Becoming Independent (BI) Transportation Services provides specialized transportation Monday-Friday to 232 people who participate in BI services during the day. All of the passengers are adults with developmental disabilities including those with mental retardation, cerebral palsy, epilepsy, and autism. Currently, 20% of the riders use wheelchairs and an additional 25% use other mobility aids, which require accessible vehicles and driver assistance.

People participate in BI Transportation Services upon referral from North Bay Regional Center, BI’s primary funding source. Participants are referred to BI Transportation Services only after other generic options have been explored (e.g. public transit, ADA Para Transit, or rides from families or residential service providers). While a significant number of BI's program participants have become successful public transit users, current passengers typically require our service because of an identified need for supervised transportation or the lack of an available public transit route. The growing number of wheelchair users traveling by bus in our community is also frequently maximizing the wheelchair tie-down capacity on routes which serve our program and employment sites. 

The BI Transportation fleet is comprised of 18 vehicles and provides Para Transit services in the Santa Rosa, Healdsburg, Windsor, Cloverdale, Sebastopol, Geyserville, and Sonoma areas.

BI/Express offers transportation services in the evenings and on the weekends to those individuals who participate in BI services.  Like BI Transportation services, rides are provided to individuals only when the local Para Transit provider or public transit is either unavailable or unsuitable. The goal of the service is to provide augmented Para transit on evenings and weekends that supports participation in social, recreational, and BI sponsored activities of the individual’s choice.  The ultimate goal being to reduce the social isolation that many individuals face when transportation is either nonexistent or a significant challenge for those wishing to get out of their home in the evening or on the weekend.  BI Express is strictly supplemental to generic resources and operates solely on donations, yet continually demonstrates its usefulness as the link to the community that allows people to successfully live independently.

Santa Rosa
Serving West and South Sonoma County
1455 Corporate Center Parkway
Santa Rosa, CA 95407
Phone: 707-524-6600
Fax: 707-524-6792
Map and Directions

Transportation Services - Robert Brown, Service Director
rbrown@becomingindependent.org