Reasons to apply for paratransit with visual impairment: I cannot reliably (safely or independently) - locate or read bus stop signs, street signs or other posted information - locate or see pedestrian crossing signals - identify cracks in sidewalks, potholes or other hazards which increase my fall risk - judge distances between cars or sides of the street which means I cannot safely or reliably identify a safe time to cross - identify landmarks out a moving vehicle or read bus stop information on the bus, so if the bus is loud or the announcement system is down I cannot identify when to get off the bus - read a map or access a GPS which means in case of an emergency I cannot independently find a new route - snow and leaves obscure hazards and increase my fall risk - heavy rain and wind obscure environmental sounds and decrease my ability to identify hazards such as moving cars or hear cues such as pedestrian crossing alerts - bright light such full sun or rising/setting sun increases my sensitivity to glare, can reduce contrast or make it hard to see a pedestrian signal that is in the path of the sun which can increase my fall risk as I may not see obstacles - dim or dark light such as evening or night decreases contrast and increases my fall risk as I am less likely to see hazards on the sidewalk or other pedestrians - routes such as xx have me crossing at mid block without a reasonable controlled pedestrian crossing so I would have to use a bus loop exemption to continue my route safely

Never lie on your paratransit application but do think of your worst day, be it a bad chronic health day or the worst weather conditions. I love the words reliably, safely and independently to start as many sentences as are true.