A “culture of fear” and systemic failures within OC Transpo’s Para Transpo services — which includes contracted taxi trips — have pushed riders to a breaking point, says Ana Maria Cruz-Valderrama, a member of the city’s accessibility advisory committee.
During a recent committee meeting, participants detailed a troubling list of problems ranging from contracted taxi drivers watching YouTube while operating vehicles to passengers being threatened with the loss of service for reporting a driver’s bad behaviour.
Cruz-Valderrama said seniors and people with disabilities are also being relegated to the backs of buildings near loading docks for some Para Transpo pickups.
“Why do people with disabilities or seniors … have to be picked up at the back of the building in the same way they deliver and pick packages?” said Cruz-Valderrama. “We are not packages. We are human beings. We deserve to be treated with respect.”
Cruz-Valderrama said these loading areas often lack seating, forcing seniors — some in their 80s and using canes — to stand for up to 90 minutes waiting for a ride.
Cruz-Valderrama described the current guidelines for Para Transpo services as “cruel and not humane.”
Riders who book a trip through Para Transpo may be picked up either by a city-operated accessible vehicle or by a Para-contracted taxi. To manage a high volume of trip requests and provide flexibility, the service uses a dual-fleet model, operating its own vehicles while also contracting private, licensed taxi drivers to deliver trips.
The committee heard an account of what was described as a life-threatening safety violation.
Committee member David Humphries said he and fellow committee member Susan Cowin were in a in a Para-contracted taxi on the highway while the driver was watching YouTube on his smart phone.
When asked to turn the video off, the driver reportedly yelled at the passengers, telling them he didn’t have to follow their instructions.
‘Why do people with disabilities or seniors . . . have to be picked up at the back of the building in the same way they deliver and pick packages? We are not packages. We are human beings. We deserve to be treated with respect.’
— Ana Maria Cruz-Valderrama, member of city’s accessibility advisory committee
Cowin said she has frequently been shouted at and “told off” by drivers who arrive at the wrong location and blame the passenger for the error.
Ryan Duchoeny, another committee member and a deaf advocate, said that drivers are often distracted by headphones and phones because “nobody’s watching.”
Flaws in the system led recently to a Canadian Transportation Agency complaint filed by Steven St. Denis, who was present at the committee meeting. His complaint focused on the inadequacy of stability belts in OC Transpo buses for stabilizing heavy, modern mobility devices. He eventually withdrew his complaint.
St. Denis uses a mobility machine weighing more than 180 kilograms. He told the committee that standard restraints were often unable to fit through the anchor holes of modern chairs, resulting in the sliding of a wheelchair from side to side or back to front when a bus is turning or braking quickly.
While OC Transpo is piloting a new “Q-Straint hook” to address this problem on articulated buses, Humphries said users are “tired” of broader systemic issues.
“There’s gonna be lawsuits coming because there are people that are telling me that they’re tired of it,” Humphries stated.
At the root of the crisis is a significant decline in driver training and oversight, Humphries says. He said sensitivity training for contracted taxi drivers has been slashed from three days to just a day and a half.
Unlike standard OC Transpo bus drivers who are monitored by mobile supervisors, contracted taxi drivers have no direct supervision in the field, said Humphries.
Suggestions were made that the city should install cameras facing the drivers — not just the passengers — to provide evidence of misconduct during investigations.
Megan Richards, program manager with the City of Ottawa’s accessibility office, says the city is tracking these “gaps and barriers” for the 2026–2029 OC Transpo Accessibility Plan.
While the city is moving forward with retrofits for its 300-plus articulated buses, the rollout is expected to take at least 42 weeks. Some equipment changes are intended to address issues identified in the complaint filed by St. Denis.
The accessibility office staff is expected to present its final plan to council in April.
Final messages from the committee were clear: without a fundamental shift in how drivers are trained and supervised, the city could face a potential wave of litigation from community members who feel poorly served and ignored.
“Honestly,” said Cruz-Valderrama, “we deserve better.”
Editor’s note: An earlier version of this story incorrectly attributed poor driving behaviour by contracted taxi drivers to Para Transpo drivers. The earlier version also contained confusing information about audio messaging for passengers.
