KITCHENER — The region is planning on making some significant changes to their MobilityPlus service, a specialized transit system used by people with impaired mobility.
“We do have to modernize the service and we have to bring it into further compliance Accessibility for Ontarians Disability Act,” said Coun. Tom Galloway.
Gallloway said the changes come after a high volume of cancellations, no shows, and lack of space on the specialized busses.
One notable change will affect dialysis patients. Under the old system they were automatically eligible and received trip priority.
The new recommendation would see all applicants go through the same process.
“We want to categorize eligibility or do assessments based on functional limitations. so when you apply to ride on mobility plus, depending on what your assesment revealed, what are your limitations, what are your abilities...that will tell us what type of travel to pride to you going forward,” said Neil Malcolm, Assistant Director with Grand River Transit Services.
The goal is to make sure the system is fair and equitable for all users.
Both KW AccessAbility and the Kidney Foundation have expressed concern, saying whether someone needs dialysis or a trip to the grocery store, a person's eligibility could change from day to day.
“Sometimes you're having good days, sometimes you're having not so good days. There’s also a lot of hidden disabilities that people might not see that you have a disability,” said Edward Faruzal, Executive Director of KW AccessAbility.
“The services that we use are not the same services as what the dialysis patients would need, and if changing things to make sure their services stays the same and make some changes to this that’s great,” said Dale Stuebing who uses MobilityPlus services.
One of the first changes users will see early next year is online booking, and a switch from a 28-day booking window to one that is three to seven days depending on the on the appointment.
