Grand Connection Transit Service

The Grand Connection is committed to providing equal access and opportunity to qualified individuals with disabilities in all programs, services, and activities. Grand Connection Transit recognizes that, in order to have equally effective opportunities and benefits, individuals with disabilities may need reasonable modifications to policies and procedures.

Grand Connection Transit will adhere to all applicable federal and state laws, regulations, and guidelines with respect to providing reasonable modifications, as necessary, to afford equal access to programs for persons with disabilities. Grand Connection Transit does not discriminate on the basis of disability in admission to, participation in, or receipt of services and benefits under any transit program or activity. Grand Connection Transit will take appropriate steps to ensure that persons with disabilities have an equal opportunity to participate.

No qualified individual with a disability shall, by reason of such disability, be excluded from participation in or be denied the benefits of the services, programs, or activities of Grand Connection Transit, or be subject to discrimination by Grand Connection Transit.

View Reasonable Modification Policy(PDF, 184KB)

Title VI Complaints

Notifying the Public of Rights Under Title VI

The City of Grand Prairie (The Grand Connection) operates its programs and services without regard to race, color, and national origin in accordance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act. Any person who believes he or she has been aggrieved by any unlawful discriminatory practice under Title VI may file a complaint with the City of Grand Prairie (The Grand Connection).

For more information on the City of Grand Prairie (The Grand Connection) civil rights program, and the procedures to file a complaint, please contact Walter Shumac, Director of Transportation, at 972-237-8132 or visit our Customer Service Center at 1821 S. State Highway 161 Grand Prairie, Texas 75051 between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday.

A complaint may also be filed directly with the Federal Transit Administration's Office of Civil Rights, Attention: Title VI Program Coordinator, East Building, 5th Floor-TCR, 1200 New Jersey Ave., SE, Washington, DC 20590.

If information is needed in another language, contact 972-237-8546.

How to File a Title VI Complaint

Members of the public may file a signed, written complaint of the alleged discrimination. Title VI complaint forms may be accessed by clicking the link below:

• Title VI Complaint Form (English)(PDF, 675KB)
• Title VI Complaint Form (Spanish)(PDF, 129KB)

Complaint forms are also available at The Grand Connection office (1821 S. State Highway 161, Grand Prairie, Texas 75051) or by calling 972-237-8546.

Listed below are the standard procedures in place to handle all Title VI complaints:

1. All complaints must be filed no later than 180 days from the date of the alleged act of discrimination.
2. Signed and completed complaint forms must be submitted to The Grand Connection Transit Coordinator in person or by mail. The address is:
   City of Grand Prairie
   The Grand Connection, Transit Manager
   1821 S. State Highway 161
   Grand Prairie, Texas 75051

Complaint Acceptance

After a complaint is received, the Transit Coordinator will acknowledge receipt of the allegation within 10 days by mail.

If the complaint is deemed incomplete, additional information will be requested by mail and the complainant will be given 30 days to submit the required information. Failure to do so may be considered good cause for a determination of no investigative merit.

Investigations

Within 60 days after receiving the completed complaint, the Transit Coordinator will conduct an investigation of the allegation. Based on the information obtained, the Transit Coordinator will render a recommendation for action in a report of finding to the Director of Transportation Services. The complaint should be resolved by informal means whenever possible. Such informal attempts and their results will be summarized in the report of findings.

Notification of Final Decision

Within 90 days of receipt of the complaint, the Director of Transportation Services will notify the complainant in writing of the final decision reached, including the proposed disposition of the matter. The notification will advise the complainant of their appeal rights with TXDOT, or USDOT, if the dissatisfied with the final decision rendered by The Grand Connection. The Transit Coordinator will also provide TXDOT and USDOT with a copy of the decision and summary of findings upon completion of the investigation.

Federal Transit Administration

Complainants may also file their Title VI complaint with the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) at the following address:

Federal Transit Administration office of Civil Rights
Attention: Title VI Program Coordinator
East Building 5th Floor-TCR
1200 New Jersey Ave, SE
Washington, DC 20590

Under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) The Grand Connection is required to make its services and programs accessible to people with disabilities and in compliance with the ADA. This procedure satisfies The Grand Connections obligation to provide a grievance procedure under Title II. If you feel that you have not been able to access a program or service of The Grand Connection because of accessibility issues, or have been discriminated against based on your disability, you may submit an ADA Complaint.

How to Submit an ADA Complaint

Please complete the following American's with Disabilities Act Complaint form for The Grand Connection:

• ADA Complaint Form - The Grand Connection(PDF, 197KB)

For an alternative format to submit your ADA complaint, please contact the Transit Manager via email at mlaw@gptx.org. Please be sure to communicate whether your complaint is related to your disability and provide sufficient facts demonstrating how your complaint is related to your disability. You will receive an acknowledgment of receipt within three business days, provided an email address was submitted. You will receive a response with the results within 20 business days, if you requested a response and provided sufficient contact information.

This procedure is intended to satisfy The Grand Connections obligations under the ADA and applies to anyone alleging discrimination on the basis of a disability in The Grand Connections provision of its services, activities, programs or benefits. This process is designed to provide you with the opportunity to quickly and effectively resolve any issue(s) as it relates to the ADA and Grand Connection. Your complaint will be investigated in accordance with The Grand Connections ADA complaint procedure.

Appeal Process for an ADA Complaint

If you are dissatisfied with the result of your ADA complaint, you may submit your appeal to the Transportation Director by completing an appeal form:

• ADA Appeal Form - The Grand Connection(PDF, 186KB)

You must submit an appeal within 30 calendar days after you received your results or after you originally submitted your complaint, whichever is later. The appeal must be in writing and state all facts and arguments supporting your belief that the complaint was not appropriately resolved. The Transportation Department's ADA Coordinator, or his designee, will review the complaint and provide a written response within 30 calendar days.

