Services

Door-to-door service is available per customer request. Passengers must request service through the dispatching department at the time of scheduling transportation. With door-to-door service, the SCT driver (or escort) assists the passenger from the door of the pick-up point to the SCT vehicle and from the SCT vehicle to the door of the destination point.  Under no circumstances will the driver be allowed to enter a client’s residence or apartment building beyond the first outer door or ground floor lobby and, therefore, cannot perform any personal services for the client.  Door-to-door service is provided as long as conditions make it safe to do so.

Customers must call 1-800-660-7433 a minimum of one day in advance to schedule transportation. Hearing Impaired please call 711.

Reservations, scheduling and cancellations

Customers must call 1-800-660-7433 a minimum of one day in advance to schedule transportation. Hearing Impaired please call 711. SCT will not guarantee reservations taken past 3:30 P.M. the day before service is required. Customers receiving same-day service will pay “same-day service” fare of $5.00 per trip inside city limits of cities served.  Same day service outside city limits, please contact the dispatching department  for additional information.

The dispatcher will not be responsible for confirming appointments with doctors, etc.  A pick-up or delivery time may be adjusted by the dispatcher/scheduler, if necessary, in order to maintain efficiency; therefore, riders are encouraged to be ready 15 minutes prior to a scheduled pick-up time.  Drivers will wait no longer than five (5) minutes past arrival time before proceeding.

How to schedule a ride with South Central Transit

Please call either 618-532-8076, 618-242-0202 or 800-660-7433

The following information will be required when calling to schedule your ride;

• Passengers first and last name and please inform the scheduler of the following; any children that will be riding with you, any aide that will be riding with you and any special needs that you may have that we should be aware of such as mobility device lift assistance, seeing eye animal, oxygen, etc.
• Address of pick up location
• Name and Address of location you want to go to
• Time you wished to be picked up or if appointment please let the schedulerknow at the time of the call.
• 24 hour advance scheduling notice is preferred for all trips except medical. This will avoid “Same Day Service Fees”
• A maximum of 2 weeks advanced scheduling is available for your convenience.

Scheduling Hours- Monday-Friday 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

After dialing, follow the voice prompts.

With Curb-to-Curb service, the SCT vehicle stops at the curb for passenger pick-ups and deliveries. SCT driver will assist passengers boarding and de-boarding the vehicle as long as passenger has requested assistance.

Reservations, scheduling and cancellations

Customers must call 1-800-660-7433 a minimum of one day in advance to schedule transportation.  Hearing Impaired please call 711. SCT will not guarantee reservations taken past 3:30 P.M. the day before service is required. Customers receiving same-day service will pay “same-day service” fare of $5.00 per trip inside city limits of cities served.  Same day service outside city limits, please contact the dispatching department for additional information.

The dispatcher will not be responsible for confirming appointments with doctors, etc.  A pick-up or delivery time may be adjusted by the dispatcher/scheduler, if necessary, in order to maintain efficiency; therefore, riders are encouraged to be ready 15 minutes prior to a scheduled pick-up time.  Drivers will wait no longer than five (5) minutes past arrival time before proceeding.

How to schedule a ride with South Central Transit

Please call either 618-532-8076, 618-242-0202 or 800-660-7433. Hearing Impaired please call 711.

The following information will be required when calling to schedule your ride;

• Passengers first and last name and please inform the scheduler of the following; any children that will be riding with you, any aide that will be riding with you and any special needs that you may have that we should be aware of such as mobility device lift assistance, seeing eye animal, oxygen, etc.
• Address of pick up location
• Name and Address of location you want to go to
• Time you wished to be picked up or if appointment please let the scheduler know at the time of the call.
• 24 hour advance scheduling notice is preferred for all trips except medical. This will avoid “Same Day Service Fees”
• A maximum of 2 weeks advanced scheduling is available for your convenience.

Scheduling Hours- Monday-Friday 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

After dialing, follow the voice prompts.

If you are thinking about calling South Central Transit (SCT) for Medicaid transportation, there are several things you need to know. The information below is a guide to help walk you through the process and make both your approval and subsequent transportation a success.

• Transdev is who you call to get approval for Medicaid to pay for your transportation service.

South Central Transit is who actually provides the transportation on the day of your appointment. It is each client’s responsibility to manage their own transportation through Transdev. Again, Transdev is the authorizing agency for Medicaid transportation in the State of Illinois. This should not be confused with South Central Transit which is the actual transportation service provider.

• To schedule a Medicaid service with SCT, please contact our scheduling department at 800-660-7433 and speak to a scheduler first to verify that the date of service is available for your trip. Hearing Impaired please call 711. We do take Medicaid reservation arrangements as much as 3 months in advance, so the sooner you make contact regarding a specific appointment date and secure your approval number from Transdev the more likely that we will be able to provide the service for you.

