New York

For a wheelchair user, New York is a transportation dream.  Many taxis (half, I'd say) are wheelchair accessible and about half of those have induction loop

systems for those with hearing loss.  This Toyota Sienna seems to be the preferred choice.  The best thing is that dispatch of accessible cabs is done as a public service through 311.  A call to the unfailingly polite dispatcher gets you an equally polite and well-trained driver in under 10 minutes.  They text you as the taxi approaches and show you a map!

The details:

• You can request a wheelchair accessible taxi for pick-up anywhere in the five boroughs.
• You can request a wheelchair accessible taxi by:
• Booking online, OR
• Calling the dispatcher directly at (646) 599-9999, 
• By using the Accessible Dispatch NYC mobile app for iPhone or Android, OR
• Calling 311. 311 will transfer you to a dispatcher to arrange your pick-up location and time.
• Passengers pay the standard metered fare with no extra fees.
• The meter will start when you are securely in the vehicle.

This is a much better use of resources than Access-a-Bus, which is discriminatory, way too expensive and simply outdated (and a waste if taxpayer funding)

Please Release Me

This is what Halifax Transit's Accessible Transit Services Handbook says about wheelchairs:

All mobility-devices will back into the paddle post tightly and require one (1) anchor/tie-down point restraint system. This anchor/tie-down point will be secure at the rear side of the mobility device closest to the docking station located on the window side of the bus.

I get contrary when people make assumptions about me and my wheelchair. I have a fantasy about challenging the rules of Halifax Transit................

Returning to Halifax the other day from another coding conference, my wheelchair and I took the Airport MetroX into the city. I backed against the paddle post. As I looked around at the other passengers on the crowded bus, some were seated, some were straphanging, most had a suitcase or two. Nobody was wearing a seatbelt because there were none. Some of the suitcases must have weighed 25 kilos. My wheelchair weighs 11.

When the driver approached to anchor my chair, I said "No thanks, I've got my brakes on".
"It's required, or we can't go.", she said.
"I'd rather not."
"Then I'll have to ask you to disembark.", she said, and started to push me towards the door.
"Don't touch my chair."
"Sir, be reasonable, or I'll call security."

I am tasered into submission and carted off to Burnside while other passengers cheer...............

Sensible British Advice

The University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute says the opposite of what Halifax Transit says:

Ensure that you are facing towards the front of the vehicle.Explanation: Research has shown that the forward facing position is the safest. The rider is more stable in this position, and passenger restraint systems are designed for this position.

The main conclusion of a 2003 University of Virginia study is:

The primary finding of this study is that there is very little published information regarding transit bus safety and crash environment. There is no information to suggest that wheelchair riders face undue risks aboard transit buses.

Earlier in that same study, researchers tell us:

Wheelchair securement aboard low-floor buses in Europe, the United Kingdom (UK), and more recently Canada consists of backing a rear-facing wheelchair against a padded bulkhead and setting the brakes. In some applications, an aisle-side barrier, such as a stanchion or flip-down armrest, is provided. This securement approach is reported to be preferred by German transit operators and wheelchair riders. A former Canadian Urban Transit Administration (CUTA) researcher who has extensive contacts with transit agencies in Europe, the UK, and Canada, has not found any reports of accidents associated with this securement option.

The Canadian researcher is Brendon Hemily, now an independent consultant. Halifax Transit has a habit of making stuff up. They should hire him. brendon.hemily@sympatico.ca

#69 bus, Paris

The detailed and thorough University of Virginia study raises the possibility that wheelchair tie downs are a solution in search of a problem, or maybe just a problem. It cites a review of the records of an urban center's transit provider which found that 35 of 1.1 million one-way trips included incidents with wheelchair riders, although none was because of a vehicle crash.

Count	%	Result or Cause
14	40%	Improper securement
11	31%	Passenger fell from wheelchair
5	14%	Tie-down failed ("claw" type)
2	6%	Tie-down failed ("strap" type)
3	9%	Wheelchair failed

Other transit providers confirmed that most wheelchair rider injuries are not due to impacts and that 40 to 58 percent of injury-causing accidents were due to improper wheelchair securement or securement failure. Again, the restraint was the problem about half the time.

When Metro Transit re-visits this issue, they should proceed from first principles, rather than stereotypical assumptions about people with disabilities.

