HandyDart, the province’s accessible transit service, will get a $1-million financial boost from TransLink for an additional 30,000 taxi rides in 2014.
A release from the transit authority notes the increased funding is due to high demand for the transit service, which helps thousands of seniors and people with disabilities get around the Lower Mainland and beyond.
“We know that door-to-door public transportation is important to the people who use it, and this funding will help more people with disabilities travel throughout the region in 2014,” stated TransLink COO Doug Kelsey.
From April to November last year, TransLink and Coast Mountain Bus Company tested the cost-effectiveness of increased service in B.C. by reallocating 10,000 hours of HandyDart vehicle service to taxis. The transit groups learned that by using taxis, they could more efficiently increase service while giving customers more independence and flexibility.
“It’s a lot of money, but we’ve been able to really continue to drive efficiencies inside the TransLink organization,” Kelsey told the NOW.
Kelsey said part of the inspiration for the pilot project was to address the number of service denials, which climbed to 42,000 last year.
“Since several years ago, we have not received extra funding from the taxpayer, so we’ve had to live within our means,” he said, noting the HandyDart program was caught in the ongoing reallocation of funds.
Thanks to a surplus of more than $47 million last year, TransLink was able to invest in HandyDart and mitigate some of its transit issues.
“This is one area that we said, ‘We want to really make an impact,’ and because of our success last year, we made a decision to allocate here and really try to help out.”
In a statement, Pam Horton, chair of the Access Transit Users’ Advisory Committee, commended TransLink for its use of taxis as another method for helping out HandyDart users.
“I am pleased to see this additional funding and the increased availability of taxis for people who rely on custom transit,” said Pam Horton, chair of the Access Transit Users’ Advisory Committee. “Taxis are widely used for this purpose in other major cities and can play an important role in meeting customers’ needs.”
