No stats on wheelchair use in STM buses
Two days ago I promised Bill Binns I’d email the STM and inquire about wheelchair users of their regular buses. I did so, and have just had a reply. After several introductory paragraphs about STM accessibility policy, it says: “Nous n’avons pas de statistique sur l’utilisation des fauteuils roulants dans les bus réguliers.”
I would’ve thought they’d at least want to know how often those ramps were deployed, for maintenance purposes. But in addition, for social reasons I think it would be good if the STM could say something like “4000 wheelchair users successfully took our regular buses last year!”
So all I can tell Bill Binns is that, when I was a regular bus user, I saw wheelchair users from time to time, so it isn’t an imaginary service, but I can’t say how often the option is taken advantage of.
Ephraim 19:03 on 2020-08-27 Permalink
Why would they, unless their schedule is unpredicatble… transport adapte is door-to-door for the price of a ticket
Kate 21:12 on 2020-08-27 Permalink
As I understand it, you have to reserve adapted transport well in advance, and you may even have to give an explanation why you need it, so forget making any spontaneous plans or having any personal emergencies.
Blork 21:24 on 2020-08-27 Permalink
What Kate says. I know someone who uses it almost every day to get to and from work, and she always has to book it a day in advance, or longer.
Michael Black 21:48 on 2020-08-27 Permalink
You have to reserve at least the day before (I can’t remember the exact deadline), and if you want to get back, you have to reserve that too.
So you have to be ready, and you may get there earlier than you need. If your visit is longer than antipated or you decide to do something else, you can cancel, but I don’t think you can arange transport for the change on short notice.
It is a tiny bit less than regular bus fare. And yes, it is convenient leaving your home, since you don’t have to get to a bus stoo.
I got a card last November. At rehab they said they were less likely to issue cards for people with temporary disability, but I got it, good through next June. I thought I’d be having a bunch of appointments.
But by the time the card arrived, those had never materialized. I’ve used the card twice.
I wasn’t sure how long, so only booked the going. I ended up walking home. The next week I reserved a round trip, but I waited for the doctor for hours, so I cancelled the return.
By then I was more mobile, but for what I needed, it wasn’t convenient trying to plan when I’d be finished, or me planning to wait somewhere. I’d thought of going to St Anne’s, but it didn’t seem fair for trivial purposes.
Then things shut down, few places to go. When I went to the Jewish General in June, six months had passed, and I decided the only reason I’d reserve is because it was cheaper than a taxi.
So I can’t imagine using it again.
It’s about having a “normal” life, so you don’t have to justify a trip. It likely is way more useful for regular transport. It wasn’t perfect for my mother, but towards the end she was mostly taking regular trips, so door to door was really useful with a walker and later a wheelchair.
But “normal” is variable, it’s spontaneous, and lots of people aren’t old. Their lives don’t fit into rigid pre-planned trips or times. A bus isn’t perfect (some stops can’t accommodate the ramp, and snow brings problems), but it let’s people live “normal”. Walking, or wheeling, has benefits in itself
One reason I’ve mostly walked everywhere was I didn’t like waiting around, or just missing the bus. Once the need for adaptive transit lessened, I found the planning too much. Other people can live with it, and some surely benefit from door to door service (withiut the price of taxis)
Ephraim 22:04 on 2020-08-27 Permalink
My mother is on Transport Adapte and yes, you have to reserve ahead of time, I think the cut off is 4PM. More of a problem for her when she has a doctor’s appointment, because you don’t know how long… so she takes something to read with her. And they aren’t happy about packages.