Free Shuttle Bus Not Accessible
Thursday, March 5, 2009
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I spoke to the store manager of the No Frills grocery store that moved out of the downtown core in January and I asked if he could pay for the cost of the Access Bus to his new store as a way of providing equal service to those who have a disability. This is because when they closed the store, they chartered a non-accessible school bus to provide a free shuttle service from the old store to the new twice a week, 4 times a day. He refused to consider paying for the tickets. He said he was paying $140 twice a week to charter the school bus and nobody was using it.
I don't blame him for being frustrated about wasting the money on a bus the able-bodied chose not to use, but when I tried to point out that there'd be a difference if he paid for the Access Bus because he would only be paying for the buses that were used, he still insisted the answer was no. He said that he was thinking of cancelling the charter. I suggested that perhaps he could at least provide equal access for now because he hasn't stopped it yet, and it would mean he was not discriminating under the Ontario Human Rights code, but still he refused.
By the looks of it, Kingston is going to need an army of enforcers when the new AODA comes into effect. It's too bad I didn't have the time, inclination, and energy to challenge each and every one of these discriminatory cases.
I just wish someone would understand that, for those who take Access Bus, the cost of the bus fares is becoming prohibitive. When the grocery store moved, the cost of my buses went up by an additional $18 per month.
FYI - I pay $2.25 times every ride that I take on Access bus and $2.00 on the city bus. This means that in January I paid $186.75 for my buses and in February I paid $214.00. I guess this is considered fair, but in my eyes, it feels like undue hardship because I'm disabled and not able to challenge each and every one of these cases of discrimination.
Please read my other blogs:
Transit: http://wheelchairdemon-transit.blogspot.com
Health Care: http://wheelchairdemon-health.blogspot.com
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