London disability advocate criticizes Via Rail’s new wheelchair policy

A disability advocate in London is questioning the effectiveness of changes Via Rail is making to ensure its trains are more accessible to people who use wheelchairs and other mobility aids.

The national rail provider has decided to comply with a federal order from the Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA) to allow more than one mobility device to be tied down on its trains at any given time.

Via had been unsuccessfully fighting the demand from the CTA, but had a change of heart last week.

The trains include only one tie-down area and previously, only one person could use it while all others were forced to dismantle their wheelchair or mobility scooter and store it in the luggage compartment, putting the equipment at risk of damage.

Marie Murphy, 54, and her husband Martin Anderson, 47, lodged the complaint to the CTA which prompted the policy change. The Toronto couple both have cerebral palsy and rely on mobility scooters for their day-to-day travel.

They called Via’s decision a “small victory,” but noted there are details that could limit its effectiveness.

The new policy states two mobility devices can now be tied down, providing that both passengers have the capacity to transfer to a regular seat for the trip.

If one can transfer and one cannot, the one who can transfer must still store their device in the baggage area as before. Local disability advocate Jeff Preston told AM980 this is less than ideal.

“If I had an attendant with me, it’s possible that I could be taken out of my wheelchair and placed into a chair,” he said. “It wouldn’t be comfortable, I would argue it’s not safe, but technically by a certain definition I could be transferred even though it would be a terrible outcome for me, to the point that I wouldn’t ride the train if I knew that was what was going to happen.”

The policy also states that a mobility aid user has the right to bump another from a reserved tie-down spot based on the severity of their disability.

Preston is concerned this could create a problematic hierarchy.

“The bigger concern I have is when Via Rail now is putting themselves in a position where they have to determine level of disability or severity of disability, and then build a hierarchy to say that ‘this individual has more rights than another individual’ for instance, and to bump someone out that’s terrifying to me.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "The bigger concern I have is when Via Rail now is putting themselves in a position where they have to determine level of disability or severity of disability, and then build a hierarchy to say that 'this individual has more rights than another individual' for instance, and to bump someone out that's terrifying to me."

The policy also explicitly states the two-in-one use of a tie-down area is for passengers who are travelling together, but Via officials have said it will be applied more broadly to include strangers.

The CTA, which continues to review the policy, had ordered Via to either allow for the use of two mobility aids in one tie-down area, or add an additional tie-down area to its trains.