NOTE: SCT requires a minimum 48-hrs business notice for Medicaid Transportation. For some services, Transdev can take as long as a 7 business days for approval. So please plan in advance where possible to make your service a stress free success.

• Once you have confirmed with the scheduler that the date is available, contact Transdev as soon as possible at 866-503-9040 to request authorization for your transportation and get your approval number then call SCT back and give that number to the scheduler. Remember, we will not book or approve your trip with SCT until we have received an approved authorization number through Transdev.

Be prepared to give Transdev all the information they need to set up authorization for your transportation. Not only will you need the requested information listed below, but you will want to double check to make sure that the information being given is correct. Incorrect information will likely delay or prevent you from reaching your appointment on the designated date. Correct spelling, telephone and address information is paramount. You will need:

1. Recipient(s) name – remember this is the person actually seeing the doctor
2. Home address of recipient
3. Phone number both for recipient and for any medical facility you will be visiting
4. Recipient ID number
5. Date and time of the appointment
6. Address for the medical facility you plan to visit along with the physician’s or medical group’s name
7. Reason for your appointment
   NOTE: If you plan to use a mobility device or any adaptive equipment that information must be given to Transdev at the time of your call
   Approval of an aide to assist must be given by Transdev

We encourage you to ask Transdev personnel to repeat address and doctor information after it has been keyed into their system to avoid costly mistakes. Remember, employees at Transdev are human and do make mistakes. Unfortunately, their mistakes could cost you on the day of service if the information has been entered incorrectly.

• Once SCT schedulers have agreed to provide service, have your prior approval number and it is in an approved status, we must have contact with you the day prior to service to establish that you still have an appointment and still intend to use our services. We will make several attempts to contact you and encourage you to contact us if you do not hear from us the day prior to service. However if we do not speak to you by 3:00 p.m. the day prior to service to verify that service is still needed, your service will be canceled.

We encourage you to keep your phone number updated with SCT schedulers at all times and to contact your doctor the day prior to service to establish that you have an appointment as scheduled.

• Should you need to cancel a scheduled service, SCT requires a notice 2hrs prior to your scheduled pick up time for cancellation. Any cancellation after that two hour notice will be considered a no show for services. Cancellations can be made by called the office at 800-660-7433 during normal business hours 5:00 am to 6:00 pm, Monday through Friday. After 6:00 pm, clients may leave a cancellation notice on voicemail.
  While we understand that emergencies do occur, you should make every effort to contact SCT 2 hours prior to your scheduled pick up time to cancel and even earlier if possible.

Late cancellations and no shows are tracked by client and successive late cancellations and no shows could result in loss of Medicaid services through SCT. In some instances, regular public transportation may still be available.

• Only those individuals authorized specifically by Transdev may travel on a medical appointment due to vehicle capacity constraints. If an aide(s) is required, you use a mobility device, or need the lift to board the bus, you must notify Transdev of this when requesting authorization for your service. Additional passengers will not be allowed to board without the knowledge and consent of Transdev and SCT.

Please note that you will be taken only to the address listed on the prior approval from Transdev, and you will be picked up only from the address listed on the prior approval.

We look forward to serving you. Thank you for choosing South Central Transit for your transportation needs.

Child Monthly Pass

SCT is offering a monthly pass for child transportation to and/or from school within the city limits. SCT will give you the peace of mind in knowing that your child will arrive to and from school safely and comfortably. We will deliver your child to Grandma, daycare, sitter within the home, neighbor, or destination of your choice within the city limits. All school drop-off/pick-up sites will be designated by the school for child safety.

$40.00/child – All child passes are a flat rate of $40.00 regardless of whether service is needed one-way or round trip. Family discounts are no longer available due to the rising cost of fuel. A monthly pass entitles your child to ride daily, Monday-Friday, from the pick-up location of your choice to school and from school to the destination of your choice within the city limits.

MONTHLY PASSES ARE VALID FOR PRESCHEDULED TRANSPORTATION ONLY!

Passes Are Non-Refundable!

Call our scheduling/dispatching department today at 532-8076, 242-0202, or 1-800-660-7433 for further information. Hearing Impaired please call 711.  Seating is limited at this time! All services are on a first come, first serve basis. Transportation for school passes will begin on the first full day of school and end on the last full day of school. SCT does not transport children on report card day, unless prior arrangements are made through our scheduling office.

Payment for Pass

Payment for your child’s monthly pass is due by the 18th of the month for the following month’s service. A grace period of 7 days will be allowed. If payment is not received by the close of business on the 25th, we will make your child’s seat available to the next person on the waiting list.

