Everyone is Welcome to Ride the Wave!
Read about accessibility features across Wave Transit services
We want to offer everyone a smooth ride. To ensure customers, especially those with disabilities, can use our services we offer resources in varied formats, provide free travel training, and implement ADA improvements at our stops and facilities.
Accessible Information
Website content and other resource material is available in alternate formats and in alternate languages upon request. Contact us by phone or email to request information in an alternate format or a language other than English.
Phone: (910) 202-2045 | Email: info@wavetransit.com
Accessible Bus Stops
There are more than 400 bus stops in our service area. We install customer amenities, such as ADA-compliant shelters and benches, to make waiting for the bus more comfortable for everyone and accessible for customers with disabilities. Many stops are wheelchair-accessible however, some are located in unpaved areas without sidewalk access. Google Maps and Google Earth are great resources to view bus stop and determine an accessible route.
Reasonable Modifications
Small changes can make a big difference to the accessibility of service for a customer. Reasonable modifications are changes made to accommodate customer needs that do not fundamentally alter services, pose a direct threat to the health or safety of others, or create an undue financial or administrative burden to Wave. Assisting a customer with inserting their ticket into the farebox or pulling a bit past a stop to a smooth curb for safer boarding are examples of reasonable/ADA modifications. An unreasonable modification request would be operating outside of regular service hours, as that would be a fundamental change to service.
We welcome requests for reasonable modifications to service. Contact information, requests forms, and complaint procedures are listed below.
Dial-A-Ride Transportation (DART)
ADA accessible van service is available for customers with disabilities who cannot travel by fixed-route bus. DART, sometimes called Paratransit, is curb-to-curb public transportation operating within 3/4 of a mile from any fixed route. DART vans are equipped with wheelchair lifts for greater accessibility. Customers must apply to determine eligibility for service. More information and the application are available on the DART page.
Travel Training
New to public transit or to Wilmington? We’re here to help.
Travel training is a free program that teaches anyone interested how to navigate our system. Sessions are customized to your or your group’s needs. Lessons include how to read a route map, buy a ticket, transfer to another bus, schedule an accessible van trip, use online tools, and ride a route to a destination.
Request training using the ‘Travel Training Request Form’ linked below.
Requests and Feedback
Customers and community members may request new bus stop locations, bus stop amenities, Reasonable/ADA modifications, or our attention to other needs. Request forms and contact information are available below.
Additionally, customers may submit feedback or complaint regarding service. Our goal is to provide safe, timely, and courteous service to our customers. If we didn’t meet this goal, please let us know.
- Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) Requests
- Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Complaints
- Request DART Service
- Travel Training Request Form
- Bus Stop Requests
- Title VI Complaints
- Customer Feedback Forms
- Public Records Requests
Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) Requests
To request an ADA accommodation or modification to Fixed Route or DART service please contact our ADA coordinator:
Brianna D’Itri
(910) 202-2045
bditri@wavetransit.com
Looking for more information about accessible transit options? Head to our DART page.
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Complaints
Wave Transit strives to maintain the highest compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. If you believe you have been discriminated against because of a disability, please submit an ADA complaint form below or contact the Authority’s Civil Rights Officer at (910) 202-2057.
Request DART Service
Are you an existing DART customer and need to schedule or cancel your Dial-A-Ride Transportation (DART) trip?
Call: (910) 202-2053
Email: ptschedule@wavetransit.com
Are you interested in applying for DART or need more information?
Head to our DART page for answers to FAQs and to download the application.
Travel Training Request Form
To request travel training for yourself or your group, please complete this form and staff will contact you to schedule. If you need assistance with the Travel Training form, or have questions about travel training, please contact Mobility Manager Brianna D’Itri, via e-mail at: bditri@wavetransit.com or by phone at: (910) 202-2045.
It may take up to 10 business days for your application to be processed. If you are a caseworker or other agency professional, please feel free to either complete this form or contact Wave Transit directly.
Bus Stop & Service Change Requests
Please share your requests for new bus stop locations, amenities upgrades (such as adding a bench), or other changes to services with our planning staff.
Bus Stop Request Form (PDF)
Bus Stop Request Form (Word)
Submit your request form to planning@wavetransit.com or the mailing address below:
Wave Transit
P.O. Box 12630
Wilmington, NC 28405-0130
Title VI Complaints
Wave Transit is committed to ensuring that no person is excluded from participation in or denied the benefits of its services on the basis of race, color or national origin, as provided by US law (Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended). If you believe you have been discriminated against because of race, color, or national origin, please submit a Title VI complaint form below or contact the Authority’s Civil Rights Officer at (910) 202-2057.
