In the fast-paced world of public transit, ensuring equitable access for individuals with disabilities is not just a regulatory requirement—it’s a commitment to community inclusion. At MTM Transit, we’ve been at the forefront of this mission for more than 16 years, managing 100,000+ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) eligibility assessments annually for transit agencies nationwide.
Our flagship platform, Mobility Direct, is the only technology specifically designed to automate and streamline the ADA paratransit certification process. By focusing on functional and cognitive abilities rather than medical diagnoses, it helps agencies make impartial decisions, reduce costs, prevent fraud, and maintain full compliance with ADA guidelines.
Mobility Direct offers customizable workflows, online applications, automated notifications, HIPAA-compliant data management, and seamless integrations with paratransit software. But we’re not stopping there. We’re excited to spotlight some new features now available in Mobility Direct, along with enhancements slated for 2026. These updates are designed to make your ADA eligibility operations even more efficient, user-friendly, and adaptable, empowering your transit agency to better serve your community while saving time and resources. These tools are already live, helping agencies handle high volumes of applications with ease and precision.
Bulk Upload: Simplify High-Volume Processing
Gone are the days of one-by-one file uploads. With Bulk Upload, administrators can now upload multiple files simultaneously and assign each one to a specific applicant or case. This is a game-changer for processing batches of paper applications, reducing administrative bottlenecks and allowing your team to focus on what matters most: making accurate eligibility determinations. It’s efficiency at its finest, cutting down on manual entry errors and speeding up the overall workflow.
Letter Editor: Empower Your Team with Customization
Customization just got a whole lot easier. The Letter Editor empowers your team to edit all correspondence directly within the platform—no developers required. We’ve recently added header and footer setup options, giving your letters a professional, branded look. Plus, you can now generate non-eligibility letters, such as welcome notes, appointment confirmations and reminders, or requests for additional information. This flexibility ensures clear, timely communication with applicants, guardians, and stakeholders, enhancing the user experience and helping maintain compliance with ADA timelines.
Mailing List PDF: Streamline Outbound Communications
Efficiency extends to the mailroom with our new Mailing List PDF functionality. Administrators can now export mailing lists as printable PDFs optimized for label paper. This makes it simple to affix addresses to envelopes for outgoing mail, whether it’s eligibility determinations, appeals notices, or re-certification reminders. By automating this step, agencies can save hours of manual labeling, reduce errors, and ensure notifications reach the right people promptly— all while keeping operations running smoothly.
Auto-Fill Termination Date: Smart, Customizable Expirations
Eligibility decisions just became more automated. When creating a decision, the termination date now auto-populates based on your agency’s predefined settings. Whether it’s a flat period like today plus three years, or adjusted to the end of the month for consistency, this feature eliminates guesswork and ensures uniformity across cases. It’s particularly useful for agencies with standard three- or five-year eligibility cycles, helping maintain accurate records and proactive re-certification planning without extra effort.
Auto-Close Case: Intelligent Case Management
To prevent lingering open cases from cluttering your dashboard, we’ve introduced Auto-Close functionality. Cases can now automatically close after a customizable number of days from the application receipt date, with options to ignore specific scenarios (like pending appeals or verifications). This keeps your workflow tidy, reduces administrative oversight, and allows your team to prioritize active applications—ultimately improving response times and resource allocation.
These new features build on Mobility Direct’s core strengths, like intuitive online submissions, automated workflows, and robust reporting, to make the platform an even more indispensable tool for transit agencies.
Looking Ahead: 2026 Enhancements for Next-Level Scheduling
We’re always innovating, and 2026 promises more enhancements focused on advanced scheduling and inclusivity. Building on the evolving Letter Editor, we plan to introduce auto-conversion to other languages, ensuring accessible communication for diverse communities. Additionally, you’ll be able to populate multiple addresses beyond just the mailing one—such as home addresses or emergency contacts—making it easier to notify guardians or caretakers living separately from applicants.
But that’s not all. We’re rolling out new scheduling capabilities that allow for overlapping schedules, enabling multiple calendars to coexist seamlessly. This is ideal for agencies partnering with external assessors, as it lets you separate interview schedules from assessment ones. Schedules will be color-coded for quick, at-a-glance identification, reducing confusion and improving coordination. Whether you’re managing remote phone interviews or in-person functional assessments, these updates will provide the flexibility to scale operations without sacrificing precision or compliance.
Additionally, 2026 updates to the Applicant Portal will make it even easier to adopt: applicants submitting paper applications with a valid email will automatically receive a portal sign-up invitation, gently guiding them toward digital follow-up; administrators will gain a centralized dashboard to view, search, and reset passwords for registered users, enabling quick, local resolution of login issues without support; and organizations can send on-demand signup emails to any applicant at any time—perfect for system migrations, outreach campaigns, or accelerating digital adoption.
Why Mobility Direct is the Smart Choice for Your Agency
In an era where transit agencies face increasing demands for efficiency and equity, Mobility Direct stands out as a comprehensive, cost-effective solution. These new features and upcoming enhancements underscore our commitment to evolving with your needs, helping you streamline ADA paratransit eligibility while delivering exceptional service to riders. By automating routine tasks, enhancing customization, and ensuring impartial, compliant processes, Mobility Direct not only saves money; it fosters trust in your community’s transportation system.
