T3 Transit passenger struggles with buses that don't lower

A Charlottetown woman says T3 Transit has to do more to help people with disabilities get on and off the bus, but the company says its new buses launching this week should help solve the problem.

Stephanie Douglas, 54, uses the bus daily to get to class at UPEI. If the bus doesn't pull up level alongside the curb, or lower the front end to ground level, she said it's difficult for her to board.

Some bus drivers are awesome. Even without the cane, they automatically stop at the curb.- Stephanie Douglas

"I have arthritis in my knees, and my knees give out. So I'll be walking and the knee will just give away."

Often, when a bus doesn't kneel at the curb, it hurts too much to make that big step, she said.

Make it easier for passengers

Douglas said T3 could make it easier for passengers with disabilities by using a feature the current buses are equipped with: for the front end of the vehicle to kneel at the curb.

However, she said not all drivers will pull up to the curb or kneel the bus unless asked.

"Some bus drivers are awesome. Even without the cane, they automatically stop at the curb," she said.

"Other bus drivers — whether you have a cane and you're waving it — don't stop at the curb."

'I've seen seniors struggle'

Douglas has been complaining to T3 Transit and the City of Charlottetown since June. She's written to the company, suggesting it bring in a policy similar to other cities that require all buses to stop at the curb, or to kneel for every passenger with a disability.

"Look, there's some best standards. I've seen seniors struggle to get on the bus."

Al Thomas, a retired salesman, also uses a cane, and said he finds it especially hard to get off the bus.

Thomas said the bus rarely stops beside the curb or lowers for him, without him having to first ask the driver to do so.

"They do it, but it's not automatic."

'It can be really isolating'

Douglas said since she's raised the issue, T3 Transit has told drivers along University Avenue to watch for her and pull up flush to the curb.

We can get Stephanie and any other customer on and off our bus safely.- Mike Cassidy

But she said that same courtesy should be extended to all passengers with disabilities.

"If you can't access transit, your life closes down," she said.

"You don't go into town as much, you don't meet with your friends, you don't do social activities. It can be really isolating."

Inadequate curbs in the city

Mike Cassidy, owner of T3 Transit, agreed that Douglas has valid points about accessibility of buses.

He told CBC News he'd love to have all of the buses pull up to the curb, but there are 300 bus stops on the company's routes — and many have inadequate curbs, or no curbs at all.

"Her recommendations of using the curb may be possible five out of 10 times," he said.

"In some instances the curb is not the right height, there is a slant, there is a sidewalk and then mud, or there's grass before you get to the curb."

The Charlottetown Mall installed in a proper bus stop with curbs, Cassidy said, but that's not the case in most of the rest of the city, where the company has had to deal with what's available.

He added that many of the current buses have been on the road since the service started a decade ago, and the feature to lower the front end is not working properly on the aging fleet.

However, Cassidy said the used buses just bought from Calgary that will be introduced into service this week have been checked to make sure the kneelers work.

"You don't have to worry about snow, you don't have to worry about mud, you don't have to worry about a chipped curb," said Cassidy.

"We can get Stephanie and any other customer on and off our bus safely."