What the PTSS actually is
The Passenger Transport Subsidy Scheme is a Western Australian government scheme for people whose disability prevents them from using public transport safely or independently. It is not a transport service and it does not book anything. It reduces what you pay for a taxi trip you have arranged yourself.
It works through a smartcard. The driver taps it at the start of the journey and again at the end, the subsidy is calculated on the metered fare, and you pay the balance. Because it happens in the vehicle, the card has to be with you. There is no retrospective claim for a trip taken without it.
There are two card colours and the difference between them is worth understanding, because it is where most of the money is.
| Card | In a wheelchair accessible taxi, travelling in your chair | In any other taxi trip |
|---|---|---|
| Purple (wheelchair subsidy) | 75% of the fare, subsidy capped at $35 | 50% of the fare, capped at $25 |
| Yellow (standard subsidy) | 50% of the fare, capped at $25 | 50% of the fare, capped at $25 |
Where the $35 cap actually bites
The 75% rate applies in full until the subsidy itself would exceed $35. Work backwards and that happens at a fare of about $46.67, because 75% of $46.67 is $35.
Under that number, a purple cardholder in an accessible taxi pays a quarter of the meter. On a $27.60 trip, which is roughly 10 km on a weekday, that is about $6.90 out of pocket.
Above it, the subsidy stops growing and every additional dollar on the meter is yours. On an $80 fare the subsidy is still $35 and you pay $45. This is why long runs, say Rockingham or Yanchep to the city, feel so different from short ones, and why an upfront quote is worth asking for on any trip over about 20 km.
Figures checked August 2026. The cap is reviewed by the Department of Transport, so confirm the current number before relying on this arithmetic.
What NDIS transport funding does instead
NDIS transport funding is a completely different mechanism. It is an amount in an individual participant's plan, intended for participants who cannot use public transport because of their disability, and it pays for journeys connected to the goals in that plan: getting to work, to study, to a day program, to community activities.
It is not a discount applied at the kerb. Depending on how your plan is managed, the trip is either invoiced to your plan manager, claimed by you as a self-managed participant, or arranged through your support coordinator. That means the paperwork matters in a way it does not with PTSS: you need a provider willing to invoice correctly and you need receipts.
Funding levels vary by plan and are set through the planning process rather than by a public rate card. Anyone quoting you a fixed weekly figure as if it were universal is generalising. Your plan document is the only authority on what you have.
Can you use both?
Generally yes, and plenty of people do. They come from different places: PTSS from the WA Department of Transport, NDIS funding from the NDIA. Holding a purple PTSS card does not disqualify you from having transport funding in your plan, and having transport funding does not cancel your card.
What you cannot sensibly do is claim the same dollar twice. If a trip is invoiced in full to your NDIS plan, the fare has already been paid and there is nothing left for the PTSS subsidy to reduce. In practice most people use the card on trips they are paying for themselves, and use plan funding for the trips their plan is designed to cover, such as a regular day program run.
If that line is unclear for your situation, the people to ask are your plan manager or support coordinator, and the Department of Transport for the PTSS side. It is a five-minute question for them and a costly guess for you.
The other schemes people confuse with these two
PATS, the Patient Assisted Travel Scheme, is run by WA Country Health Service and helps country residents with the cost of travel to specialist medical care a long way from home. It is about distance from a service, not about disability, and it has its own eligibility and distance thresholds.
Support at Home replaced Home Care Packages on 1 November 2025 and can include transport support for older people. It is an aged-care programme, not a disability one, and someone over 65 receiving that support is generally outside the NDIS.
Hospital-arranged patient transport is different again and is organised by the hospital, not by you. It usually applies to clinical transfers rather than getting to an outpatient appointment.
A quick way to work out which applies to you
Three questions get most people to the right answer.
- Are you paying for this trip yourself? If yes, and you hold a PTSS card, use the card. That is exactly what it is for.
- Is the trip connected to a goal in your NDIS plan, such as work, study or a day program? If yes, it is likely a plan-funded trip and should be invoiced accordingly.
- Is it a medical trip and do you live in country WA? Then check PATS before either of the above, because it may cover a journey neither of the others will.
None of this is funding advice. Eligibility, rates and rules change, and your plan or card is the authority. Confirm with the Department of Transport, your plan manager, or WA Country Health Service.