Tokens acceptable option for Handi-Transit users

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This article was published 31/01/2017 (3265 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Lucie Diane was forced to go cap in hand to fellow churchgoers for money after a Handi-Transit driver wrongly refused to accept her Winnipeg Transit token on New Year’s Day.

Diane said not only has it happened again to her, but she has heard another Handi-Transit user had it happen to them recently.

Diane was on her way to a church service on Jan. 1 — with the temperature hovering around -11 C and already on a Handi-Transit vehicle in her wheelchair — when she says she gave the driver a metal token with the Winnipeg Transit logo imprinted on it.

“He looked at it and said, ‘We don’t take these,’” she said.

“I had one old paper (Handi-Transit) bus ticket in my purse, so I gave him that one and the five-cent difference (for the fare).”

But Diane realized at church she had no money for the return fare if the driver wouldn’t take the token.

“It put me in a quandary,” she said. “I had to ask for cash from people so I could go home.

“That was a bit embarrassing.”

Diane said when she got on the Handi-Transit van, and was again told they don’t accept the tokens, she called the service’s call centre.

“I spoke to Handi-Transit and they said, ‘No, we don’t take the tokens.’ I called Handi-Transit two more times and (on Jan. 2) I was told again they don’t take tokens.

“I was frustrated because I had the tokens and I wanted to educate Handi-Transit that, yes, you should accept these tokens.”

City council approved the use of the tokens on Handi-Transit on Dec. 11, 2013. The decision came at the same time council approved free fares on Handi-Transit for all “mandatory attendants required for safe travel of a registrant on all trips and identified via Handi-Transit application/functional assessment process.”

The minutes of the council meeting state the tokens “used in the regular fixed route Transit service will be accepted as fare payment on Handi-Transit vehicles by registrants, however, no other regular fixed route fare products will be accepted on Handi-Transit.”

The city had the Royal Canadian Mint create the tokens.

Diane said after she received information that city council had passed a motion that the tokens could be used on both its regular Transit service and Handi-Transit, she called again.

“They again said, ‘Nope, they are not accepted,’ and I said I have information that contradicts that. They put me on hold and after four minutes or so, she came back and said, ‘Yes, we do accept tokens.’

“But then a few days later, I was coming for an appointment and the driver I had rejected the token.

“I was told to tell the driver to call Handi-Transit and after he did he accepted the token for payment. I don’t know why I’m the one who has to instruct their drivers.”

And Diane is not the only Handi-Transit user who has had a problem.

Marie-Lynn Hamilton, an individual advocate with the Independent Living Resource Centre, which supports people living with disabilities, said they have heard at least one other Handi-Transit user has had the same problem trying to use the tokens.

Hamilton said it’s a problem because the tokens are not something that can be purchased by individuals — they are only available to be given out to the people who need it by schools, social agencies and non-profit groups.

“It’s just tragic there is so much inconsistency,” she said. “Not only are there people with disabilities, but people trying to see a doctor and then they find they can’t use them (tokens)… and when it is -35 C out, it could be life threatening.

“It is unfathomable.”

Josie Fernandes, Winnipeg Transit’s manager of client services, apologized for the mix-up and said the problem may have occurred because, unlike the regular Transit service, Handi-Transit is contracted out to eight different companies to provide the service.

“I think when you have that many people doing the job, communication is a challenge,” Fernandes said. “But we have to ensure everyone knows the information… they should know. The information is sent to the companies.

“They shouldn’t have been misinformed like this. The payment should have been taken.”

Fernandes said Transit has again sent out its August 2016 operations bulletin to ensure all companies and drivers know the tokens can be accepted by Handi-Transit.

Diane said she hopes all Handi-Transit drivers will now accept the tokens.

“It’s not my job as a passenger to call in to have Handi-Transit tell the driver their policies. I’m a customer.”

kevin.rollason@freepress.mb.ca