Combat Experience

At last night's Town Hall Meeting on Accessibility, Metro Transit's Manager of Operations Glenn Bannon announced that his organization will soon be recruiting a Manager for Accessible Transit.

This is welcome news.  Ever since the attempt at revoking bus passes for blind riders, Metro Transit has demonstrated their consistent deafness and blindness to the concerns of riders with disabilities.

Because it was made in a room full of disabled Haligonians, the announcement carried an implied commitment to seek out candidates with actual practical experience in coping with a disability.  This is all the more remarkable coming from an organization that only recently learned to keep the key to the elevator on the same floor as people who might like to use it.  I'm assuming that the Manager for Accessible Transit would have the use of an accessible washroom and free access to other executives at Metro Transit.

In the military, combat experience seems to be a requirement for promotion - the same logic should apply here.  I look forward to learning how Metro Transit structures the search for candidates.  Certainly they wouldn't risk appearing to exclude applicants because their workplace is inaccessible.

A worthy long term goal for this new position would be for the holder to be able to carry out his or her duties entirely by relying on public transportation.

Gus Reed