(no subject)
This article was sent to me by a few people:
Ottawa's public bus service for people with disabilities asked dozens of customers to cancel their shopping and other non-medical trips this week after delays caused by the recent dump of snow.
Para Transpo head Pat Larkin said the door-to-door service just couldn't keep on schedule because of the snow that continued to fall on Ottawa's streets and walkways throughout the week, on top of the 37 centimetres that buried the region on Sunday.
"It's been hard to provide our customers with the service that we really want to provide them, hence the reason that we've asked for their co-operation to cancel some of the non-medical trips," Larkin said.
He added that 500 to 600 customers cancelled their bookings on their own Thursday, but the company contacted another 50 to 75 customers asking them to cancel as well.
"If they felt strongly that they needed it, we would in fact continue to try to provide it, but we would tell them that we will be late," Larkin said.
Christine Devries was among Para Transpo customers asked to cancel their trips - first a shopping venture on Tuesday, then a pickup from church on Wednesday evening.
Having to rely on transit that must be booked one day in advance is hard enough without the cancellations, she said.
"They control my life. There's no spontaneity at all," she said, as her voice broke with emotion. "I feel like I have to have permission to maybe sometimes be equal to an able-bodied person."
Larkin predicted the delays and cancellations wouldn't last much longer, as the milder temperatures forecast for this weekend would allow the service to get back on schedule.
In the meantime, he said, several taxi services are available in Ottawa to serve customers whose trips have been cancelled.
However, a taxi trip is typically more expensive than using Para Transpo.
The fare for a Para Transpo bus trip is the same as the fare for a regular express public transit bus trip ($4 or three tickets for ages 12 and up) during the weekday morning rush hour, and the same as the fare for a regular non-express transit bus trip ($3 or two tickets for 12 and up) during other times.
What I wrote to CBC:
I'm curious as to why Paratranspo deems only non-medical trips as essential for its passengers. Unless Paratranspo intends on paying my wages for every day of bad weather I'm "supposed" to stay home, I have no choice but to go into work, as do thousands of others in this city. It may shock the able-bodied community, but persons with disabilities do more than: a) get sick, b) go shopping, or c) go to church/bingo. We go to school, work and volunteer as well. We make valuable contributions to our local communities and the economy at large. I'm disappointed at CBC for neglecting to examine the true cost of forcing persons with disabilities to stay home. Not only is productivity lost in the workplace, but more monies need to be spent on social benefit programs, which are otherwise 100% unnecessary for those who can contribute. Paratranspo customers are already well aware that their pick-ups will be delayed even in good weather, why is cancelling of trips even necessary? Is it truly for the convenience of the passengers, or is it solely for the benefit of Paratranspo? If this city was truly concerned about traffic flow during bad weather, a ban would be placed on all cars carrying only one passenger per car. Aren't we supposed to be encouraging Ottawans to take public transit? It is indeed a disturbing precedent we are setting when the freedom and independence of an entire community is removed for the convenience of the rest.
Ottawa's public bus service for people with disabilities asked dozens of customers to cancel their shopping and other non-medical trips this week after delays caused by the recent dump of snow.
Para Transpo head Pat Larkin said the door-to-door service just couldn't keep on schedule because of the snow that continued to fall on Ottawa's streets and walkways throughout the week, on top of the 37 centimetres that buried the region on Sunday.
"It's been hard to provide our customers with the service that we really want to provide them, hence the reason that we've asked for their co-operation to cancel some of the non-medical trips," Larkin said.
He added that 500 to 600 customers cancelled their bookings on their own Thursday, but the company contacted another 50 to 75 customers asking them to cancel as well.
"If they felt strongly that they needed it, we would in fact continue to try to provide it, but we would tell them that we will be late," Larkin said.
Christine Devries was among Para Transpo customers asked to cancel their trips - first a shopping venture on Tuesday, then a pickup from church on Wednesday evening.
Having to rely on transit that must be booked one day in advance is hard enough without the cancellations, she said.
"They control my life. There's no spontaneity at all," she said, as her voice broke with emotion. "I feel like I have to have permission to maybe sometimes be equal to an able-bodied person."
Larkin predicted the delays and cancellations wouldn't last much longer, as the milder temperatures forecast for this weekend would allow the service to get back on schedule.
In the meantime, he said, several taxi services are available in Ottawa to serve customers whose trips have been cancelled.
However, a taxi trip is typically more expensive than using Para Transpo.
The fare for a Para Transpo bus trip is the same as the fare for a regular express public transit bus trip ($4 or three tickets for ages 12 and up) during the weekday morning rush hour, and the same as the fare for a regular non-express transit bus trip ($3 or two tickets for 12 and up) during other times.
What I wrote to CBC:
I'm curious as to why Paratranspo deems only non-medical trips as essential for its passengers. Unless Paratranspo intends on paying my wages for every day of bad weather I'm "supposed" to stay home, I have no choice but to go into work, as do thousands of others in this city. It may shock the able-bodied community, but persons with disabilities do more than: a) get sick, b) go shopping, or c) go to church/bingo. We go to school, work and volunteer as well. We make valuable contributions to our local communities and the economy at large. I'm disappointed at CBC for neglecting to examine the true cost of forcing persons with disabilities to stay home. Not only is productivity lost in the workplace, but more monies need to be spent on social benefit programs, which are otherwise 100% unnecessary for those who can contribute. Paratranspo customers are already well aware that their pick-ups will be delayed even in good weather, why is cancelling of trips even necessary? Is it truly for the convenience of the passengers, or is it solely for the benefit of Paratranspo? If this city was truly concerned about traffic flow during bad weather, a ban would be placed on all cars carrying only one passenger per car. Aren't we supposed to be encouraging Ottawans to take public transit? It is indeed a disturbing precedent we are setting when the freedom and independence of an entire community is removed for the convenience of the rest.