These guidelines are for students already approved by Student Disability Services (SDS) to use the CULift paratransit service. More information is available on our Transportation Accommodations page.

Description of Service

• The CULift Program is a pre-arranged shuttle service designed to help provide access to classes and on-campus activities for students with temporary and permanent disabilities that affect mobility. It runs on and near campus (map). The SDS Transportation Coordinator will make decisions about ride requests based on the CULift’s mission and available resources. 
• Hours of operation for spring/fall semesters when classes are in session are 7:45am–10:00pm, Monday–Friday. Hours may be limited at other times. The CULift does not operate on the weekends. 
• Questions about access to the service should be directed to Student Disability Services: 607-254-4545, culift@cornell.edu. 

General Expectations 

• You are responsible for entering all ride requests on the online scheduling website and planning well ahead when using the service. We cannot honor late requests for rides. Rides must be scheduled by 10am the business day before you need them. Rides for Monday must be entered by 10am Friday. 
• Show up for all scheduled rides and be on time. Make sure that you are waiting outside the building for your ride at least five minutes before its scheduled time. The CULift vehicle may arrive from anywhere up to five minutes before your scheduled ride to five minutes after. The CULift driver will not wait for you past your scheduled time and will not return to pick you up if you have missed your ride. 
• Schedule pick up times for when you reasonably think you will be outside and ready for the ride. Allow yourself enough time to leave your residence, class, or appointment to arrive on time at the location where CULift will pick you up. 
• Allow at least 20 minutes between “pickup time” and “arrival time” unless the ride is for back-to-back classes. Rides that request less time may be adjusted. 
• Do not schedule rides back and forth to/from your residence throughout the day, unless you have a gap in your schedule of two hours or more. 
• Ride requests are reviewed and may be adjusted. Check your email and/or the online schedule for notifications and changes. 
• Rides are for academic, curricular, co-curricular, and on campus work. Rides are not available for you to get food or to visit friends. If you have concerns about that, contact SDS.
• Rides are only for the approved rider unless SDS determines that an attendant is needed for accessibility reasons. 
• The CULift driver cannot provide you with any kind of physical assistance.

Schedule Changes and Ride Cancellations

• Use the scheduling website to make any changes to your schedule by 10:00am the business day before the needed ride. 
• Late schedule change requests are not to be made with the CULift driver.
• Unneeded rides must be cancelled.
• Cancellation of a ride can be made online up to two hours before the ride. Cancellations with less notice need to be called in (or emailed in before 3:45pm). See contact info below.

Missed Rides

• As the CULift is a limited resource shared by many students, your missed rides can impact the scheduling/use of the CULift by others. Do not miss rides! Unneeded rides need to be cancelled (see above).
• If you have a sudden, unpredictable life situation that causes you to miss a ride, please let us know what happened!
• You will receive a warning from SDS about missed rides that you had not contacted us about. After three warnings, you may be suspended from using CULift and may be invited to meet with SDS to discuss reinstatement/use.
• Note: SDS is not obligated to meet with students after misuse and reinstatement is only at their discretion.

Ride Questions

• Questions about scheduled rides can be made by calling the CULift dispatcher at: (607) 254-8293 or by emailing culift@cornell.edu before 3:45pm, or (for night rides) by calling (607) 319-1373 after 3:45pm.
• Questions emailed to: culift@cornell.edu are only answered during regular business hours.

Failure to Comply

To use the service, you must agree to the above guidelines. Failure to comply may result in SDS re-evaluating your access to this service.