Thousands of people with disabilities to lose full Wheel-Trans transit access, independence: report

Groups call for provincial paratransit operations funding to meet AODA requirements

(Toronto, ON) –  A new report launched on "Independent Living Across Canada Day" warns that thousands of people with disabilities and seniors could lose full access to door-to-door Wheel-Trans service because the provincial government has failed to resource its Accessibility for Ontarians With Disabilities Act (AODA) commitments.

Under a plan known as the “Family of Services,” thousands of current Wheel-Trans users are being asked to re-register. Some Wheel-Trans users will be forced to take conventional streetcars, subways, and buses for parts of their trips, and say they will become more isolated and less independent. 

“Wheel-Trans users cannot and should not be forced onto crowded streetcars, subways, and buses. TTC vehicles are crowded most of the time because service was reduced, and there isn’t enough room for me to get on,” said wheelchair user and TTCriders member Adam Cohoon. “Our transit trips will get longer, more dangerous, and many people with disabilities will give up and stay isolated at home. We will lose our independence. Premier Ford must provide transit operations funding so that Wheel-Trans can expand service to accommodate new users.”

“As someone dealing with quadriplegia, I cannot use the regular TTC independently. But the TTC is telling me that I no longer qualify for door-to-door service on Wheel-Trans,” said wheelchair user Jane Field. “I have been traumatized in the past from being trapped in an elevator at Union Station for several hours in my wheelchair, and from having my front wheel caught between the subway I was exiting and the platform. Already I have lost so much sleep worrying about all this. I am truly terrified.”

“The goal of the The Accessibility for Ontarians With Disabilities Act, 2005 (AODA) was to remove barriers. But without proper resourcing for transit operations from Premier Ford, new barriers are getting created,” said MPP Sarah Jama, Official Opposition Critic, Accessibility and Disability Justice. “More people are becoming eligible for Wheel-Trans and paratransit under the AODA, and that’s a good thing. But local transit agencies have not been funded to expand service and are having to "rob Peter to pay Paul.”

Some seniors and people with disabilities who have been re-categorized as “conditional” have reported that they do not have the ability to use the conventional service, and that their appeals have been denied. “The appeals process feels like a kangaroo court,” said Adam Cohoon. 

“Wheel-Trans is a life-sustaining service that thousands of people depend on,” said Toronto City Councillor Jamaal Myers, Chair of Toronto Accessibility Advisory Committee. “Access to this important public service must be protected for those who need it.” 

“Wheel-Trans users need choice. Using conventional TTC subways, streetcars, and buses should be our choice, not something forced on us,” said Toronto Seniors Forum representative Jane Rowan. “We are asking Mayoral candidates to commit to protecting full Wheel-Trans service for people who need it.”

“When reassessing and assessing persons with disabilities, WheelTrans must consider the individual’s disability, and must ensure that they are not creating additional barriers for persons in accessing necessary transportation,” said Gabriel Reznick, a lawyer with ARCH Disability Law Centre.

Link to report: www.ttcriders.ca/wheeltransreport 

Background and report highlights: 

• The following top-polling Toronto mayoral by-election candidates have pledged to protect Wheel-Trans service in response to a TTCriders questionnaire: 
  • Yes: Ana Bailão, Chloe Brown, Olivia Chow, Anthony Furey, Mitzie Hunter, Josh Matlow
  • No response: Brad Bradford, Mark Saunders

• Wheel-Trans users are being re-registered and assigned into one of three categories: unconditional, temporary, or conditional access. Wheel-Trans users who signed up after 2017 have already been placed into one of the three categories.
  • Temporary: riders will have access to Wheel-Trans for a limited amount of time.
  • Conditional: If their "conditions" are not present, riders will be forced to complete some or all of their trips on conventional TTC subways, streetcars, and buses (a “Family of Services” trip). When "conditions" are present, riders are eligible to receive a “door-to-door” Wheel-Trans trip (list of conditions below).
  • Unconditional: riders will continue to have access to “door-to-door” trips.

• A TTC spokesperson has recently estimated that approximately 11,000 Wheel-Trans users have yet to be re-assessed.
• The 2023 TTC Operating Budget reduced service frequency and changed its planning standards so that bus, streetcar, and subway service at all times of day is planned for “standing room only,” reducing the amount of space available for people with mobility devices. 
• The TTC’s Wheel-Trans 10-Year Strategy set a “diversion target” to restrict 50% of Wheel-Trans users from full door-to-door service by 2025. 
• Under the “Family of Services” program, thousands of Wheel-Trans users will be restricted from full access and be forced to take conventional buses, subways, and streetcars for parts of their trips.
• The TTC’s Wheel-Trans 10-Year Strategy noted that the AODA’s expansion of eligibility to more people with disabilities, coupled with an aging population, will “create a forecasted growth in demand for trips of well over 100% and possibly as much as 175% over 10 years impacting pressure on the current system.”
• Internal TTC documents obtained by TTCriders through a Freedom of Information request about the program noted that “Wheel-Trans cannot sustain this level of growth given its current resource limitations.”
• Internal training documents obtained by TTCriders through an FOI request instruct appeal panelists to “begin your review of an appeal from the perspective that the applicant more than likely qualifies for conditional eligibility. The answers provided will need to convince you that they require unconditional service or that they are not eligible at all.” 
• The TTC redacted most of the eligibility key criteria used to assess applicants. TTCriders has submitted an appeal to the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario. 
• Selected list of “conditions” that conditional Wheel-Trans users may get assigned (wen a condition is present, the rider will be eligible to book a “door-to-door” trip): 
  • Travelling Alone - Customer is able to travel on the TTC when they have a support person with them. If they are travelling alone, they may need Wheel-Trans for that trip. 
  • Darkness - Customer is able to travel on TTC during daylight hours. If it is dark, they may need Wheel-Trans for that trip. 
  • Good Day/Bad day - Customer has a disability that is fluctuating. Customer is able to travel on the TTC when they are having a good day. If they are having a bad day, they may need Wheel-Trans for that trip. 
  • Rush Hour AM - Customer is able to take the TTC during off-peak hours. If they trip is during the AM rush hour, they may need Wheel-Trans for that trip. 
  • Rush Hour PM - Customer is able to take the TTC during off-peak hours. If the trip is during the PM rush hour, they may need Wheel-Trans for that trip. 
  • Winter WT Service Only - Customer is able to take the TTC during the summer months. If it is during the winter, they may need Wheel-Trans for that trip.

• Financial barriers may prevent Wheel-Trans users from appealing the category they get assigned. Users only have 30 days from the date of their eligibility decision to submit an appeal, during which time appellants organize appointments with specialists, potentially pay for a new doctor’s note, and potentially organize additional attendant support.
• Less than 0.02% of Wheel-Trans applicants appealed their eligibility in 2017 and 2018.

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