From Here to There

Following a diving accident in his home town of Port Sydney, Ontario, and subsequent quadriplegia, Arthur Mack decided to move to Toronto. Still, he likes to return home for family visits; for a couple of years he was able to do so, thanks to Transport Canada�s 1991 incentive to car-rental agencies that included more wheelchair accessible vans in their rental fleets.

However, in the summer of 1995, while planning a visit home, Art discovered that the wheelchair accessible rental vans he had come to rely on were no longer available. They had all been sold off, with no immediate plans by any of the rental companies for their replacement. How would he get home for the holidays now?

Fortunately for Art, he eventually found two new travel options. The first was thanks to family efforts to procure a wheelchair accessible van. The second was improvements in public inter-city Ontario bus travel.

As 1996 graduates of the University of Toronto�s Occupational Therapy program, we have developed a professional interest in promoting independent living for wheelchair users by reducing environmental barriers.

During the final years of our program, we teamed up with Art to learn more about accessibility issues. His difficulty in obtaining accessible transportation became the impetus for our exploration of ground travel options for individuals who use wheelchairs. Specifically, we wanted to identify different accessible transportation options -- rental vans, accessible taxis, train, bus and subway services -- for individuals without their own vehicles.

We began our investigation by learning about relevant existing and proposed legislation. Bill 168, an act to ensure equal access to post-secondary education and other services and facilities for Ontarians with disabilities, was proposed on May 31, 1994. This bill would have ensured accessible transportation for Ontarians whose disabilities restrict them from using conventional transit services. Unfortunately, the bill has been stalled after its first reading.

The only other relevant legislation that can be applied to accessible transportation is the less specific Ontario Human Rights Act, which states that "it is discriminatory in the provision of goods, services, facilities or accommodation customarily available to the general public to (a) deny, or to prevent access to, any such service, good, facility or accommodation to any individual or (b) to differentiate adversely in relation to any individual on the basis of race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, age, sex, marital status or family status, disability, or conviction for an offense for which a pardon has been granted."

In September, 1991, then-Prime Minister Brian Mulroney announced a $158-million federal strategy, called the National Strategy for the Integration of Persons with Disabilities. Of the proposed budget, $24.6-million was allotted to Transport Canada for the purpose of making the funds available to the transportation industry to enhance the access of Canada�s transportation system.

For example, incentives (up to 40 per cent of purchase cost, or $15,000) were given to car rental agencies to expand their rental fleet to include more wheelchair accessible vans. However, of the 46 vans that were purchased by car rental companies with Transport Canada�s generous subsidies, fewer than five are now available across Canada.

Management representatives of car rental agencies have said that demand for these vans was so low that they could not afford to keep them in their fleets. However, service groups that provide information on travel services to those with physical disabilities state that they receive many inquiries for such vans.

On a brighter note, bus and train travel between Canadian cities is becoming more accessible to a greater variety of consumers. For most bus and train companies, that means providing improved access to those with disabilities on selected routes across the country.

To facilitate accessible within-city bus travel in Toronto, for example, the Toronto Transit Commission plans to replace all of the current standard-floor buses with a low-floor fleet by the year 2011. By the year 2019, all of the subway cars will be retrofitted with easier access features. (Making Public Transit in Metro Toronto More Accessible, Toronto Transit Commission, 1994)

Perhaps the most important thing we learned, aside from the knowledge regarding accessible transportation services for people who use wheelchairs, was how to obtain that information. We learned as much from the process as we did from the outcome. We found that while information regarding accessible transportation is available, it is scattered and always fluctuating. The process by which we conducted our study was lengthy and sometimes frustrating. More than once, we considered aborting our search.

We encountered many people and organizations willing to lend their time and insight to us. However, we also discovered that information regarding transportation services for wheelchair users does not always reach the consumers who require it.

Fortunately, services aiming to improve information access have recently begun to surface -- for example, the Integrated Network of Disability Information and Education (Indie). Hopefully, they will soon reach their potential in providing current information regarding accessible transportation services quickly and universally.

As future occupational therapists, we follow the guiding philosophy of our profession: to promote the individual�s independence in activities of daily living. These activities include self-care, productivity, work and leisure. Lack of accessible transportation services impede the individual from independently participating in such activities. Through this project, we made a commitment to address environmental barriers, as they have an impact on functional independence -- the difference being that now we will do so as occupational therapists, rather than students.

(Anna Kaushansky, B.Sc. (O.T.), and Shelley Di-nur, B.Sc. (O.T.), are members of the Canadian Association of Occupational Therapists. This article appears with special thanks to Professor McKee, University of Toronto.)

CANADIAN ASSOCIATION OF OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY

CARLETON TECHNICAL & TRAINING CENTRE

3400-1125 COLONEL BY DRIVE

OTTAWA, ON K1S 5R1

TEL: (613) 523-2268

FAX: (613) 523-2552

WEBSITE: http://www.caot.ca/