What are the requirements for transportation providers under the Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2001 (ODA)?

The Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2001 requires public transportation organizations that provide transportation on behalf of the Government of Ontario, a municipality, a local board of a municipality or transit or transportation committee or authority, as well as those licensed by the Government of Ontario and municipalities, to prepare annual plans. These plans must be made public. (section 14)

These plans must be developed in consultation with people with disabilities.

In preparing plans, there is an opportunity for municipalities, transit providers, and transportation service providers contracted to do work for municipalities to prepare joint plans. (section 17)

The Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC) in its April 2002 consultation report "Human Rights and Public Transit Services in Ontario" recommended the preparation of plans by transportation providers. You can view the full report on the OHRC website.

What types of organizations would be captured under ODA's definition of "public transportation organization"?

Section 2 of the ODA defines it as "a person or entity that provides any service for which a fare is charged for transporting the public by vehicles operated,

(a) by, for or on behalf of the Government of Ontario, a municipality, a local board of a municipality or a transit or transportation commission or authority,

(b) under an agreement between the Government of Ontario and a person, firm, corporation, or transit or transportation commission or authority,

(c) under an agreement between a municipality and a person, firm, corporation, or transit or transportation commission or authority, or

(d) under a license issued by the Government of Ontario or a municipality to a person firm, corporation, or transit or transportation commission or authority, and includes special transportation facilities for persons with disabilities, but does not include any person or entity, or class of person or entity, that is specified in the regulations.”

Examples could include:

• The Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) and GO Transit.
• As above (note some organizations could be captured under more than one category).
• The City of Toronto Act, 1997 allows the TTC to enter into an agreement with a municipality to operate local transportation service. The City of Ottawa Act , 1999 allows the city to enter into an agreement with any person, including agreements in respect of connecting or reciprocal passenger transportation systems, and the use of facilities, personnel or equipment.
• Intra-provincial, intercity bus operators licensed under the Public Vehicles Act , and intra-city buses licensed by municipal by-law under of the Municipal Act, 2001 would be captured under (d).

Does a municipality or municipal transit system have to include parallel transit for people with disabilities in its accessibility plan?

If a municipality runs a parallel transportation system or contracts with an organization to deliver parallel transit for people with disabilities, the parallel transit system is required to develop an accessibility plan.

A municipality or transportation commission or authority can prepare a joint plan with a parallel transportation provider. The parallel transit provider is not required to prepare an individual plan if the joint plan meets the requirements of the act.

If a municipality or municipal transit system has not included parallel transit in its annual accessibility plan, it is suggested that a parallel transit plan be developed and included in the municipal plan or transit plan. As parallel transit providers are required to prepare their own plans under section 14 of the ODA, there are certain requirements that have to be met in preparing a joint plan:

• Section 17(2) of the ODA says that organizations can prepare joint plans and are not required to prepare an individual plan if the joint plan meets the requirements of the act for the individual plan.
• This means that for a joint plan, the specific requirements that an organization would have been required to follow in an individual plan must be addressed in the joint plan. Someone reading the plan should be able to look at the plan and find the following sections specifically regarding each organization included in the plan:
  • a report on the measures that each organization has taken to identify, remove and prevent barriers to persons with disabilities;
  • the measures in place to ensure that each organization assesses its proposals for by-laws, policies, programs, practices and services to determine their effect on accessibility for persons with disabilities;
  • a list of the by-laws, programs, practices and services that each organization will review in the coming year in order to identify barriers to persons with disabilities;
  • the measures that each organization intends to take in the coming year to identify, remove and prevent barriers to persons with disabilities; and
  • all other information that the regulations prescribe for the purpose of the plan. (At the present time, there are no existing ODA regulations.)

As parallel transit’s core service is transportation for people with disabilities, how can such organizations address accessible customer service?

• If a community offers both parallel and conventional transit, the parallel system may want to ensure that it is providing comparable service to that which is provided by the conventional system as, for example,
  • comparable hours of service;
  • comparable fares;
  • comparable service to geographical areas;
  • comparable waiting times; and
  • comparable levels of service.

