How to Fill Out and Submit the SEPTA CCT Connect Application Form

The SEPTA CCT Connect application is a two-part form: you fill out Part A about yourself and your travel needs, and a licensed healthcare professional fills out Part B verifying your condition. You mail both parts together with a headshot photo (and proof of age if you’re applying to the Shared-Ride Program), then attend a free in-person functional assessment. Federal rules give SEPTA 21 days from receipt of your complete application to send a written decision.¹

Pick the Right Application First

SEPTA CCT runs two separate programs, each with its own form. Applying on the wrong one wastes weeks.

The ADA Paratransit track is for people whose physical or mental impairment prevents them from independently using SEPTA’s fixed-route buses and trains. Under 42 U.S.C. § 12143, what matters is function, not diagnosis: can you get to a stop, board, ride, and get off on your own?² It’s available across Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery, and Philadelphia counties.

The Shared-Ride Program is for Philadelphia residents aged 65 and older. You don’t need a disability. Age and city residency are the only qualifiers, and the Pennsylvania Lottery Fund subsidizes the fares.³ Move out of Philadelphia and you lose eligibility.

How to Get the Application

Both forms live on SEPTA’s eligibility and registration page. You can download the ADA application as a PDF, and the Shared-Ride application in English or Spanish (DOC or PDF).⁴

To request a mailed packet, call SEPTA Access Customer Service at 215-580-7145 and choose prompt 6. For ADA applicants, that call also serves as a short pre-screening.

What to Gather Before You Sit Down

SEPTA returns incomplete applications without processing them, which restarts your clock. Have these ready:

Proof of age for Shared-Ride: driver’s license, state ID, or birth certificate showing you’re 65 or older.⁵
Details on any mobility device you use (manual wheelchair, power wheelchair, scooter, walker), and whether you use it every day or only sometimes.
Name, address, and phone number of the healthcare professional who will complete Part B.
Notes on whether you travel with a personal care attendant or a service animal, since this affects how trips are booked.
A recent headshot photo for your SEPTA Access ID card.⁶

Filling Out Part A: Your Section

Part A is roughly six pages on the ADA form and is completed by you or a legal representative.⁶ Alongside your contact information, it asks about your current transportation habits, your disabilities or health conditions, and the mobility aids you use.

The section that carries the most weight is the one about functional abilities in a transit setting. Answer concretely. Can you walk a block to a bus stop? Can you stand at a stop for 10 minutes in cold or heat? Can you recognize your stop and signal the driver? Can you handle a transfer between two bus lines? Vague answers slow the review, because the evaluator can’t distinguish someone who genuinely needs paratransit from someone who prefers it, and that distinction drives the decision.

Part A also contains a release-of-information authorization letting SEPTA contact the professionals you’ve named, plus a certification that everything you’ve written is accurate. Sign and date both. The packet may include a voter registration form as well; that piece is optional.

Filling Out Part B: Professional Verification

Part B goes to a physician, physical therapist, registered nurse, or other licensed provider who treats you. Hand it to them or send it to their office. Do not fill it out yourself.

The provider’s section is also about six pages. It asks them to confirm your diagnosis, describe your mobility aids, explain how your condition affects travel, and note whether any medications produce side effects relevant to transit use.⁶ Every field needs an answer. If a question doesn’t apply, the provider should write “N/A” rather than leaving it blank, because SEPTA will return an incomplete application.⁷ The professional signs and dates their part independently.

Shared-Ride applicants aren’t off the hook here. Even though the program is age-based, you still need a healthcare professional to complete a Functional Form and return it with your application.³

Submitting the Application

Mail Part A and Part B together, along with your photo and (for Shared-Ride) your proof of age, to the SEPTA CCT address printed on the form. Keep your mailing address current, because SEPTA sends all application correspondence by postal mail. Faxed submissions are not accepted for Shared-Ride or for recertification.⁷ If you’re unsure where to send the packet, call 215-580-7145 (prompt 6) before you drop it in the mail.

The In-Person Functional Assessment

After SEPTA receives your completed application, a representative calls to schedule an in-person assessment. Licensed professionals administer physical and cognitive tasks and then interview you about your disability and how it affects daily travel.⁴ Plan for about an hour.

SEPTA provides free transportation to and from the assessment, so lack of a ride is not a reason to skip it.⁴ Bring the mobility device you actually use. Leaving your walker at home to look more capable will only hurt your case when the evaluator sees limitations that don’t match your paperwork.

The Decision

Federal regulations require SEPTA to issue a written determination within 21 days of receiving a complete application.¹ If SEPTA misses that deadline, you’re treated as eligible starting on the 22nd day and must be provided service until a final decision is reached.

Your letter will place you in one of three categories:

Unconditional eligibility, meaning you can use paratransit for any trip within the service area, on any day and time it operates.
Conditional eligibility, meaning you can use paratransit for some trips but not others depending on factors like weather, distance, or the route’s accessibility. SEPTA may screen individual trip requests against your limitations.
Temporary eligibility, meaning your approval carries an expiration date because your condition is expected to improve.

If you’re denied or given more restrictive eligibility than you think is warranted, the letter explains the reasons and includes instructions for filing an appeal.⁶ Federal rules give you 60 days from receiving the determination to file, and you can appeal in writing or in person, with an attorney or advocate if you’d like.⁸

Recertification Down the Road

ADA paratransit eligibility doesn’t last forever. SEPTA mails a recertification notice about 60 days before yours expires.⁷ If nothing about your condition has changed, you update your contact information and SEPTA sends a new eligibility letter with instructions to schedule an appointment for a new SEPTA Access Key card. If your condition has changed, SEPTA sends a fresh application for you and your provider to complete, and you’ll go through another in-person assessment with free transportation provided.

There are no extensions past your expiration date, so respond to the notice as soon as it arrives. SEPTA will make its recertification decision within 21 days of receiving the completed paperwork.⁷

1
Federal Transit Administration. FY2018 Comprehensive Review Guide – ADA Complementary Paratransit
2
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 USC 12143 – Paratransit as a Complement to Fixed Route Service
3
Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority. Shared-Ride Program
4
Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority. SEPTA Access Eligibility and Registration
5
Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority. SEPTA Senior Fare Program
6
Federal Transit Administration. FTA ADA Paratransit Compliance Review – SEPTA Final Report
7
Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority. ADA Paratransit Service
8
Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority. SEPTA Access – Policies