Burnaby resident Lilo Ljubisic is worried she'll have to take the long way home now that TransLink's TaxiSaver program has been cancelled.
TransLink recently cut the program as a cost-saving measure, putting the money into expanding its HandyDart service instead.
Ljubisic, who is blind and used the TaxiSaver service for 15 years, said the HandyDart service is much more difficult to book, and takes much longer to use.
For a 1 p.m. doctor's appointment at Broadway and Willow Street in Vancouver, Ljubisic said she has to leave the house around 8: 30 a.m., be dropped off between 10: 30 and 11 a.m., pick up again at 3 p.m., and finally dropped off at home around 5 p.m.
"That's just the reality on HandyDart," she said.
While TransLink has indicated most HandyDart trips can be booked with 24 hours' notice, Ljubisic's experience is that it requires about a week's notice to secure a booking.
Last week, she called with 48 hours' notice to book four rides, but HandyDart was only able to fill two of the four requests, she said, which means she couldn't get her return trips.
The TaxiSaver service, on the other hand, can be used as needed, she said.
"It allows me to spontaneously decide that I'm going to meet a friend at a coffee shop, or I'm going to see my family physician because he's got an opening today," Ljubisic explained. "I can accept an invitation to visit a friend - whatever it may be, I can do it spontaneously."
The TaxiSaver service provided users with $100 worth of taxi coupons per month, with the user paying half the cost and TransLink covering the other half.
"It's a lifeline for people like myself," she said. "What TransLink needs to do is double the amount of coupons, not take away the program."
Ljubisic referred to statistics from the Canadian Urban Transport Association that state each passenger's one-way trip in a specialized bus or vehicle such as a HandyDart costs about $32.
"It's certainly not cost effective to send a vehicle as large as a bus to pick me up and take me five blocks, or five kilometers away," she said.
The TaxiSaver service works best as part of a multi-modal transportation service, according to Ljubisic, who said she would take the HandyDart to the SkyTrain, then board a bus to her appointment, and afterwards, take a taxi the short distance to her next appointment.
The taxi service is especially important in residential neighbourhoods, she said, as these can be hard to navigate for a blind person. If she is visiting someone and is dropped off by bus six blocks
from their house, it can be very difficult for her to finder her way, Ljubisic said.
"Now what? I'm a blind woman walking around in a quiet residential zone with no one in the street to ask what direction to go in."
The TaxiSaver program ran for 20 years for those with cognitive or physical disabilities, and is being phased out beginning in August, according to a press release from TransLink.
HandyCard holders will still be able to use subsidized taxis to some extent, just not through the TaxiSaver program.
"Currently, HandyDart uses taxis if a HandyDart vehicle is not readily available and client care is not compromised," the release stated. "In those cases, the client pays the regular transit fare, and TransLink pays the difference."
A report by TransLink commissioner Martin Crilly suggested using this option more often, it added.
"We realize this will come as a shock to people who have been using TaxiSaver, but by re-investing that money in HandyDart, this will be a great help to those who rely on the service," said Heather McCain, chair of the Access Transit Users' Advisory Committee, in the release. "It will be easier to book spontaneous trips, too, rather than make arrangements well in advance."
TransLink expects to save $1.1 million per year for the next three years, due to the program cancellation.
For the first year, $200,000 will be put into supplemental taxi service, the release stated.
TaxiSaver coupons will no longer be accepted as of June 2013.
The company is communicating with those affected, to make the transition easier, according to TransLink's manager of corporate communications, Jason Martin.
"We are engaging directly with affected stakeholders to listen directly to their concerns," he said in an email. "We'll be flexible with the timing of implementation and will work directly with them through this process."