For an alternative format to file your ADA Appeal, please contact the Transportation Department's ADA Coordinator, Walter Shumac, or his designee, at 972-237-8132 or wshumac@gptx.org. The Grand Connection will retain your complaint, appeal and response for at least one year.

When DART was created in 1983, it required cities to devote a 1 cent sales tax in order to participate, which Grand Prairie elected to reserve and use for other purposes. In order to join now, cities have to devote the 1 cent sales tax by vote of the people. Grand Prairie does not have a 1 cent sales tax available for this purpose. But Grand Prairie does have a Park and Ride on I-30 east of Belt Line. And the city is in discussions with DART to serve the lot in the future. The West Irving Light Rail station also serves Grand Prairie near Belt Line and Rock Island.

The Grand Connection transit system serves those who are at least 60 years of age or have a physical or mental disability.

If you are 60 years or older, you must provide proof of age (a copy of your state issued drivers license, a stated issued identification card or a birth certificate will meet this requirement).

An individual with a physical or mental disability, must have a physician or your licensed health care professional complete and verify Part V of the application. If you are a Medicaid applicant, please mark it on the application. We will verify your Medicaid status with the Texas Department of Health and Human Services Transportation Department.

The Grand Connection does not charge for rides. All rides are free, including work and school trips.

All trips requests must be made at least TWO (2) WORKING DAYS IN ADVANCE of the day you wish to travel. You may call up to two (2) weeks in advance of the trip. Please call the dispatch line at 972-237-8546. Give us a detailed message regarding your trip request.

You must give the following information to the Dispatcher when requesting a trip:

1. Your name and phone number
2. Address of your pick-up point-including the building name of your apartment complex
3. Address of your destination-including the doctor's name, building name/number, suite/room number
4. Day and date of travel
5. Pick-up time preferred, appointment time, length of time needed and preferred time for a return trip.

Passengers are limited to five (5) carry-on packages. Each package must be equal to, or be smaller, than a brown paper grocery bag and packages are limited to 10 pounds each.

Driver assistance in loading or unloading is not required, therefore, please plan to carry only items which you can manage independently.

Passengers on the Grand Connection may travel with one (1) companion, if space is available. The companion must travel to the same location as the passenger and will not be permitted to depart the vehicle at a difference location. Companions must be 16 years of age or older, unless an exception is approved by the Transit Coordinator or by the Transportation Services Director in writing (emergency cases only may be approved by verbal approval).

If a passenger requires assistance while traveling, they may have a Personal Care Attendant (PCA) travel with them. The PCA must be 16 years of age or older, unless an exception is approved by the Transit Coordinator or by the Transportation Services Director, in writing (emergency cases only may be approved by verbal approval).

Yes, in compliance with the ADA, service animals* are welcome on any Grand Connection buses and all buildings on company property and may attend any meeting or other event. There may be an exception to certain areas.

*According to the ADA, a service animal is defined as "any animal individually trained to work or perform tasks for the benefit of an individual with a disability, including, but not limited to, guiding individuals with impaired vision, alerting individuals to an impending seizure or protecting individuals during one, and alerting individuals who are hearing impaired to intruders, or pulling a wheelchair and fetching dropped items."

If you travel to the same place on a routine schedule, you may wish to request a "Subscription Service." This eliminates the need to continually request a trip. It automatically places your trips on the schedule. These are generally established for work, school, Nutrition Program, Dialysis Center or therapy trips as well as other places individuals travel to on a regular basis.

At the present time, we take dialysis patients to Irving Dialysis for treatment, as space is available. If you need this type of subscription service, please contact the Dispatcher for availability.

Subscription Service capacity is limited and offered only on first come, first served basis. If there is no space available at the time you wish to travel, you will be put on a waiting list until that time slot becomes available.

Monday through Friday 4:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Saturday: no service

Sunday: no service

During severe weather, The Grand Connection may cancel or delay operations, if it is deemed unsafe to operate. We also do not operate on the following city holidays:

New Year's Day
Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
Memorial Day
Independence Day
Labor Day
Thanksgiving - Thursday and Friday
Christmas

Customer satisfaction is the number one goal of The Grand Connection. Please let us know how we are doing! Every transit vehicle is supplied with Customer Comment Cards. They will be distributed, upon request, to any passenger or PCA with a complaint or a commendation. Customers will receive a response with two (2) business days of receipt of the Customer Comment Card.

Smoking, eating or drinking is not permitted on the transit vehicles. Passengers who carry handguns on The Grand Connection, whether concealed or openly carried, shall do so in accordance with and subject to Chapter 411 of the Texas Government Code and other applicable law.

Passengers must wear seatbelts at all times. Individuals utilizing wheelchairs must allow the drivers to properly secure the wheelchair with the appropriate securing devices.

Abusive behavior or language will not be tolerated. Each violation will be examined and handled on an individual basis.

The dispatcher will call you to confirm the times of your trips. The driver may arrive 15 minutes before or after the scheduled time. For instance, if your pickup time is scheduled for 12:00 p.m., the driver may arrive between 11:45 a.m. and 12:15 p.m., depending on how much time the previous trip pickup required. The driver is required to wait only 5 minutes after they arrive within the scheduled time window. If you miss your trip, it will be recorded as a "No-Show" and your return trip will be automatically canceled.

You may be placed on probation if on three (3) occasions in a 6 month period you fail to show or you do not call to cancel a requested trip before the driver arrives. If the abuse continues, you may be placed on suspension. After the suspension, you may be required to re-apply for transportation service requests.