Key Takeaway: The SFMTA should continue to provide cost-effective alternatives to traditional ADA van services, such as taxi and group van services.
Paratransit Cost Factors
Federal ADA regulations require paratransit van programs to accept all eligible trip requests, charge no more than twice the standard transit fare, and not prioritize trips by purpose. While these rules promote fairness, they increase the cost of providing paratransit van service. Additional cost factors include a competitive labor market, limited operational space, decreased demand due to COVID-19, and rising expenses for fuel, wages, and facility rent.
To reduce costs and meet customer needs, the SFMTA has introduced several cost-effective programs — Group Van, SF Paratransit Taxi, Paratransit Plus, Essential Trip Card (ETC), Shop-a-Round and Van Gogh — that alleviate demand on the more expensive traditional ADA van service, SF Access. These services are operated by Transdev, a private transit provider, and their use results in savings for the SFMTA while enhancing rider experience.
Paratransit Budgeting and Individual Program Costs
The SFMTA’s paratransit budget covers all paratransit programs, not just SF Access. Table 1 outlines the average per-trip costs for various services, with SF Access being the most expensive at $104.02 and the ETC being the least costly at $14.68 per trip. Taxi costs remained stable through FY22 but increased in FY23 due to changes in the taxi meter fare structure, including higher tipping rates and increased flag drop and mileage rates.
Shop-a-Round combines van and taxi services to maximize efficiency and minimize costs. All van services and the taxi component are priced based on revenue hours or meter fare, respectively.
Cost-Sharing Agreements
The SFMTA has cost-sharing agreements with regional transit agencies to enhance paratransit service. Since 1999, SF Paratransit and East Bay Paratransit have shared costs for trips between their service areas, allowing seamless travel without vehicle transfers. Since 1994, an agreement with BART provides ADA Paratransit services within San Francisco, with BART covering approximately 7.9% of SF Paratransit costs plus a 4.7% administrative fee.
Figure 1: Paratransit Costs Per Trip
| Program | Average Per-Trip Cost (FY22-23) | Cost to SFMTA |
|---|---|---|
| SF Access Paratransit | $104.02 | Revenue Hours |
| Group Van | $50.23 | Revenue Hours |
| SF Paratransit Taxi | $15.77 | Meter Fare and Tip |
| Paratransit Plus | $15.22 | Meter Fare and Tip |
| Essential Trip Card | $14.68 | Meter Fare and Tip |
| Shop-a-Round | $73.54 | Revenue Hours |
| Van Gogh | $21.79 | Revenue Hours |
Figure 2: Average SF Access Van Trip Cost
Figure 3: Average Paratransit Taxi Fare
Figure 4: Shop-A-Round Costs