**Please note; if the due dates fall on a weekend or holiday, payment will be due the business day after.

Payment can be made to any SCT facility office. You may make the payment in person between the hours of 8:00am –4:00pm, Monday-Friday at SCT’s transportation center in Centralia located at 100 N Locust Street, or if you are in Mt. Vernon , you may make the payment at 15193 North Illinois Highway 37, Suite B. Please call the Mt. Vernon office first before going to the office at 242-0240. This is to make sure someone will be in the office when you arrive. SCT drivers will accept payment for passes.

You may also mail your payment to: South Central Transit, 100 N Locust St, Centralia, IL 62801

*Passes run only from the 1st business day of the month to the last business day of the month.

SCT now accepts debit/credit cards at the Centralia Transportation Center for your convenience. Sorry, no over the phone payments will be accepted. We also offer money cards for purchase if you do not want to purchase a monthly pass. Money cards can be purchased in the denomination of your choosing and presented upon boarding to the driver for payment.

Reservation, Scheduling and Cancellations

Children with passes will have priority seating over children who pay as they board. In order for your child to be a subscription service, the child must be picked up and dropped off at the same location on a regular basis. If your child’s pick-up and/or drop-off location changes frequently, a parent/guardian MUST call in those trips on a bi-weekly basis. We do not accept written monthly schedules, and we do not guarantee that your child will be to school in time for breakfast or delivered home after other children.

In order to assure timely pick-up and delivery of children, parents purchasing passes must observe the following rules:

Excessive cancellations and/or no shows may result in suspension of transportation services.**Please Note: We do track the number of cancellations and no shows for each student. Excessive cancellations and no shows could result in suspension of services.SCT provides curb-to-curb service which means the SCT driver will not escort your child to/from the bus. SCT will not be responsible for the child after he/she has exited the bus; therefore, please make any necessary arrangements to ensure the presence of an adult at your child’s designated delivery location. Failure of an adult not being present when your child is dropped off, will result in suspension of services. Any indication that a child is being dropped off at a location where no one is home and the doors are locked blocking access to the home, will result in immediate suspension of services.SCT reserves the right to determine the location of pick-up /drop-off in the event of unsafe conditions and load limitations of vehicles. If your child is dropped off at the end of a street, SCT is not responsible for your child after he/she exits the bus.South Central Transit DriversAll SCT drivers are required to hold a Commercial Drivers License (CDL) and are properly trained in all areas of passenger assistance, safety and emergency techniques. Driving records are checked prior to employment and background checks inquiries of each driver are completed through the State of Illinois. Drivers are required to take a physical and under go drug screening before they begin training. All drivers are required to wear SCT uniforms and I.D. badges. All vehicles are maintained to the highest degree of safety and are insured in excess of state and federal requirements.

SCT requires a parent/guardian to come to our office to complete a registration form, including emergency phone numbers and work numbers. Children cannot fill out the form.

Children whose parents purchase a pass can be on the permanent schedule for the month. Parents do not need to call everyday to ensure pick-up and/or delivery of their child. However, if parents require that their child be picked-up or delivered to a different location, the parent must call 24 hours in advance to make arrangements. For the safety of all concerned, SCT cannot rely on the child’s word that they are to be taken to a different location. Your child will be taken to the designated delivery location that you select when purchasing the monthly pass or paying regular fare unless prior notification is received in the scheduling office by the PARENT or LEGAL GUARDIAN.

The only person allowed to make any changes to a child’s schedule will be the parents/legal guardians this includes, change of pick-up/drop-off location, cancellation, or scheduling. For safety reasons a parent or legal guardian must contact the SCT office for the above. If you have special circumstances, please let us know. It is the parent’s responsibility to notify SCT of any changes in pick-up or drop-off locations, cancellations, school closure, or school early dismissal.

It may be necessary for pick-up/delivery times to be adjusted in order to maintain efficiency; therefore children are encouraged to be ready 15 minutes prior to their scheduled pick-up time. Children should be visible to the driver when the bus stops and should board the bus immediately. If the child is not visible to the driver once he/she stops, the bus will continue on to the next pick-up site. Children must board the bus at school in a timely manner. Please be sure to notify the school that your child will be riding the SCT bus so there is no confusion on the school’s end. If the child misses the bus, other arrangements must then be made for the child’s transportation by the parents. SCT will not return to the school for children who have missed the bus.

SCT appreciates your business and support. Please call at least 2-hours prior to scheduled pick-up time to cancel your child’s pick-up or delivery. During non-business hours, SCT has a voice mail system, you can leave the name of child and the day or days you are canceling. If there are any changes in your child’s schedule, you must speak to a live operator during normal business hours. SCT cares very much about your child’s comfort and safety and it is our policy to do everything possible to ensure that your child’s transportation needs are met. It is the parent’s responsibility to notify SCT of any changes in pick-up or drop-off locations, cancellations, school closure, or school early dismissal.