Para Transpo in Ottawa, Canada
Why the Disabled Community in the Capital Need Better Transport
Disabled citizens are frustrated with Ottawa's public transportation system. They are frequently refused service, and an aging population means an even bigger problem
A young man gets ready to go out on a date. He waits in his living room and worries about it. But even more worrying, he is disabled and his Para Transpo bus is late.
This scenario is from a play called Still Waiting for That Special Bus by Allan Shain, an artist and disability activist. He wrote and performed the one-man show that toured North America and Australia.
The play is an artistic expression of frustration with the reality of Ottawa’s Para Transpo, a service for people with disabilities that prevent them from using OC Tranpo, the city’s regular transportation service.
The problem is
Providing access to public transportation is not a good deed, it’s a human right and a legal obligation under the Ontario Human Rights Code.
In 1993, Para Transpo refused about 35,000 trips. In 1998, it refused 40,000 trips. In 2000, it refused 46,000 trips, as was made evident in the case of Bob Brown vs. OC Transpo in 1999 .
If Para cannot handle the clients it has now, Ottawa is looking at a big problem soon. Its disabled population is growing. In 2001, 36,675 citizens were disabled. Add 6585 people to that population by 2011, the City of Ottawa Travel Demand Study predicts.
The ability for Para to meet demands affects the quality of life and well-being of Ottawa’s disabled citizens. About 77 percent do not work or volunteer, stated a 2002 city-funded survey called Maximizing Our Assets: Partnering for Participation and Inclusion. Access was cited as a major reason.
More than half of our disabled citizens live on less than $15,000 a year, below the poverty line according to the study; about 21 percent live on less than $9,600 a year.
Seniors’ organizations like the Ottawa-Carleton Council on Aging have raised concerns in city meetings about the social isolation that can result from lack of service.
The elderly use Para more than anyone, says Pat Larkin, director of Para Transpo service. The average age of users is 70 years old. In 2001, one in eight Candians were 65 years or older, Health Canada stated in it's report called Canada's Aging Population. By 2026, one in five will be it states. They are going to need this service.
What are they doing about it?
The city has responded to increasing demand for accessible transit by making the fixed-route buses more accessible, Larkin says. Currently, OC Transpo has a fleet of 967 regular buses, and about 625 are now accessible, low-floor buses, he says.
An integrated and accessible public transit system is ideal, but the Ontario Human Rights Commission states in its policy that “there will always be individuals who will be unable to use even the most accessible conventional transit system. A segregated para-transit system is necessary to achieve equality for persons with disabilities, and this will most likely always be the case.” So making regular buses more accessible is not enough on its own.
Larkin says Para simply does not have enough resources. Its budget has been frozen since 1993 and since then, it has not been able to increase service or to accommodate everyone. The Human Rights Commission says Ottawa is responsible for providing service “up to the point of undue hardship.” Undue hardship is not clearly defined.