• Have goals that relate to the service, not to the characteristics of the customer: 
• Safety 
• Simplicity 
• Economy 
• Equity 
• Presently how does the accident rate for wheelchair users compare to other types of passengers? 
• Ditto seriousness of injury 
• Factoring in injuries to drivers from attaching and removing restraints (see article), what is the expected net benefit? 
• Is there a pattern? 
• Roundabouts 
• Hills (what do they do in San Francisco?) 
• Are there alternative solutions? 
• Minor route changes 
• Driver training 

People with disabilities need assurance that decisions affecting them are grounded in reality, not preconceptions.

See you on the bus.

Gus Reed

Harbour Hopper

On June 24, my friend Claredon Robichau sent me an email about Murphy's Sailing Tours' application for two additional Harbour Hoppers licences, adding "Bet you none will be wheelchair accessible."

A little research convinced me that the Boston Duck Tours are more or less the same idea, and all are wheelchair accessible.

So I objected:

To the NOVA SCOTIA UTILITY AND REVIEW BOARD

IN THE MATTER OF THE APPLICATION of MURPHY SAILING TOURS LIMITED to amend Motor Carrier License No. P02758:

Dear Board Members,

I object to the granting of this application and request that you give consideration to requiring Harbour Hopper Amphibious Vehicles to be wheelchair accessible. Among the reasons are:

1. Taxpayers in Halifax have gone to considerable expense to make the waterfront and its attractions wheelchair accessible. Through their Crown Corporation, Waterfront Development, Nova Scotians hope to to foster the creation of waterfronts that drive economic opportunity and enhance tourism. A signature attraction like Harbour Hopper vehicles should conform to accessibility standards relating to those goals.

2. Taxpayers provide services and infrastructure used routinely by Harbour Hoppers, including streets, police, fire prevention, ambulances and traffic control. Taxpayers unable to climb steep stairs receive little in return for their generous support.

3. There is a school group rate. Any school group with a wheelchair user could not make use of the Harbour Hopper. This is not a message for children.

3. Shouldn't the Motor Carrier Act and regulations be implemented in a manner consistent with the principles of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms?

15. (1) Every individual is equal before and under the law and has the right to the equal protection and equal benefit of the law without discrimination and, in particular, without discrimination based on race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, sex, age or mental or physical disability.

4. Boston Duck Tours, undoubtedly the inspiration for Harbour Hopper tours, offers wheelchair accessible vehicles:

Are the Ducks wheelchair accessible? 

Absolutely! Each Duck in our fleet is equipped to have up to two wheelchairs strapped onto the back deck. Wheelchairs are boarded first along with one guest in your party. Other guests in your party will board in the order in which they arrived and where they are in the line. Guests also have the option of transferring into one of our seats. We will gladly set up the wheelchair lift to assist those guests who are not in a wheelchair, but are unable to climb stairs. Please notify a Guest Service Representative when purchasing tickets if you need these services, or if you purchased your tickets via the Internet, please call our offices at 617) 450-0068.

If you require a different form or format for objections, I am happy to comply. Please let me know if I can provide further information.

Yours truly,

Warren Reed

Unbeknownst to me, Murphy's had been acquired by Ambassatours, and I soon heard from Dennis Campbell, who had served alongside me on the Minister's Panel on Accessibility Legislation last summer:

Hi Gus,

I hope you are having a nice start to summer. I see that you have opposed our application for 2 additional Harbour Hoppers with the NSUARB. I am wondering if you might be able to make some time to meet with me over a coffee or if not that then a chat on the phone.

While I understand your concern and I too intend on doing our part to transition our fleet to become more accessible, we are challenged on how to make this work with the Harbour Hoppers and I wonder if we can chat about it if we can find a solution that may satisfy you while allowing us to invest and transition toward more accessibility in a smart business and prudent business manner.

Please let me know if you might be able to meet at a time and location of your convenience next week. If you could make the time, I'd be delighted to invite you down to Murphy's Restaurant (which is accessible) for lunch or coffee.

Thanks,

Dennis

And I replied:

Hi Dennis,

Thanks for this offer. Ambassatours' involvement came as quite a surprise to me. The issue isn't really mine, but the community's. Your fellow tour operators in Boston seem quite able to provide accessible craft. Here is a picture of the lift they use (in a different application):

And a link to the manufacturer.

The testimonial from Duck Tours CEO Andrew Wilson on that page is telling:

"The lift has been used 800 times in two years, and has operated remarkably well. ... we have been really pleased with how easy it is to move around. The speed with which you provided a customized version was nothing short of amazing."

Wilson sort of reminds me of you - a forward-looking guy with more than usual commitment to the community. Here's a nice clip of him explaining his business model. He's been the subject of a Harvard Business Review article.

