OC Transpo is not doing enough to ensure that its drivers are meeting the needs of disabled passengers, says Brenda Reisch, executive director of Children at Risk, a group that provides services for autistic children.
“I have seen some drivers be more tolerant to passengers using the ‘F- word’ as a noun, adjective, and verb, than they are to a disabled person,” said Reisch. “There are a lot of good drivers but something needs to be done about those who aren’t.”
Carolyn Richardson, training supervisor for OC Transpo, ssays the drivers’ training program already includes extensive sensitivity training.
Drivers must attend an eight-hour workshop on the needs of disabled passengers along with performing on-the-road techniques such as properly loading a wheelchair. Guest speakers with disabilities also make presentations on what it is like to be disabled and on the bus. “It’s a very thorough program,” Richardson says.
But Reisch said her experiences have shown that’s inadequate. On one bus trip, her autistic son Ian was travelling with his personal helper when the driver left his seat at an undesignated stop to tell the helper to keep Ian, who is sometimes prone to loud outbursts, under control. After being singled out, the helper felt uncomfortable and the two got off the bus-never reaching their destination.
“Clearly the kind of training being provided is insufficient,” Reisch said.
Catherine Gardner, accessibility advisory committee member, echoed that sentiment. “OC Transpo can say their drivers are trained, but that training is not enough.”
Kathy Riley, accessibility specialist for OC Transpo, regularly receives complaints about bus operators. Recently, a passenger wrote to her describing a situation where they had been riding the bus with a disabled companion when the driver told them,
“We have special buses for people like that.”
“Situations like this are still quite common,” Riley said. “But it is getting better.”