Definitions: No-Show, Pickup Window, and Late Cancellation

No-show

A no-show occurs when a rider fails to appear to board the vehicle for a scheduled trip. This presumes the vehicle arrives at the scheduled pickup location within the pickup window and the driver waits at least 5 minutes.

Pickup Window

The pickup window is defined as, from 15 minutes before the scheduled pickup time to 15 minutes after the scheduled pickup time. Riders must be ready to board a vehicle that arrives within the pickup window. The driver will wait for a maximum of 5 minutes within the pickup window for the rider to appear.

Late Cancellation

A late cancellation is defined as either: a cancellation made less than 2 hours before the scheduled pickup time or as a cancellation made at the door or a refusal to board a vehicle that has arrived within the pickup window.

Definition: No-Shows Due to Operator Error or to Circumstances Beyond a Rider’s Control

Norwalk Transit District does not count as no-shows, or late cancellations, any missed trips due to our error, such as: Trips placed on the schedule in error

Pickups scheduled at the wrong pickup location

Drivers arriving and departing before the pickup window begins Drivers arriving late (after the end of the pickup window)

Drivers arriving within the pickup window, but departing without waiting the required 5 minutes

Norwalk Transit District does not count as no-shows, or late cancellations, situations beyond a rider’s control that prevent the rider from notifying us that the trip cannot be taken, such as:

Medical emergency Family emergency

Failure of mobility equipment Sudden illness or change in condition

Appointment that runs unexpectedly late without sufficient notice

Riders should contact the  operations center when experiencing no-shows, or late cancellations, due to circumstances beyond their control, or if they believe one or more trips were mislabeled as no-show or late cancellation.

Policy for Handling Subsequent Trips Following No-shows

When a rider is a no-show for one trip, all subsequent trips on that day remain on the schedule unless the rider specifically cancels the trips. To avoid multiple no-shows on the same day, riders are strongly encouraged to cancel any subsequent trips they no longer need that day.

Suspension Policies for a Pattern or Practice of Excessive No-shows and Late Cancellations   

Norwalk Transit District reviews all recorded no-shows, and late cancellations, to ensure accuracy before recording them in a rider’s account.

Riders will be subject to suspension after a violation. A violation occurs when all of the following conditions are met.

Accumulate 5 or more no-shows or late cancellations in a 30-day period.

Have scheduled at least 10 trips in that period.

Have “no-showed” or “late cancelled” at least 15 percent of the scheduled trips. Norwalk Transit District will notify riders by telephone after they have accumulated 3 no-shows or late cancellations that they would be subject to suspension should they accumulate 2 additional no-shows or

late cancellations in the period consistent with the criteria listed in this section of the policy above.

The first violation in a 30-day period triggers a warning letter but no suspension. Subsequent violations result in the following suspensions:

Second violation: 7-day suspension Third violation: 10-day suspension Fourth violation: 14-day suspension

Fifth and subsequent violations: 21-day suspension

 Policy for Appealing Proposed Suspensions

Riders wishing to appeal suspensions under this policy have the right to file an appeal request, which must be in writing by letter or via email. Riders must submit written appeal requests within 10 business days of receiving suspension letters. Service will continue to be provided until any requested appeals are heard and decided.

Riders who miss the appeal request deadline will be suspended from Dooor to Door Services on the date listed on the suspension notice.

All suspension appeals follow Norwalk Transit District’s appeal policy.