Wheel-Trans items at July 11 Executive Committee

On July 11^th, Toronto’s Executive Committee will consider the TTC’s Wheel-Trans service and request the CEO to make a presentation on September 5^th.

Under the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA 2005) there has been an increase in access to Wheel-Trans for the 1 in 5 Torontonians who identify as a person with a disability. There are concerns that the funding to support the increase and provide equitable and accessible transit to those who rely on it does not correlate with the expanded access to Wheel-Trans.

At the June 12^th  Toronto Accessibility Advisory Committee meeting, Committee Chair Councillor Jamaal Myers’ memo noted, “There is growing concern surrounding the changes that are being made to the TTC’s Wheel-Trans Service. Under the new changes, thousands of users will be required to re-register to continue their access to Wheel-Trans. In many instances for those re[1]registering, the door-to-door service they are currently provided replaced with conventional public transit for part or all of their trips.”

 At the June 12^th meeting, the Accessibility Committee recommended that:

“City Council request the Toronto Transit Commission Board to request the Chief Executive Officer, Toronto Transit Commission to arrange a presentation to the September 5, 2023 Toronto Accessibility Advisory Committee meeting on the service planning changes that are being made to the TTC’s Wheel-Trans Service, including:

• the rationale for the change(s);
• what equity analysis was conducted to inform the anticipated impacts of the change(s);
• how people with disabilities were consulted in the proposed change(s);
• the status of the re-registration process and how known or anticipated barriers to re-registration will be addressed; and
• a comparison of projected financial costs of operating the Wheel-Trans under Family of Services and the previous Wheel-Trans service model.”