All those cash-heavy seniors with walkers, new hips and wheelchairs, are delivered to the Halifax waterfront by cruise ships which have been made accessible courtesy of the US Supreme Court. Spector v. Norwegian Cruise Lines held that the Americans with Disabilities Act applied to foreign-flag ships docking in US ports.

For your business plan, I'd give lots of weight to the changing demographics of Nova Scotia and the profile of cruise ship passengers. And the chance to make a difference.

So thanks for reaching out, but I think accessibility will best be served by letting the process take its course.

Gus

We had the coffee.  As you can tell, I had some concerns about speaking on behalf of a whole community, and I thought I might be able to get the UARB to set a precedent.  But really, I just want to take a Harbour Hopper tour, so over the course of the summer we reached an agreement. I wanted two spots, but settled for one. I wanted no tie-downs, but Cher Smith convinced me it was about passenger safety and not about my independence:  Here's the final:

The Applicant undertakes to implement the following upgrades and modifications to its two (2) newly acquired Harbour Hopper Amphibious Vehicles prior to the Motor Carrier License P02758 being amended: 

1. Ensure sufficient space for at least one wheelchair on each vehicle, which may be used for other purposes should no wheelchair be onboard, and provide one companion seat reserved for the wheelchair space; 

2. Ensure the installation of a purpose-built lift device to facilitate boarding and capable of lifting a wheelchair/occupant combination of up to 600 pounds and approved by relevant authorities; 

3. Ensure sufficient boarding, seating, and alighting areas to permit sufficient turning and maneuvering space for one wheelchair to reach a designated securement area from the lift location; 

4. Ensure the installation of a securement system for wheelchairs to facilitate users who cannot transfer to vehicle seating as follows; 

a. Wheelchair to be secured by an easily operated and approved system,
b. One tour staff member per trip to be designated to operate securement system,
c. Formal training to be provided for all tour staff members, and
d. All wheelchair passengers to be treated equally to all other passengers in all respects 

5. Tour staff shall be permitted to store all mobility aids such as walkers and canes in a designated secondary location, when requested; 

6. Wheelchair passengers shall not be required to sign a separate waiver from other passengers; 

7. The onboard positioning of the designated location to be substantially similar to standard passenger locations available to the general public; 

8. There shall be no additional charges and fare categories shall be standard; 

9. Priority boarding opportunities shall be provided as required; and 

10. Passengers can be accommodated and directed to nearby accessible washroom facilities. 

The Applicant further undertakes to liaise with all necessary transportation authorities, both Marine and Land based, and all other required agencies responsible to acquire the necessary approvals for the installation and operation of all key components, such as lifts, securement, and safety devices required to render the vehicles/vessels fully wheelchair accessible. 

Should any issues arise that would impede or unnecessarily delay the implementation of these components, the Applicant undertakes to bring the matter before the Board for direction/resolution, prior to the vehicles being brought into service.

Dennis is a remarkable fellow.  Straightforward, as good as his word and concerned to do the right thing. At the same time, he is a good businessman, a tough negotiator who will not lose by this arrangement. He can read the tea leaves and sees the advantage in being able to offer his tour to the many elderly and disabled visitors to Halifax.  While others grouse about the cost of accessibility, Dennis will be laughing all the way to the bank.

In a word, Dennis is smart and capable of holding two thoughts in his brain at the same time.  Tourism is not monolithic, nor  is education, real estate or retail.  Despite the dire predictions in this Turner-Drake newsletter, there's plenty of opportunity to make money on accessible homes - people want to age in place, and as one market segment goes down, another rises.  Dalhousie could increase enrollment.  Retail can find employees (and customers).  My advice to business?  Be more like Dennis Campbell.

Kevin Murphy will be the first passenger on the newly accessible Harbour Hoppers.  My treat!

Bikes vs. Chairs

I really love bikes.  The mechanics, the precision, the freedom, the sense of accomplishment.  I've biked all over (triked, really).  I worshipped at the feet of Lance, before they turned out to be made of clay.  But I have a couple of questions about the proposed bike lane on University Avenue.

Parking

There is unhappiness about changes to accessible parking.  On planet Earth, there is no good implementation of accessible parking.  There is little enforcement, the number of spaces has nothing to do with the number of permits, the lone driver sprints from the car, the nearest curb cut is often far away.

As a wheelchair user, a regular width space does me no particular good, and because I'm a passenger, never a driver, being close up against the curb makes transfer difficult.

