tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7718438092302331841.post1744980903275815817..comments2023-12-26T06:25:14.411-04:00Comments on The James McGregor Stewart Society: Please Release MeUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7718438092302331841.post-51172538117874200862016-04-21T10:00:38.550-03:002016-04-21T10:00:38.550-03:00Visiting other cities in Canada, I've seen muc...Visiting other cities in Canada, I've seen much better accessible transit. Vancouver and Ottawa both appeared to NOT use tie-downs. It was a get-on-and-go system (I think "passive restraint" might be the term for it.) Passengers got on independently, lined themselves up with the padded backrest and/or bar. No driver assistance needed.<br /><br />As a consequence, I saw many more wheelchair users actively riding transit. There was no reason for other passengers to grumble about the time it took, because it was just as quick and easy to board as for everyone else. (There were no seats in the wheelchair spaces that needed to be flipped up. When not in use, other passengers could use it as a standing area.)<br /><br />Halifax Transit is soooo far behind on accessibility, and best practises in general. It was quite depressing to see just how much better things could be! My Ottawa experience was several years ago. I've been waiting and waiting to see Halifax drop all the strap-in business ever since. My Vancouver experience was more recent, and only re-affirmed how much of a difference ease-of-use makes to accessibility. It's an entire culture shift, of de-segregation and equal participation. It changes people's attitudes.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com