Finding a reliable method of transportation is difficult in the Halifax Regional Municipality (HRM), especially for those with mobility issues.
That’s why regional council revisited the topic on Tuesday, discussing the two methods available in the city, a door-to-door service for those who can’t use the conventional bus system and accessible taxis.
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While the municipality has committed to improving an accessible taxi and bus system, directing staff to find ways to improve its programs, not everyone on the Halifax Regional Council agrees on the best way to do it.
“We need to be firm on what it is that we can do for a certain segment of our citizens,” said Deputy Mayor Steve Craig at Tuesday’s debate.
“To provide a service and not a service that you have to call up a week before and then you have to confirm the morning of. Life doesn’t work that way for all of us here.”
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Paul Vinneau, a mobility advocate who is himself deals with mobility issues, says that the current programs offered by the city are not working.
Earlier this year, Vinneau was forced to purchase a car to get to work due to the difficult-to-access services.
“Having a separate transportation system for people with disabilities is not the best way to do it, it’s not what modern progressive cities do,” he said. “You look at a city like New York City, Toronto, London. Their goal is to have 100 per cent accessible cabs. Everyone can use an accessible van, not everybody can use an accessible car cab. So it makes more sense to have a higher percentage of accessible vans on the road.”
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But accessible vehicles cost drivers more. Some councillors argued that it’s a cost that the city should be obligated to support.
“We know it’s going to require some form of intervention in terms of a subsidy and this is what we’ve been talking around for three years but we don’t seem to be able to crack the nut and get to, what’s the model going to look like?” said Waye Mayson, councillor for district seven, Halifax Downtown South.
Vinneau says he’d like to see the HRM to take up the mantle of providing barrier-free vehicles.
“Maybe HRM will have to start up a cab company,” he said. “It could be operated by Halifax Transit, I don’t know. But we need to be innovative and creative in our solution for this.”
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