Prometheus The Supremo
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TTC eyes improving service for the disabled
May 09, 2007 04:30 AM
Tess Kalinowski
Transportation Reporter
Penny Lamy has needed two sets of wheels to do her job as a health promotion worker since she injured her back about 10 years ago – a scooter and the TTC.
Three to five times a day, she calls for a ride, holding her breath every time.
If a Wheel-Trans bus is dispatched, there's a sigh of relief. If it's an accessible taxi contracted from six private operators, "you feel fear," she told TTC commissioners yesterday.
The contracts expire at year's end, giving the commission the opportunity for an overhaul.
TTC officials say there are too many complaints from disabled riders, such as accessible-cab drivers talking on cellphones, eating in the car, driving erratically and stranding clients.
"It is very scary to speak up and say anything to a driver because you don't have the strength to get up and walk away like another customer would," said Lamy in an interview.
The TTC provides 2.1 million accessible rides a year, according to Bob Thacker, head of the Wheel-Trans and accessible taxi service. About half are on Wheel-Trans buses, about 750,000 by accessible taxi and the rest in sedans that aren't modified to carry assistive devices.
The accessible-taxi service draws at least double the complaints as the bus service, Thacker said.
Last week, the TTC checked the operators, who are supposed to escort riders to their door.
In half of the 20 spot-checks, drivers failed to do so or were talking on a cellphone while they did.
"What we're looking for is commitment. We can provide training, but if we're not doing it with people who have empathy and sensitivity to our customers, then we're not going to get a good return on our training investment," said Thacker.
Under a request for proposals being issued this summer, accessible taxis would have to be owner-operated, a move the TTC says is designed to ensure the drivers get paid a minimum of $2.40 per kilometre. They would also have to be educated in dealing with the disabled and they would be subjected to rigorous checks, including those by "secret shoppers."
Current accessible-taxi operators say the TTC is biased against giving new contracts to them.
"We're concerned with some of the comments that have been made in general and that we will not be considered (for the new contracts)," said Jeff Pasoff, executive vice-president of Dignity Transportation Inc.
Although the TTC will probably always maintain the flexibility it gets with accessible taxis, it is considering providing 5 to 10 per cent more accessible service in-house, said chair Adam Giambrone.
-----------------------------------------
my complaints:
contracted minivans:
-drivers talking on cellphones.
-lead foot drivers, dangerous driving. remember, we have no headrests.
-drivers taking care of personal business like stoping off somewhere.
-minivans reaking of gasoline & other chemical fumes and you don't even have a window next to you that you can open.
-drivers asking to smoke.
-some wheelchairs don't fit properly in these minivans. they are too tight.
-drivers that don't turn on air conditioners.
-double booking of wheelchair users in a single minivan. only one chair can fit!! the other guy has to drag his body to a seat!
-overcrowding of all free space with assistive devices, not properly strapped in.
-seatbelts that do not work properly or are too tight and have to be taken off and put back on to be made comfortable again.
-minivans that look pretty dangerous, have bad brakes and transmission problems.
-drivers that don't know their way around the city and get you stuck in traffic when there are alternative routes that can get you there faster.
- minivans are smaller to don't provide the same safety as a larger bus.
wheeltrans bus complaits:
-heaters don't shut off on all buses and emit a reak of engine coolant.
-exhaust fumes come into the bus when it is lowered because the tail pipe is under the bus. sometimes the back door is open for minutes and the bus fills up with diesel fumes while waiting for another pickup.
-the buses are very loud. drivers are going deaf! compressors & loose ramps to blame.
-being strapped in the back of the bus is a very bumpy ride because you are over the axle.
also this applies to all - straps for securing wheelchairs are rusted and old. i just got a brand new wheelchair and it is scratched to hell. straping onto areas not meant to be strapped puts additional scratches in areas where they need not be & cause damage.
ETC.