• The Ontario Human Rights Commission in its report Human Rights and Public Transit Services in Ontario sets out a number of recommendations to improve transit service for people with disabilities. This report is posted on the OHRC website.
• The Commission recommends that transit service providers set, as a service goal, full integration and accessibility of services, including both accessible conventional services, and comparable, dignified parallel services.

What is the difference between doing a plan with a municipality and a separate plan as a public transportation organization? Are there benefits to doing one or the other? Does the Accessibility Directorate of Ontario have a preference?

• There is no preference as to whether public transportation organizations develop individual plans, or joint plans with municipalities. A joint plan allows municipalities and public transportation organizations to share resources and to co-ordinate areas of responsibility that overlap. For example, barriers to bus transportation may exist if snow is not removed promptly from the sidewalks.
• Some municipalities have had a long history of advisory committees for their transit systems, so when those with over 10,000 people were required to form an accessibility advisory committee under the ODA, the transportation advisory committee merged into the municipal advisory committee. This is an example of an opportunity to share resources and expertise and develop a joint plan. On the other hand, some public transportation organizations that have had a history of planning for accessibility may prefer to continue following past practice and develop individual plans.
• Whichever option is chosen, there are advantages to a coordinated approach between municipalities and public transportation organizations to ensure efficiencies.

By what date must accessibility plans be prepared?

Plans must be prepared for each year. Organizations are encouraged to tie accessibility planning into regular planning cycles.

What happens to plans once completed?

Plans must be made available to the public.

The Accessibility Directorate of Ontario is interested in learning of best practices in accessibility planning within the various sectors with obligations under the ODA. Please submit any plans for use as best practices to:

Accessibility Directorate of Ontario
Ministry of Community and Social Services
777 Bay Street, Suite 601
Toronto , Ontario M7A 2J4
Tel: 416-326-0207 / 1-888-520-5828
Fax: 416-327-4080
E-mail: accessibility@css.gov.on.ca

How can public transportation organizations identify barriers for services for people with disabilities?

One way of identifying the barriers is to make a chart:

These are just some examples of barriers to people with a disability. You may wish to refer to Section 2 of the ODA for a full definition of barrier and disability. To gain thorough coverage of what barriers may exist, it is a good idea to consult with a wide variety of disability organizations. Enablelink is a website sponsored by the Canadian Abilities Foundation, which provides a comprehensive listing of disability organizations throughout Ontario. It will help you find people with disabilities in your community who may be interested in being part of your municipal accessibility advisory committee.

Another approach to identifying barriers is to think about barriers in the following areas:

1. Receiving information about the routes that are available, times, etc.
   • How would you communicate this to someone who is deaf, blind, for example?
   • Website, telephone, etc.?
2. Purchasing tickets?
   • Is someone in a wheelchair able to do this? Are the customer service counter heights designed with people in wheelchairs in mind? Are the ticket agents accessible to people with a physical disability?
3. Think about all possible barriers by going through the trip from beginning to end.
   • For example, what happens if a passenger with a disability needs to transfer between municipalities? Is there a complementary service with a neighbouring municipality? Do multiple transfers mean it is less likely people with disabilities are likely to use the service?

What happens if a public transit organization does not identify all the possible barriers in its plan?

• The purpose of the ODA is to "improve opportunities for persons with disabilities and to provide for their involvement in the identification, removal and prevention of barriers to their full participation in the life of the province." The ODA requires that organizations consult with people with disabilities and others in preparing the plan with the intent that as many barriers as possible will be identified through the consultative process. The ODA compels organizations with obligations under the act to be proactive, and to work towards the elimination of barriers to people with disabilities.
• If some barriers are missed in one plan, there are opportunities to identify these barriers in subsequent plans. By making the accessibility plan available to the public, feedback can help to identify any barriers that may have been missed.

What tools are available to public transportation organizations in developing accessibility plans?

