The Town of Bradford West Gwillimbury was very aware of accessibility issues, when it set up its municipal transit system.
The community buses purchased all are “100 per cent accessible,” said Director of Corporate Services Rebecca Murphy - equipped with ramps that can be lowered to facilitate a scooter or wheelchair, priority seating for the handicapped and an attendant, and route information prominently displayed electronically, to make it easier for those with challenges to use the buses.
But for the BWG Accessibility Advisory Committee (AAC), there was still a gap in the service available to residents with disabilities.
Said Deputy Mayor James Leduc, a member of the AAC, “We were in need of a private handicapped service, to help with residents that just can’t get to bus stops because of mobility issues.”
Although the town has an accessible van operated by CHATS (Community and Home Assistance to Seniors), it is available only to CHATS’ clients ages 55 and up, should be booked a week in advance, and can’t handle motorized wheelchairs. It only operates Monday to Friday during working hours.
There was nothing that would give the disabled a flexible option, to get to appointments, go shopping, and have a measure of independence – a regular taxi service, but one that is handicapped-accessible. “We surveyed the community and found a definite need to provide this service,” Leduc said.
The Committee has an annual budget for accessibility initiatives, but much of it has been sitting in reserves, largely unspent. The decision was made to approach local taxi companies and ask them to submit an RFP on what an accessible taxi service would look like in BWG, how the service could be provided, and what steps were needed to provide a wheelchair-accessible taxi.
Bradford-Bondhead Limousine Taxi Service (BB Taxi) “was the most interested in this,” said Murphy; the BB Taxi proposal was accepted by the Committee, and a one-time grant of $18,000 from the Accessibility Advisory Committee reserve fund was approved by Town Council, as seed money for the new service.
Just this week, a new Dodge Caravan, equipped with a rear entry ramp and other gear needed to secure and transport a wheelchair-bound client, was unveiled by BB Taxi.
BB Taxi owner Addai Sarfo, better known as “Kasy” to his customers, has licensed the accessible taxi, and sent his drivers for the training and certification required to operate an accessible service.
The new van will be operating almost exclusively in Bradford and Bond Head, with the occasional trip to Holland Landing. “It’s baby steps,” Kasy said. “The vision is to cover both BWG and Holland Landing.”
He expressed his gratitude to Frank Caietta of Vaughan Chrysler, who provided the van; to the members of the Accessibility Advisory Committee who worked with him to ensure the vehicle would meet the needs of the community, and to his drivers, for their commitment and willingness to take the training.
“We’ve all done customer service before, but you never stop learning,” Kasy said – and customer service is the key to being inclusive, for those with physical challenges.
The service is now on the road; call 905-775-5755 to order a wheelchair accessible cab. Regular taxi rates apply.
“Hopefully it gets used,” said Murphy.
