Changes for Access-A-Bus program approved by regional council

Disabled transit riders will be able to get same-day service under changes to Access-A-Bus approved by Halifax regional council on Tuesday.

Currently, around 2,000 people in the municipality use the service.

The changes outlined in the Access-A-Bus Continuous Service Plan are aimed at improving quality of service for those who use the service. An emphasis was put on implementing same-day service in the report. Regional council adopted the plan at Tuesday’s meeting.

“The clients are the top priority of what we’re trying to achieve here,” said Mike Spicer, manager of transit operations for Halifax Transit.

“We’re still improving,” he noted.

He said Access-A-Bus staff are also trying to cut down on last minute cancellations and no-shows. Currently people book trips in advance they may not need, he said. Implementing a same-day service will help negate those issues.

Coun. Lisa Blackburn was in favour of the plan. For her, it’s “not a transportation issue; it’s a dignity issue.”

Deputy Mayor Tony Mancini called the improvements a step in the right direction.

“These are people that don’t have choices like all of us. We can choose to take car a, or car b, or take the bus; we have many choices,” he said. “Most of our customers don’t have a choice.”