Here's the thing:  people with disabilities want to be treated the same, not differently.  Don't try to tell me how special I am by giving me a blue parking space.  Tell me how special I am by giving me a job and some fairness.  As one of it's "Priority Outcomes" HRM swoons about Universal Design.  There is a standard for a Universal Design parking space; make them like that and I'll take my chances, just like everyone else, on finding one that's convenient.

Think of it: all parking is accessible.  Doubtless the answer is "Well, Universal Design except for parking"

If your teenager is out getting a bag of chips at the corner store, he isn't tempted to use his mother's Accessible Permit to duck in for a sec.  If he finds a space, it's his.  For me, the same applies;  if I find a space, it works;  if I don't, I'm in the same boat as everyone else.

And free?  Don't make it free, make it useable.

Pilot Project

I'm not sure why this is characterized as an experiment.

These are the natural language objectives of the experiment:

• This is a valuable exercise to inform active transportation initiatives in the community and the first step in implementing Dalhousie's vision for the renewal of University Avenue.
• The goal of this pilot project is to test best practices in cycling infrastructure, demonstrate the enhanced safety of a separated bike lane, and encourage increased ridership for cyclists of all ages and abilities.

Not to be pedantic, but an experiment requires some very specific steps:

• Observation
• a separated bike lane is a good way to encourage urban bicycle transport
• Hypothesis
• separated bike lanes are safer
• their advantages outweigh disruptions 
• Prediction
• People will have  more confidence in separated bike lanes 
• There are fewer accidents
• There will be more bikers
• There are benefits to us all
• less use of automobiles
• more equitable use of infrastructure
• Experiment
• To know if the protected lane works like you predict, you'd need something to compare it to.  An authentic experiment would be fun and interesting, maybe even educational. Here are some things you might experiment with:
• some protected stretches, some unprotected
• a range of pavement markings
• lane differentiation at intersections (there are lots of intersections)
• a one-way side street
• a side street with a bike lane
• crosswalk tables
• some sections with parking, some without
• eye-level traffic signals like in Amsterdam

This project is a prediction without any experiment.  A guess, not an empirical study.

University Avenue: The experiment.

We aren't privileged to learn of Dalhousie's vision for the renewal of University Avenue.  Probably there is a move afoot to have a memorable entrance and look more like Princeton.  

Just as a suggestion, an authentic experiment with UAve as the lab would be a visible reminder that learning is empirical and a good university serves the community.  

In a real experiment, at the same time you watched bike lane behaviour, data could be accumulated on parking spaces.  There are a ton of smart parking apps, meters that will send you a text, sensors to direct you to free spaces, different prices at different times, remote control of emergency priorities.

And you could try some other tricks to increase bike ridership

• Subsidized leases
• Bike culture promotion
• Shower and locker facilities

Pedestrians

I'm concerned that an infatuation with biking will distract HRM's attention from correcting its fundamental and longstanding failure toward pedestrians.  At best, biking is a sometime thing.  The weather, the time of day, your other plans.  But being a pedestrian is eternal.  You have to cross the street, you have to get in the door.  More bikes won't help.    I wrote about this seven years ago yet HRM still insists on installing those useless and pathetic fan-shaped curb ramps - it's like Newton never lived.  Send those engineers to the woodshed!

And Finally

I can't help thinking of the boulevard separating the halves of University Avenue.  If safety and convenience are the prime considerations and Dal wants to have a new look, why not transform the Gobi Desert into something like this?

Rethinking the traffic circulation might yield even more bonuses.  If side streets were one way leading away from UAve, the boulevard could be continuous.  

My guess is that Dal and HRM would reject this on some variation of the sacred historical integrity defense so often used to deny access to wheelchairs.  

Often called Inertia. 

Gus Reed

Eyes wide shut

Dear Mayor Norton,

I usually don't stray from Nova Scotia, where there is an almost infinite supply of stories about the indignities visited upon people with disabilities.  St. John's  astoundingly wrongheaded, regressive and just plain stupid decision to end free bus passes for blind passengers needs to be identified for what it is.

• Larceny.  You compel blind residents to pay taxes to build and maintain the roads they cannot use.  
• Oppression.  You deny blind residents the means to get a job, to escape poverty, to become useful citizens.
• Atavism.  This is 2014, a year in the 21st century.  Yours is a policy from a Dickens novel.  
• Hypocrisy.  It is ludicrous to think this tiny concession discriminates against anyone.  You have a lot of nerve to cite the Charter as you persecute blind people.

You'll probably have to resign when the Human Rights decision goes against you. Time to reconsider that legacy thing.  Maybe throw Councillor Reardon under the bus.

