Pilot project by TTC to update Wheel-Trans has some users worried
Some could be better served by new, improved conventional transit, report says
TTC commissioners agreed Wednesday to launch a pilot project early next year aimed at finding out whether more Wheel-Trans riders could switch to conventional transit, now that more kneeling buses, low-platform streetcars and subway elevators are coming into service..
But at least one disability advocate is concerned some current users could be left by the wayside, in the push to change how Wheel-Trans is used.
"My main concern is that people who are still in need of Wheel-Trans receive the service they need, door to door," said Ing Wong-Ward, associate director of the Centre for Independent Living, a disability resources group in Toronto.
More eligible users mean 'financial pressure,' TTC chair says
The pilot project came up during Wednesday's regular TTC meeting, at which the commissioners were given a progress report on a 10-year plan to modernize Wheel-Trans.
One reason why that modernization is needed, according to the report, is that so many more people will be eligible to use Wheel-Trans in the years ahead. As of Jan. 1, the TTC wil add people with cognitive and mental health disabilities to the list of those who can apply.
That's going to put financial pressure on the Wheel-Trans system, said TTC chair Joshe Colle, the city councillor for Ward 15, Eglinton-Lawrence.
"If a sizeable percentage of those[regular Wheel-Trans riders]did in fact migrate to the TTC on a more frequent basis, there are savings to be had," said commissioner John Campbell, who represents Ward.4, Etobicoke Centre.
The pilot project is part of a wider strategy to convert Wheel-Trans from a door-to-door service, into a way for some disabled people to move from one mode of conventional transit to another — for example, to get from a low-platform streetcar, to a route that's served by kneeling buses.
Far fewer door-to-door trips predicted by 2025
By the end of next year, about three per cent of Wheel-Trans users will also use conventional transit, according to the report. By 2025, the TTC hopes to boost that number to 50 per cent.
The TTC is also in the process of changing the eligibility requirements for Wheel-Trans, according to the report. Right now, there are only two categories of riders: Those who are permanently eligible, and those who only need the service temporarily.
But the TTC is adding a third category: "conditional" users, which will include people who only need Wheel-Trans for part of their journey.
The pilot project to try out this new, hybrid Wheel-Trans model is expected in early 2017.