General Bus Policies and Tips - The City of Asheville

Title VI

Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 states that no person in the United States shall, on the ground of race, color, or national origin, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance. (42 USC Section 200d).

The City of Asheville is committed to practicing non-discrimination. If you believe you have been subjected to discrimination, you may file a complaint with the City of Asheville Transportation Department/Transit Planning Division or the Federal Transit Administration. For further details, see Asheville’s entire Title VI program. For more information visit us at www.ridetheart.com, call (828) 232-4531, email iride@ashevillenc.gov or visit our office at the Transportation Department at City Hall. If you believe you have been discriminated against on the basis of race, color, national origin, you may file a Title VI complaint, found below in English, Spanish and Russian.

City of Asheville Title VI Complaint Form

Titulo VI Planilla de Quejas Transporte Publico de la Ciudad de Asheville

Город Эшвилл Бланк жалобы согласно Разделу VI‘

These rights are protected under Title VI of 1964. For further details, see the City of Asheville’s entire Title VI program.

Bike Policy

ART’s Bike Policy is to support and promote the use of bicycles. Bicycles shall have access to all transit vehicles whenever feasible in order to support more sustainable transportation options. ART allows bicycles to travel on buses at no extra charge, and provides the greatest flexibility possible within the constraints of capacity and safety.

Related Information:

Bike lockers are available for rent. Monthly rental fees are only $10. Lockers are located in the Rankin, Wall Street and Civic Center Parking Garages. For more information, or to rent a locker, call Parking Services at 828-259-5792.

Food & Drink Policy

Eating and drinking are strictly prohibited on all transit buses. Please store away or dispose of all food and beverages before boarding the bus.

Lost Items

Recovered lost items can be picked up at the Asheville Rides Transit office located at 360 West Haywood St., Monday through Friday, 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Inquiries about lost items may be made by calling 828-253-5691. Lost items will be kept for thirty days and proper identification should be presented to claim them. ART is not responsible for lost or stolen items.

Pets on Buses

Service animals are welcome on City of Asheville buses and property.

Smaller domesticated animals (cats and dogs) can be carried on buses in pet-carrying cages and held in your lap.

Marketing & Advertising Policy

View the Transit Advertising Policy, and the advertising rate sheet. To learn more about advertising opportunities with ART, please call 828-232-4531.

Smoking Policy

Smoking is strictly prohibited on all transit buses. Please extinguish cigarettes before boarding the bus.

Wheelchair Policy

All ART buses offer wheelchair lifts and other features to accommodate riders with disabilities. By ADA standards, wheelchairs must be secured on buses. There are two wheelchair securement locations per bus, each equipped with devices that hold the wheelchairs safely in place. Operators provide securement assistance as needed. Lap/shoulder belts are recommended for safety purposes.

For more information on ADA Discounted Bus Pass Guidelines and Application, please click here.

Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) Program

Overview

The City of Asheville has established a DBE program for small, independent businesses. It is the policy of the City of Asheville to ensure that DBEs, as defined by the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT), 49 CFR Part 26, have an equal opportunity to receive and participate in USDOT assisted contracts. The City of Asheville has signed an assurance that it will comply with 49 CFR Part 26.

A DBE business is defined as one that is at least 51% owned by one or more socially or economically disadvantaged individuals. At least one of these owners must control the firm’s management and daily operations, and the owners must share in the risks and profits commensurate with their ownership interest.

The City’s Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) goal for federally funded projects for Federal Fiscal Years 2019-2022 is 0.04%.

Information on the City of Asheville’s DBE program is available here. Information on the City of Asheville’s DBE goals is available here.

Questions should be addressed to:

City of Asheville, Transportation Department
70 Court Plaza, Asheville, NC 28801

or email the Transit Planning Manager at elovi@ashevillenc.gov or call 828-232-4522.

DBE Certification

If you want to become a certified DBE business, you can visit NCDOT’s website or contact:

NCDOT, Unified Certification Program
1509 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC 27699-1509
919-508-1808

Paratransit Services

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was passed in 1990 and ensures that individuals with disabilities can access transportation services as equitably as possible. The ADA requires that complementary paratransit operates equivalent hours and service areas as the fixed-route buses.

The City of Asheville will provide reasonable modifications to accommodate riders with a disability. The City of Asheville can provide information in a different format as requested and can provide assistance to individuals or organization that needs help understanding the ADA fixed route or paratransit services in general. If you have an ADA-related request or complaint, please contact the Transit Planning Manager at 828-232-4522.

More details are available here.

Passport Program

The City of Asheville’s Passport program allows employees and students to travel with ease, while allowing employers and schools the opportunity to provide an affordable alternative to driving and providing parking. Employees and students show their ID when boarding the bus, and the employer/school pays one monthly bill for trips. Those trips are billed to the employer or school at a heavily discounted rate from regular fares. Employees and students no longer have to worry about fishing out passes or change for the bus, and employers pay only for transportation actually used.

For more information download this tri-fold pamphlet

Contact the Transit Planning Manager at 828-232-4522 for more information.

Code Purple

When extreme cold weather is expected, the Asheville Homeless Coalition issues a Code Purple Alert. Participating homeless shelters voluntarily add space beyond their normal capacity to keep as many people as possible out of the cold. ART offers free transportation to these shelters when Code Purple is in effect. Please review the Code Purple transit policy for more information and guidelines.

To find out when Code Purple is in effect, visit the Homeless Coalition’s Code Purple calendar.