Pellerin: More affordable taxis needed in Ottawa

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Tell me that your city is capable without telling me that your city is capable? Ah, but Michael Lifshitz has a story to tell.

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Lifshitz is a working man who likes to go out, make others laugh, and generally live his life as he sees fit. Just like you and me. Except unlike me and probably you, he uses a wheelchair.

Last weekend he went to Toronto and carefully planned his return home by train and then by adapted taxi. The latter never arrived. So Lifshitz took the last bus she could get back to her home on Carling Avenue (most wheelchairs fit on OC Transpo buses, but it’s hard to maneuver a wheelchair onto a bus while carrying a suitcase ). Oh, and because of Bluesfest-related detours, the bus also didn’t show up and it took forever to get to a downtown hotel lobby where he waited until morning, when a cab was finally able to come pick him up.

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When I met with him a few days after his ordeal, Lifshitz told me that he has his own adapted vehicle, but due to a long overdue medical procedure on his hip that is causing him pain and also spasms that are difficult to control, he prefers not to ride. right now.

His story is not unique. What Colton Praill on CTV Documentedit is extraordinarily difficult for people with disabilities to find private taxi services in Ottawa.

We do not have enough adapted vehicles. as prairie also reportedthere are fewer than 100 accessible taxis in this city, which is just over half of the number we had available before the pandemic.

Please note that having those taxis “available” does not mean that they are ready to pick up passengers. Lifshitz’s experience, during which the dispatcher tried unsuccessfully for hours to find him a vehicle, tells the story on its own. Sure, it was late at night and stretched through the night. But still. If I needed a taxi in the middle of the night, I can guarantee you that I would not wait for hours.

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Why are we in this situation? Some reasons. One is that many people have stopped working after the pandemic. It is very possible that the operators of accessible taxis that are theoretically “available” are not working, or not working as much as they used to. As is your right. A bigger reason is that there is very little incentive for anyone to have affordable vehicles, which cost much more money than other cars to own and operate.

And that’s without taking into account the devastating impact of Uber and Lyft on the industry. They don’t need to worry about drivers offering accessible vehicles because no one thought it would be a good idea to require a minimum level of service for people living with disabilities when the city allowed those services to operate in the city.

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Basically, we’re telling people like Lifshitz that if they want to go out, they shouldn’t. “Out” is reserved for people without disabilities. Better luck in the next life.

It drives me crazy. Civilized societies take care of everyone, not just the fit and strong. And by the way, people with disabilities also work and pay taxes. I don’t know why anyone would assume they are an economic drain. But even if some of them require financial assistance, so what? Don’t we have a duty to do what is necessary to ensure that everyone has the necessities of life?

Oh, and also: Investing in city infrastructure, services, and amenities that are accessible to everyone, regardless of ability, doesn’t really “cost” anyone. Rather, welcoming everyone to the city allows us all to benefit from the incredible gifts, talents, and hard work of everyone, whether they walk with a cane or are visually impaired or suffer from anxiety. And that’s just for the money. What it does to our soul to be kind, generous and open-hearted is incalculable.

We need to do better. That shouldn’t be too difficult to achieve.

brigitte pellerin is a writer from Ottawa.