Download Title VI Complaint Form in English
Descargue el formulario de queja del Título VI en español
Customer Feedback Forms
To submit a complaint, please complete the form below and send by post or email. Wave Transit attempts to resolve all complaints within twenty-one (21) business days. After the investigation into a complaint has been conducted, notification of resolution will be provided if requested. Thank you for assisting Wave Transit in providing quality service.
Online Complaint Form
Printable Complaint Form
Our staff works hard to get our passengers where they need to go and to make it a positive experience. If we did well, we’d love to know. Compliments are shared with staff and their supervisors.
The Public Records Act (North Carolina Public Records Law, G.S. §132-1.) is a North Carolina statute that provides the public with the right to access government documents and records. The law provides that a person can ask a public body for a copy of its records on a specific subject and the public body must provide those records, unless there is an exemption in the statute that protects those records from disclosure (for example: records containing information concerning trade secrets or personal privacy).
There is no charge for a copy of the first 25 pages of any documents requested; 10 cents per page thereafter. For color copies, abnormal size copies, or copies of documents in electronic form, an additional charge may apply.
Please outline your request using the form linked below:
Public Records Request Form (PDF)
Public Records Request Form (Word Document)
Request forms can be submitted by fax to 910-772-7942, by email to info@wavetransit.com, or by mail to the address listed below:
Cape Fear Public Transportation Authority
P.O. Box 12630
Wilmington, NC 28405-0130
Please make sure your request includes a way to contact you.
Service Dogs Welcome!
Well-behaved service dogs on a leash are welcome on all Wave buses, shuttles, vans and trolleys. We partner with Paws 4 People, a local nonprofit that trains service dogs for people with disabilities, in order to provide education to our staff, and to teach future service dogs proper bus manners.
FAQ about Service Dogs:
What is a service dog?
A service animal, sometimes called an assistance animal, is a dog that is individually trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of a person with a disability – including physical, sensory, psychiatric, intellectual, mental, or other disabilities. The work or tasks performed by a service dog must be directly related to a person’s disability. Examples of work tasks include, but are not limited to, assisting persons who are blind with navigation, alerting persons who are deaf to sounds, retrieving items such as medicine, and helping persons with psychiatric and neurological disabilities by preventing or interrupting impulsive or destructive behaviors.
Service dogs are not pets or emotional support animals. They are highly trained animals that provide assistance to individuals with disabilities.
How should a service dog behave on the bus?
When service dogs are on a Wave vehicle they are “at work” performing important and sometimes life-saving tasks for their owner, or they are sitting/lying quietly at the foot or side of the owner’s chair waiting for a command. They should only move about if they are performing a task for their owner- such as picking up a dropped bus ticket or pulling a wheelchair. You may not even know a service dog is on board the vehicle. Service dogs are on a leash and under the control of their owner at all times. Please do not touch or otherwise distract a service dog from its work.
What happens if someone tries to bring a pet or an emotional support animal on the bus?
Pets and emotional support animals are not allowed on any Wave Transit vehicle. If the driver determines that a dog is a pet or emotional support animal, the dog will not be allowed to board the vehicle. If the determination is made after the customer and dog have boarded (the dog becomes aggressive, barks incessantly, or otherwise behaves in a way a service dog should not, or causes a safety concern), the driver is authorized to ask the customer to remove the dog from the bus at the next stop.
Do I need to bring documentation for my service dog?
No. You are not required to bring or show documentation for your service dog. Additionally, having documentation does not guarantee that the dog will be allowed on the bus. Drivers will determine, using ADA criteria, whether or not the dog is a true service dog. Service dogs must be trained to perform a task for their owner that is directly connected to that person’s disability and show through their behavior that they meet the requirements of Wave Transit’s policy and Federal law (Americans with Disabilities Act).
Do service dogs always wear those cute vests?
No. Some service dogs do not wear vests. A service dog vest is not required by Wave Transit nor does a vest guarantee the dog will be allowed on the bus. Drivers will determine, using ADA criteria, whether or not the dog is a true service dog. Service dogs must be trained to perform a task for their owner that is directly connected to that person’s disability and show through their behavior that they meet the requirements of Wave Transit’s policy and Federal law (Americans with Disabilities Act).
What is it like to travel with a service dog?
Watch a customer with a service dog board a Wave Transit bus.
