Paratransit Vehicle
A vehicle providing accessible, demand-responsive transport for people who cannot use fixed-route transit. Usually a cutaway or van with a lift or ramp.
Paratransit is demand-responsive rather than scheduled: trips are booked, and the vehicle is equipped for wheelchair access with a lift or ramp and securement systems.
For a public agency this is often an obligation rather than a service choice, since transit operators running fixed-route service generally have to provide complementary accessible service. That changes how a fleet manager should think about these vehicles: availability is not merely an operational target, it is tied to a commitment the agency has made.
The maintenance profile is dominated by the accessibility equipment rather than the vehicle. Lifts, ramps and securement systems are high-cycle mechanical assemblies that fail more often than the drivetrain, and a vehicle whose lift is broken is out of service for its actual purpose even though it drives perfectly well. An availability report that counts it as available is measuring the wrong thing.