May 09, 2007 04:30 AM
Tess Kalinowski
Transportation Reporter
Penny Lamy has needed two sets of wheels to do her job as a health promotion worker since she injured her back about 10 years ago – a scooter and the TTC.
Three to five times a day, she calls for a ride, holding her breath every time.
If a Wheel-Trans bus is dispatched, there's a sigh of relief. If it's an accessible taxi contracted from six private operators, "you feel fear," she told TTC commissioners yesterday.
The contracts expire at year's end, giving the commission the opportunity for an overhaul.
TTC officials say there are too many complaints from disabled riders, such as accessible-cab drivers talking on cellphones, eating in the car, driving erratically and stranding clients.
"It is very scary to speak up and say anything to a driver because you don't have the strength to get up and walk away like another customer would," said Lamy in an interview.
The TTC provides 2.1 million accessible rides a year, according to Bob Thacker, head of the Wheel-Trans and accessible taxi service. About half are on Wheel-Trans buses, about 750,000 by accessible taxi and the rest in sedans that aren't modified to carry assistive devices.
The accessible-taxi service draws at least double the complaints as the bus service, Thacker said.
Last week, the TTC checked the operators, who are supposed to escort riders to their door.
In half of the 20 spot-checks, drivers failed to do so or were talking on a cellphone while they did.
"What we're looking for is commitment. We can provide training, but if we're not doing it with people who have empathy and sensitivity to our customers, then we're not going to get a good return on our training investment," said Thacker.
Under a request for proposals being issued this summer, accessible taxis would have to be owner-operated, a move the TTC says is designed to ensure the drivers get paid a minimum of $2.40 per kilometre. They would also have to be educated in dealing with the disabled and they would be subjected to rigorous checks, including those by "secret shoppers."
Current accessible-taxi operators say the TTC is biased against giving new contracts to them.
"We're concerned with some of the comments that have been made in general and that we will not be considered (for the new contracts)," said Jeff Pasoff, executive vice-president of Dignity Transportation Inc.
Although the TTC will probably always maintain the flexibility it gets with accessible taxis, it is considering providing 5 to 10 per cent more accessible service in-house, said chair Adam Giambrone.
-----------------------------------------
my complaints:
contracted minivans:
-drivers talking on cellphones.
-lead foot drivers, dangerous driving. remember, we have no headrests.
-drivers taking care of personal business like stoping off somewhere.
-minivans reaking of gasoline & other chemical fumes and you don't even have a window next to you that you can open.
-drivers asking to smoke.
-some wheelchairs don't fit properly in these minivans. they are too tight.
-drivers that don't turn on air conditioners.
-double booking of wheelchair users in a single minivan. only one chair can fit!! the other guy has to drag his body to a seat!
-overcrowding of all free space with assistive devices, not properly strapped in.
-seatbelts that do not work properly or are too tight and have to be taken off and put back on to be made comfortable again.
-minivans that look pretty dangerous, have bad brakes and transmission problems.
-drivers that don't know their way around the city and get you stuck in traffic when there are alternative routes that can get you there faster.
- minivans are smaller to don't provide the same safety as a larger bus.
wheeltrans bus complaits:
-heaters don't shut off on all buses and emit a reak of engine coolant.
-exhaust fumes come into the bus when it is lowered because the tail pipe is under the bus. sometimes the back door is open for minutes and the bus fills up with diesel fumes while waiting for another pickup.
-the buses are very loud. drivers are going deaf! compressors & loose ramps to blame.
-being strapped in the back of the bus is a very bumpy ride because you are over the axle.
also this applies to all - straps for securing wheelchairs are rusted and old. i just got a brand new wheelchair and it is scratched to hell. straping onto areas not meant to be strapped puts additional scratches in areas where they need not be & cause damage.
ETC.
has a great sense of humor. the day the TTC becomes fully accessible will probably be the day when a cure will be found for all debilitating disorders. hopefully that day comes soon.