Why no dedicated Accessibility consultation?

Peter Athanasopoulos of Spinal Cord Injury Ontario wants to know why Toronto did not schedule an entire consultation and planning process dedicated to Accessible transportation before it launched the current Vehicle for Hire (VHF) consultation.

“Why isn’t there a dedicated consultation to Accessiblilty?” Athanasopoulos asked staff on the June 12 virtual public meeting.

“The system is completely broken, and there needs to be a focus on Accessibility. We have been involved in vehicle for hire bylaws for several decades, and there seems to be never a critical focus on Accessible vehicle for hire services.

“Just listening to the City presentations, I can see so many holes and gaps into what was presented. I think saying people are waiting over 20 minutes is really polite, because people have been waiting hours, if they are not stranded, and cannot get a ride at all.”

Staff thanked Athanasopoulos for his comments and committed to inviting him to participate in focus groups set up specifically for the Accessible community.