• The Ontario Community Transportation Association (OCTA) has developed a guide to accessibility planning for public transportation organizations called the "Transit Accessibility Blue Print". To request a copy, contact OCTA at 1-877-762-6282 or at info@octa.on.ca.
• You may wish to refer to the Accessibility Directorate of Ontario’s publication entitled "A Guide to Annual Accessibility Planning".
• The Accessibility Directorate of Ontario worked in partnership with the Ontario Community Transportation Association on the SkilForm Drivers Training Project. The project developed a SkilForm Drivers Training Course for drivers working in public transit, parallel transit, and non-profit/volunteer transportation services. The training provides transit drivers in these sectors with the knowledge (disability awareness), understanding (attitudinal change), and skills (passenger assistance techniques and safety procedures) to serve passengers with disabilities.

Will there be funding to public transportation providers to make their vehicles more accessible to people with disabilities?

The province provided over $73 million to 43 municipalities across Ontario for transit fleet replacement, expansion and refurbishment in 2004. This is in addition to the $100 million to 41 municipalities in 2003 and $97 million provided to 38 municipalities in 2002.

A total of 83 transit systems that provide service to 110 Ontario municipalities received gas tax funding in 2004/2005 of $156 million.

What funding is available for specialized transportation programs for people with disabilities?

Ontario Trillium Foundation

The Ontario Trillium Foundation awards grants to fund operating, project and/or capital costs in support of: Arts and Culture, the Environment, Human and Social Services, and Sports and Recreation. The Trillium Foundation supports grants that reflect Ontario ’s natural, regional and ethno-cultural diversity, and that increase access for people of all abilities. The Foundation encourages initiatives that remove linguistic, financial, physical, social or cultural barriers to facilitate full participation of people in their communities.

The Ontario Trillium Foundation can be contacted at:

45 Charles Street East, 5th Floor
Toronto, Ontario M4Y 1S2
Tel: 416-963-4927 / 1-800-263-2887
TTY: 416-963-7905
Fax: 416-963-8781
Website: www.trilliumfoundation.org

Private Foundations

There are numerous private foundations that provide grants to non-profit organizations. Directories of these foundations and the types of activities and organizations they support are available at public libraries.

Alternatively, you can contact the Canadian Centre for Philanthropy at:

425 University Avenue, Suite 700
Toronto , Ontario M5G 1T6
Tel: 416-597-2293 / 1-800-263-1178
Fax: 416-597-2294
E-mail: general@ccp.ca
Website: www.ccp.ca/

Service Clubs

The Lions Club, Kiwanis Club, Optimist Club, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, Kinsmen/Kinettes, and International Order of the Daughters of the Empire (IODE) also may provide funding for accessible transportation.

What does the ODA/Human Rights Code say about differential fees for service? For example, discounts for seniors and students. Some groups that represent people with certain disabilities believe that they should be given priority service due to the nature of their disability over persons with other kinds of disabilities?

This question falls under the expertise of the Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC). Public transportation organizations should consult their lawyers or the Ontario Human Rights Commission directly for more information.

For more information, visit the OHRC website to view the publication entitled Guidelines on Special Programs.

You can contact the Ontario Human Rights Commission at:

Ontario Human Rights Commission
7th Floor Dundas/Edward Centre
180 Dundas St. W.
Toronto , Ontario M7A 2R9
Tel: 416-326-9511 / 1-800-387-9080
TTY: 416-314-6526 / 1-800-308-5561
Fax: 416-326-9520
E-mail: info@ohrc.on.ca
Website: www.ohrc.on.ca

Our policy is to require persons in scooters to transfer into another seat on a bus, as sitting on a scooter is not safe in an emergency stop or turn. If a passenger refuses to transfer into another seat when they are able to do so, can we refuse to allow him or her on the bus?

This is a question that falls within the specific expertise of the Ontario Human Rights Commission. For a complete answer, you should consult your lawyer or contact the OHRC at 416-326-9511 or 1-800-387-9080.

For more information, visit the OHRC website to view the policy document entitled Policy and Guidelines on Disability and the Duty to Accommodate.

Are public transportation organizations required to allow companions and attendants of people with disabilities to travel for free?

This is a question that falls within the specific expertise of the Ontario Human Rights Commission. For a complete answer, you should consult your lawyer or contact the OHRC at 416-326-9511 or 1-800-387-9080.

For more information, visit the OHRC website to view the policy document entitled Policy and Guidelines on Disability and the Duty to Accommodate .

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