service that covers most of Los Angeles County. It doesn't. What counts is whether your disability keeps you from riding the bus or train on your own, and Access checks that in person.

That rule comes straight from Access Services' eligibility page, and the rest of the process follows from it. Access asks whether you can get to the stop, get on and off, figure out which bus to take and when to get off, and read a schedule, according to its FAQ page. The disability doesn't have to be visible. Being able to drive doesn't rule you out.

Getting qualified takes four steps, and the third one comes with a waiting period.

1. Get an Access ID number first. You can't book the evaluation without it. Apply for one online from the eligibility page, or call Customer Service at 1-800-827-0829 and press 3 (TDD 1-800-827-1359). The line is open weekdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
2. Fill out the application. Do it online, or ask for a paper copy and mail it back. Medical paperwork is optional unless Access asks for it after your evaluation.
3. Wait, then call to schedule. Applied online? Wait three days. Mailed it? Wait seven. Then call 626-532-1616 (TDD 626-532-1620) to book the in-person Transit Evaluation. Sessions run in English or Spanish, so bring someone to translate if you speak another language, and ask for a Sign Language interpreter when you book if you need one.
4. Show up ready. Bring a photo ID. If you've got paperwork showing how your disability keeps you off transit, such as doctors' reports or a medication list, bring that too. Come with whatever you use to get around day to day, whether that's a cane, a walker or a wheelchair. Expect to be there up to four hours, though the evaluation itself runs up to 45 minutes.

If you need a ride to the evaluation, it's free. The transportation provider calls two days ahead with your pickup and appointment times. If you can't make it, cancel at 626-532-1616 so someone else can take the slot. If you've got your own ride, you're offered the next opening.

Access mails its decision within 21 days. If that time passes with no letter, call Customer Service, and the agency says it'll let you ride until the notice shows up. If the answer is no, you can appeal in writing within 60 days of the notice. Approval doesn't last forever: renewal papers come in the mail 60 days before yours expires, so keep your address current.

Booking has its own rules. Outside Santa Clarita and the Antelope Valley, which keep shorter hours, Access runs around the clock, though its coverage shrinks between midnight and 4 a.m., according to its Rider's Guide. Your pickup and drop-off both have to sit within three-quarters of a mile of a local bus or rail route.

1. Call the day before. Access doesn't do same-day bookings. The reservation line, 1-800-883-1295 (TDD 1-800-826-7280), is open 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. every day. In Santa Clarita and the Antelope Valley, it's 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Sunday.
2. Pick your region from the phone menu: Eastern, West/Central, Southern, Northern, Santa Clarita or Antelope Valley.
3. Have the details ready: your ID number, the exact pickup and drop-off addresses, any mobility device or service animal, how many people are riding and the pickup time you want.
4. Ask for the ride home on the same call. Book it for the latest time you think you'll be ready.
5. Write down the confirmation number before you hang up.

Step four is the one the agency underlines. "You must always ask for a return trip," the Rider's Guide says. Skip it and you've booked a one-way ride.

The time you ask for isn't always the time you get. Federal law lets the reservationist offer a pickup up to an hour before or after your request. On an average weekday, Access runs more than 1,000 vehicles. Those vehicles make more than 12,000 trips, so the agency says exact times for everyone aren't possible. If it can't give you your time, it has to offer two other options.

Riders with a Rider360 account can also book online, but only to or from an address they've used before, and not in every region.

Fares are set out in the Rider's Guide, whose current policies took effect Feb. 1, 2025. A one-way trip of up to 19.9 miles costs $2.75. Trips of 20 miles or more cost $3.50, and trips within Santa Clarita or the Antelope Valley cost $2. Pay the exact fare when you board, in cash, Access coupons or a credit or debit card (no cards in Santa Clarita), because drivers can't make change. A book of 10 base-fare coupons costs $27.50. A personal care attendant rides free. A guest pays what you pay.

Then be at the curb. The driver can show up any time in a 20-minute window and waits five minutes. If you're not there, that's a no-show. Canceling less than two hours ahead counts as one, too. Rack up five no-shows or more in one month, with those misses topping 10% of your trips, and Access could suspend your service temporarily.

Source: Access Services' website, retrieved October 23, 2026. Other sources: accessla.org (2), accessla.org (3), accessla.org (4).