Paratransit is an alternative mode of flexible passenger transportation that does not follow fixed routes or schedules. Typically minibuses are used to provide paratransit service, but share taxis and jitneys are also important providers.

Paratransit services may vary considerably on the degree of flexibility they provide their customers. At their simplest they may consist of a taxi or small bus that will run along a more or less defined route and then stop to pick up or discharge passengers on request. At the other end of the spectrum—fully demand responsive transport—the most flexible paratransit systems offer on-demand call-up door-to-door service from any origin to any destination in a service area. Paratransit services are operated by public transit agencies, community groups or not-for-profit organizations, and for-profit private companies or operators.

Over the last three decades, the use of "paratransit" has evolved and taken on two somewhat separate broad sets of meaning and application.