Erik Nippak of
Toronto has a problem with the new buses the TTC is introducing to
the city’s streets. To give disabled riders an alternative to the
door-to-door Wheel-Trans service, the “conventional” TTC system is
gradually being retrofitted with buses with lower floors as well as
elevators in select subway stations. The newest bus in the fleet,
the low-floor Orion 7, has been appearing on TTC routes over the
last few months -- taking over from the oldest buses in the system
which are up to 20 years old and inaccessible if you can’t climb the
stairs.
Mr. Nippak says
the low-floor design is a problem because they carry fewer riders
than the older style. As for the Orion 7s, he says the back seats
are arranged in such a way that an average-sized man cannot sit
properly. He writes, “It seems that the entire TTC system is being
redeveloped to replace Wheel-Trans. Witness the new Orion 7 buses,
(which are) really, really cramped. If this is state-of-the-art,
give me the old clattering buses.
“It seems that
the TTC has taken a turn to start providing regular service to the
profoundly disabled. While I agree that the TTC has to be ‘senior
friendly’, I totally disagree with the direction to make it
wheelchair accessible as the cost/benefit ratio just does not make
sense, given the existence of Wheel-Trans. Political correctness is
costing the TTC a lot.”
In the United
States, the federal government requires transit systems to be
accessible to riders with disabilities, and has made billions of
dollars available to buy new buses, commuter trains and light rail
vehicles. Only the oldest U.S. subway networks are unreachable by
wheelchair.
Less than a
third of Toronto’s subway stations have elevators, and roughly a
quarter of TTC routes use buses with ramps or lifts. It may take
until 2010 to replace make the entire bus fleet accessible, and
low-floor streetcars are a long way off.
The problem has
been that the new buses carry fewer passengers than high-floor ones,
which means more vehicles are needed to compensate for the loss in
capacity. With reduced government funding, the TTC has been
hard-pressed to buy enough buses to deal with crowding. There are
also reliability problems with some accessible vehicles, including
malfunctioning wheelchair lifts.
Not all users
with limited mobility have been pleased with the new buses, but the
TTC’s Advisory Committee on Accessible Transit (ACAT) allows
disabled patrons to give advice and input directly to transit
officials. Roger Roberts chairs ACAT, which meets regularly to
discuss all TTC and Wheel-Trans service. He says that while some
Wheel-Trans patrons love being able to travel door to door, trips
can take a long time as other passengers are picked up and dropped
off.
He says
travelling on the regular TTC network “can be faster than
Wheel-Trans -- you don’t have to wait 20 to 30 minutes for a
pick-up.” Roberts, who uses an electric scooter, adds that the
“conventional system is spur-of-the-moment, you don’t have that with
Wheel-Trans.” The paratransit service has over 30,000 registrants,
providing more than 2,000 round-trip rides daily. Users must book
their trips at least a day in advance, and can mean a lot of time on
the phone.
Many would
prefer the chance to use transit for all or part of their journey.
With an average subsidy of around $27 per Wheel-Trans ride versus 40
cents on the TTC, operating costs must be considered against the
price of new buses and elevators. Roberts prefers going underwound,
and says travelling with able-bodied riders “makes you feel less
disabled.” He adds, “The subway, to me, is fantastic. I’ve probably
taken Wheel-Trans twice in the last 12 months.”
The art of
commuting: The Sunnyside Up Studio will feature 12 “larger than
life” portraits of women in subway stations, by painter Ilene Sova.
The show "Engaged In Transit" runs March 4 and 5, from 9 a.m. to 5
p.m. at 400 Eastern Ave., just south of Broadview and Queen.
Send e-mail to
transit@eddrass.com.
Include address and phone number.