Draft report: OC Transpo and “calling the stops” August 2007 Accessibility Advisory Committee

1. Draft report: • OC Transpo and “calling the stops” • August 2007 • Accessibility Advisory Committee

2. Outline of the present report • History • Accessibility Advisory Committee meeting of 15 August 2007 • Situation analysis as of 15 August 2007 • OC Transpo’s plans • AAC reaction to OC Transpo’s plans • Context for the recommendations • Recommendations • References

3. History • For about 20 years, OC Transpo has had a policy of calling out major bus stops and stops requested by customers.1 • Despite having this policy on the books, OC Transpo management has never effectively implemented this policy. • In November 2006, a visually impaired OC Transpo passenger (Mr. Terrance Green) filed a complaint with the Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA) alleging that his rights had been violated by OC Transpo’s failure to advise him of his stop. • In April 2007, the CTA issued a decision in Mr. Green’s favour, noting that OC Transpo had violated his human rights and requiring OC Transpo to respond within 90 days.2

4. History (continued) • Independently of the OC Transpo case before the CTA, and in response to a complaint by David Lepofsky, on 26 July 2007 the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal (OHRT) issued an Interim Order requiring the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) to develop, within 15 days, a policy for bus drivers to call out all stops, and to implement this policy within 30 days.3 • The OHRT’s decision stated, in part (section 6): “It is clear, and I so find, that the failure of the TTC to announce all bus and streetcar stops is a prima facie breach of the Code.The Complainant and other visibly impaired passengers are entitled to be accommodated under the Code.”

5. AAC meeting of 15 August 2007 • To understand OC Transpo’s plans and intentions with respect to “calling the stops”, both with respect to the CTA decision affecting OC Transpo directly and with respect to the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal decision, the Accessibility Advisory Committee (AAC) invited OC Transpo to appear at the AAC meeting of 15 August 2007. • For the “calling the stops” section of this meeting, OC Transpo was represented by several people: • Alain Mercier, Director, Transit Services • Helen Gault, Manager, Transit Service Planning and Development • Bob Goody, Manager, Transit Operations

6. Situation analysis as of 15 August 2007 • Between the date the CTA decision was issued against OC Transpo on 25 April 2007, no changes have been implemented by OC Transpo to improve the situation of a person with a visual disability travelling on its buses.4 • OC Transpo operators were not notified by OC Transpo of the CTA decision until 19 July 2007. • OC Transpo management posted a memo 85 days into the 90-day period specified by the Canadian Transportation Agency. • Perhaps coincidentally, this posting was done 2 days after the AAC asked OC Transpo to “inform the AAC of the date on which its operators were officially made aware of the Canadian Transportation Agency’s (CTA) decision in general, and specifically the date on which they were made aware of the human rights implications of this decision for passengers with severe visual disabilities.”5

7. OC Transpo’s plans • During the AAC meeting on 15 August, OC Transpo made the following performance commitments: • During September 2007, passengers would see a significant improvement in performance as measured by calling the stops; • Compliance would be at 90-95% by November 2007; • OC Transpo plans to monitor compliance internally. • In addition, OC Transpo noted forthcoming changes to the operator’s manual, the implementation of a training course for operators, and related changes.

8. AAC reaction to OC Transpo’s plans • The Accessibility Advisory Committee applauds the actions that OC Transpo has identified to address the “calling the stops” issue. • However, the AAC remains concerned that the track record established by OC Transpo management to the time of the AAC meeting is not consistent with the verbal commitments made by OC Transpo. • This concern underlies the recommendations made to Council by the AAC (see following).

9. Context for recommendations • The AAC’s recommendations are made with the following evidence in mind: • An existing policy to call the stops has remained unimplemented by OC Transpo management for two decades. • Two legal decisions, one directly against OC Transpo, have established that failure to announce bus stops is a violation of the human rights of passengers with a visual disability. • Despite this, other than verbal assurances we see no evidence of management commitment to calling the stops: • OC Transpo management took 85 days to notify its operators of the CTA decision. • More than 100 days after the CTA decision, no changes had been implemented by OC Transpo management to remedy the human rights situation of passengers with a visual disability. • OC Transpo management expects only 90-95% compliance 8 months after the CTA decision.

10. Context for recommendations (continued) • Consequently, the AAC is led to conclude that there is little evidence that OC Transpo management appreciates the seriousness of this human rights violation, and that OC Transpo management maintains a somewhat casual attitude to its implementation and importance.

11. Recommendations • OC Transpo must implement without delay a policy to call out the stops on its buses. • At the very least, the stops called should be major stops and those requested by customers. • Moreover, this policy should be implemented immediately, since more than 100 days have passed since the CTA decision. • Furthermore, OC Transpo management should be required to show reason why all stops cannot be called out, as specified by the OHRT Interim Order to the TTC. • For the purposes of objectivity, an external agency should be contracted to monitor compliance with the “calling the stops” policy. • This external agency, or another independent agency, should also monitor communications between OC Transpo management and its operators.

12. Recommendations (continued) • A target of 90-95% compliance eight months after the CTA decision is not good enough. It is the opinion of the AAC that it is unacceptable to define an “acceptable” level of denial of basic rights to passengers with disabilities. • Having operators call out the stops should be seen as an interim measure that may meet the needs of passengers with visual disabilities, but does not meet the needs of passengers with an auditory disability. • As a longer-term measure, OC Transpo should provide to Council realistic cost and time estimates for implementing an automated display, preferably linked to a GPS system, that announces stops both audibly and visibly. • Having received these realistic cost and time estimates, Council should approve – and fast-track – this implementation.

13. Recommendations (continued) • The principle guiding these actions should be (a) the realisation that a segment of OC Transpo’s passenger base has been shown to be deprived of basic rights because of OC Transpo’s actions, and (b) that this situation needs to be remedied as soon as possible, not as soon as is convenient to OC Transpo management.

14. References • Helen Gault, OC Transpo, at the 04 July 2007 meeting of the Transit Committee. • Canadian Transportation Agency. Decision No. 200-AT-MV-2007, 25 April 2007. • Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario. Interim Order, file number HR-1201-07, 26 July 2007. • Alain Mercier, 15 August 2007. • E-mail from Victor Emerson (AAC Chair) to Helen Gault, 17 July 2007.