Gus Reed

PS for those who want to scold me for not knowing the difference between St. John and St. John's, the decision of the city of St. John is St. John's decision. The decision of the city of St. John's is also St. John's decision.  Read it and weep

VIA gets its knuckles rapped

Seven years after the Supreme Court of Canada chastised VIA Rail for not being wheelchair accessible, VIA has finally gotten around to begrudging compliance with the decision.  Times have certainly changed since W.C. Van Horne built a whole railroad from Ontario to Vancouver in the four years from 1881 to 1885.

Today is the inaugural trip of the accessible cabin on The Canadian, which runs from Vancouver to Toronto.  The sleeper looks pretty spiffy.

It took the determination of an artist from Iles de la Madeleine to make this happen.  Gaetane Cummings received reimbursement for her ticket, lawyer's fees and $30,000 damages.

La Madelinienne Gaetane Cummings

It's informative to read the Toronto Sun's 2010 article on the lawsuit.  In it they mistakenly assert that Cummings is 'wheelchair bound' when it is crystal clear that she is a Canadian traveler like any other who wants to see her country.  Doesn't sound like she is a prisoner.  They also say she is a 'multiple sclerosis sufferer' when it's abundantly clear that MS does not control her life in any way.  One expects a certain level of cluelessness from the Sun, and they don't disappoint.

You can read the settlement,  and the decision and decide for yourself if VIA got off lightly.  I love the parts of the settlement, obviously written by the Mad Hatter in Wonderland, where VIA denies everything before paying up.

For those of you who are 'wheelchair reliant' (nice try, but not as good as 'wheelchair liberated'), you can exact your own punishment of VIA by getting a 50% discount on the use of this accessible sleeper.  Looks to me like this is an amount in the thousands of dollars.

H/T Claredon Robichau

PS Not too late to take a stand on the Hydrostone Market.  Be like Gaetane!

Dear Mayor Savage

Intern Kelly McKenna writes a compelling letter to Halifax's Mayor:

Dear Mayor Savage,

Whether you live in a metropolis or a small town, the presence of public transportation is an integral part of many people's daily lives. No car? No problem! Call up a taxi and it'll be there in 10 minutes or less! Trying to save those hard-earned bucks? Not to worry either - there's most likely a bus coming your way soon.

But what if such common modes of transportation were unavailable to you, or needed 24 hours notice to come collect you? Cancel that date, tell your boss you can't attend that important board meeting, and start waiting. These scenarios may seem ludicrous, but for individuals with disabilities, they are everyday obstacles to full participation in the life of the city.

Over the past weeks, we have been researching the state of public transportation within Halifax, focusing on buses and taxis. What we found was that this city has a long way to go in order for things to be equitable.

We wrote Mr. Robar, director of Metro Transit and learned:

• The new bridge terminal in Dartmouth is accessible, as all new construction is required to be.
• Access-a-Bus, with improvements in scheduling lead times, is apparently here to stay.
• 68% of bus routes are accessible
• 52% of bus stops are fully accessible.
• Although we asked specifically, apparently Metro Transit did not follow the 2011 recommendation of the Access-a-Bus review to experiment with taxi vouchers

We have 3 major concerns:

1. 38% of our bus routes are inaccessible.  This is an unacceptable number.  We asked Mr. Robar to tell us the schedule for completion, but got no response.
2. Access-a-Bus, which should be in the business of going out of business, seems to be a permanent fixture.
3. Although Toronto is re-examining its taxi legislation and Ottawa has over 200 accessible cabs, Halifax doesn't seem to have any, or even a plan to get some, leaving people with disabilities limited options

Says Royson James, in the Toronto Star: 

"This is a goal worth achieving — not just to move athletes around during the 2015 Pan Am Games, but to move citizens with mobility challenges during the Games and, more importantly, afterwards. 

With only 85 of 4,849 taxis [in Toronto] currently accessible, citizens with disabilities have to plan far in advance to engage in life’s simple pleasures. 

“They have to plan two days ahead to be ‘spontaneous,’” says Councillor Adam Vaughan, adroitly summing up the conundrum. “People with disabilities fall in love, too. They want to go on a date on short notice, or take their nephew to the Blue Jays game on the spur of the moment.” 

For people like me to "engage in life's simple pleasures", Halifax needs to re-think its plans and  get serious about accessible transport.  I'm only 21, so I'm impatient with the future - can this be done soon, please?  

Yours truly, 

Kelly McKenna

Find our working paper on public transportation for people with disabilities here.