For millions of Americans with disabilities, paratransit is not a convenience. It is the lifeline that gives them access to public transportation when their condition prevents using public buses and subways. 

When the contact center behind that service falls short — long hold times, missed callbacks, inconsistent information — the consequences are not abstract. Riders miss medical appointments. They lose shifts. They lose trust. 

That is the reality every transit authority in the country contends with under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and it is the challenge one major public transit agency asked TTEC to help solve. What began as a standard procurement request quickly became something more ambitious: a chance to rethink how paratransit customer service should work. 

The problem 

The transit agency operates one of the largest ADA-compliant paratransit services in the United States, providing door-to-door transportation for riders with disabilities. Trips are booked in advance through a dedicated customer service center that handles reservations, service monitoring, real-time trip updates, and coordination with drivers and dispatch. When the phones don’t work, the service doesn’t work. 

Before TTEC came on board, the agency ran its reservations and service monitoring queues through a mix of internal employees and staffing agencies. The result was an operating model that was not aligned with modern contact center best practices. It had never worked with a BPO outsource partner, so its focus was on delivering paratransit activities, not optimizing its contact center. As the needs and expectations of its constituents grew, the old way wasn’t sustainable anymore.  

Service-level targets and key performance indicators were missed. Staffing was rigid, ratios were prescribed rather than optimized, and the day-to-day operation reflected the limitations of its model. Nearly 15% of calls were abandoned. 

The impact of those inefficiencies did not stop at operational metrics. Because riders depend on the service to reach dialysis, doctor visits, work, and other essential destinations, a missed call or a delayed update meant a missed treatment or a lost job.  

The agency saw ridership increase, compounding its challenges. It had never outsourced before, so it was looking for a supportive partner, not just a vendor. 

The agency wanted better outcomes, but its RFP was designed to reproduce the existing model, not replace it. That is where TTEC entered the conversation differently. Rather than simply responding to the RFP as written, we challenged the client’s original operating model and proposed a more efficient approach built around empathy, professional contact center discipline, and a flexible staffing structure.  

Our track record operating large, complex customer service organizations — and our ability to integrate with existing technology environments while lowering cost — set us apart.  

During the oral presentation, the agency did something unusual: it asked our team to disregard the staffing assumptions in the RFP and instead propose the operating model we believed would deliver the best outcomes. That request, before any contract was signed, said everything about the trust the client had already placed in TTEC’s expertise. 

Our solution 

TTEC was selected to manage the transportation reservations and service monitoring queues, and we used that mandate to redesign the operation from the ground up. 

The centerpiece of the redesign was a Remote CX work-at-home contact center model supporting reservations, cancellations, feeder service into other transit services, same-day inquiries, and third-party sponsored transportation using the voice channel. 

The program was built around three ideas. First, staffing ratios and job responsibilities were rebuilt around CX best practices rather than the ratios prescribed in the original RFP, giving supervisors realistic spans of control and giving associates the coaching support they need to succeed.   

The agency had operated in two silos -- one set of associates dedicated to reservations and another set of associates dedicated to service monitoring. Each had their own training curriculum, management teams, and metrics. We created a unified CX model with cross-trained associates and centralized management structure to streamline operations and reduce costs. 

Second, empathy was embedded as a core operational principle — not a soft skill afterthought. Serving riders with disabilities requires associates who can slow down, listen, and adapt while on a call. We developed unique curriculum based on contact center best practices and specific client needs. Associates were trained not only on systems and customer service skills, but also on disability awareness and sensitivity, local geography, and public transit details. And it was built with flexibility -- with modules that can be tailored to specific call types if dedicated associates are needed in the future.  

Third, new cloud-based infrastructure was introduced to integrate seamlessly with the client’s existing technology stack, including its scheduling platform and telephony environment. It was paramount that riders keep continuity of service even though the operational model changed underneath. Along with agent support, TTEC is managing the deployment of a cloud-based Genesys CCaaS platform. 

Looking ahead 

The program is in its early implementation phase and success will be measured with a mix of productivity and outcome-focused KPIs. The program is on track to lower total cost to serve compared to the client’s prior blended model of internal staff and staffing agencies through optimized staffing ratios, professional workforce management, a work-from-home model, CX best practices, and a more efficient service delivery design. 

Most importantly, the program delivers a measurably better rider experience for a population that cannot afford operational failure, grounded in empathy-led associate training and interaction quality that reflects the essential nature of the service. 

The engagement is also expected to open a longer runway. As the redesigned operation demonstrates results, TTEC and the client see clear opportunities to expand to support additional CX functions across the agency.  

And because paratransit is required under the ADA at nearly every major transit authority in the United States, the model being built here has the potential to become the foundation for a nationwide paratransit customer experience practice — one that other transit agencies can adopt to serve their own riders better.